Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his year-end press conference with a Q&A session. It was a monumental affair, that lasted 4 hours and 4 minutes, in which Putin answered 67 questions from journalists – both Russian and foreign – and citizens.
Naturally, the western media needs to take him down a peg, so it is said that the questions were ‘carefully curated’, which is, of course, true. But just compare that to feeble Joe Biden squinting his eyes closed as he takes a couple of questions from pre-selected journalists and reads pre-written replies.
The difference between the leaders couldn’t be more clear.
We will present some highlights of the questioning marathon, with translation and reporting from Sputnik, RT, Sky News, New York Times and several Telegram channels.
The Russian President began by saying that ‘strengthening sovereignty is one of his priorities’, and that ‘Russia cannot exist without it’.
“The primary objective is to bolster Russia’s sovereignty, fortify border security, and safeguard the rights and freedoms of [our] citizens.”
“The world has been surprised the Russian economy has not collapsed under Western sanctions, but it has proved resilient and this will continue.”
Russia’s objectives in the ‘Special Military Operation’ in Ukraine remain ‘unchanged’ – the ‘denazification and demilitarization’ of Kiev’s regime remain top goals.
“Their national hero [Stephan Bandera] is a well-known Nazi figure.”
“Peace will come when we reach our goals,” he says. “Ukraine virtually produces or manufactures nothing… they have been importing things for free, freeloading.”
Video: “Odessa is a Russian city, everyone is aware of that, but they conjured up historical nonsense, and after the collapse of the USSR we gave into it.”
Putin stressed that 244,000 Russian troops are currently on the battlefield in Ukraine.
“Some 486,000 people had so far signed up voluntarily as contract soldiers, on top of the 300,000 people called up last year, and the flow is not diminishing.
In all, 1,500 people are recruited every day, with contracts signed for two or three years among volunteers.”
The Kremlin said that no less than 2 million questions were submitted – with many projected in screens in the studio – including blistering criticism.
On the subject of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Putin’s take was not perhaps the expected warlike one:
“The Russians and the Ukrainians are one people, essentially, and what we are witnessing now is a great tragedy resembling a civil war between brothers on opposing sides. And it is not even their fault, the entire southeast of Ukraine has always been pro-Russian.”
Kiev’s forces have ‘failed everywhere’ in their counteroffensive, and the much vaunted bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper is just a PR act.
“They are pushing their people and these people are going to be killed. They are going to other countries asking for money, and now they have to show the Ukrainian army has at least some chances of reaching something without thinking about any losses.”
A citizen showed outrage that Russia was being insulted around the world, and asked Putin what he thought about people who are against him.
“In many towns of the world, many people think what we are doing is correct. We have a huge number of supporters in protecting traditional values. The number of people supporting Russia is rising exponentially.”
Video: Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, was about to give the floor to a New York Times reporter but was interrupted by the president, who demanded the Chinese agency to be called first.
“Xinhua news agency first, please, then The New York Times!”
Valerie Hopkins, from the NYT’s Moscow bureau: ‘This is the first time since the war began that Western journalists have been allowed to attend such an event.’
“It’s all Peskov’s fault,” Putin jokes. “I am a democratic person,” he says.
The subject of the questions tended to return to the War often. Putin told the audience that the line of contact is now more than 2,000 kilometers long, and there are 617,000 fighting men in the combat zone.
In a noteworthy aside, Zelensky’s former advisor, now in self-imposed exile, Arestovich: “Putin calls us brothers and a united people, and we call them pigs and orcs. On the screen Putin has uncomfortable questions from Russians. Who do you think has the advantage: us or them?”
There was a crazy moment when an AI-generated video of Vladimir Putin appeared in the monitor to ask a question.
“Do you have a lot of twins (clones/doppelgangers)? What is your attitude dangers with… artificial intelligence?”
Putin responded: “You can talk like me and use my voice, my pitch, but I figured only one person can speak like myself and use my voice, and this is going to be me. As regards the AI, this is my first twin.”
Putin was the image of optimism, as he assured the world that Russia will win in the Special Military Operation.
Video: “Nord Stream pipelines were likely blown up by the US.”
Read more:
Mainstream Media Bitterly Comes to Terms With Vladimir Putin’s Successes in the Ukraine War
