MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. The 12th annual news conference of the Russian president on Friday lasted for 3 hours and 50 minutes and Vladimir Putin answered the questions of almost 50 journalists.

The shortest of these news conferences lasted for 1 hour and 33 minutes back in 2001. The 2008 news conference set the record as being the longest one, lasting for 4 hours and 40 minutes.

Last December, the news conference lasted for 3 hours and 8 minutes.