On April 16 Russian President Vladimir Putin opened his annual televised question and answer session officially known as "The Direct Line with Vladimir Putin". Questions are being asked by guests invited to the studio, residents of various Russian cities via live video linkups, SMS messages, Internet and telephone. A total of 250 journalists, including 70 foreign reporters from the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, France, China, Japan and Latin America, are covering this event. Vladimir Putin's Q&A marathon - in photo gallery by TASS