Putin answers 90 questions during almost four-hour-long Q&A marathon

MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin answered a total of 90 questions on Thursday during his annual televised question and answer session, officially known as "The Direct Line with Vladimir Putin," that lasted for 3 hours and 55 minutes.

This year’s Putin’s communication with fellow countrymen was almost as long as the program of 2014 that lasted for 3 hours and 56 minutes. So, no absolute record was broken. In 2013, Putin set the record when he answered the Russians’ questions during 4 hours and 48 minutes.

Most questions came from Russian men above 40 years old although the Kremlin earlier said many calls and requests over the past week were accepted from women. A total of 12 guests of the Moscow studio and seven children also asked their questions.

The majority of questions were devoted to Russia’s state policy and military security. The Russians also asked about the situation in neighboring Ukraine and social security issues. Some 10 questions were devoted to international issues.

A total of six live link-ups were organized from across Russia: the Kostroma and Rostov regions, a town of Alabino near Moscow, where the rehearsal of the Victory Day parade is being held these days, as well as from Siberia’s Irkutsk, the Vostochny space center under construction in Russia’s Far East and Crimea’s Artek camp.

Putin said the direct communication with people gives a chance to understand their concerns and get over to them the Russian leadership’s stance on the most important issues.

"When you look at and listen to people, everything is perceived in a different way. Secondly, it gives an opportunity to get over to people the position of the country and my own position on some key problems and give an assessment to what is going on," Putin said.