At his annual interactive press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin faced an awkward moment after anti-Putin messages were displayed on screens around him.
Every December, Putin holds an interactive press conference for several hours, during which he takes questions from the public. Though the event is pitched as a direct line of communication with the Russian people, Western observers largely believe that the event is carefully controlled by the Kremlin, vetting who can attend and what questions are asked. The event was canceled last year amid military troubles in Ukraine but was brought back this year amid increasing Russian fortunes. However, some dissent filtered through into the event in the form of text messages ranging from disillusioned to outright hostile, which were displayed on screens around the Russian president.
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“Hello. When will it be possible to move to the Russia which they tell us about on Channel One?” one message read, referring to Russia’s state-controlled news channel.
“Why is your ‘reality’ at odds with our lived reality?” another read.
The messages, sent via text message to a displayed number, were displayed on large screens around the president, with some behind him and others within his view. He didn’t appear to notice or address the questions.
Other messages demanded he step down.
“Don’t run for another term as president,” one read. “Make way for the young!”
It isn’t clear how the hostile messages were able to make it on screen.
Other messages were less openly hostile but highly pessimistic about the situation in the country.
“This question won’t be shown! I’d like to know, when will our president pay attention to his own country? We’ve got no education, no healthcare. The abyss lies ahead,” a message read.
“We live almost without electricity, our appeals have not changed anything, the only hope remains is in you,” a message read, which was displayed as Putin walked onstage to applause from the crowd.
In the same vein, others complained about local problems.
“Cucumbers cost 900 rubles per kilo, tomatoes 950 rubles,” a message read. “It costs me 1,500 rubles to make a salad. I won’t even mention fruit. Make the prices normal!”
As it currently stands, $1 is roughly equivalent to 89.48 rubles.
“We gave gas to China, we gave gas to Europe. When will there be Gas in Khakassia?” another read, referring to a region in Siberia.
“How long will Gazprom corruption be tolerated?” another read, referring to Russia’s state-owned gas company. “In Spring, LPG (Liquefied petroleum gas) cost 16R/Liter. Now 34P. How did the price rise by 200%? Why is there a deficit in the country and caravans go to the West?”
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Many in the audience sported placards with favorable messages. One audience member held a sign reading “LPR” with a red star, referring to the Luhansk People’s Republic, one of the four pro-Russian breakaway states in eastern Ukraine that were annexed last year.
The vetted questions directly asked to Putin addressed a variety of topics, from the war in Ukraine to the economy. In a moment that seemed to take Putin by surprise, a St. Petersburg student asked a question about artificial intelligence using an exact AI replica of the Russian president. The Putin imposter also jokingly asked if he had any body doubles, to which he replied in the negative.
