MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov believes that his position won’t let him remain silent at work in order to shield himself from blunders. In an interview with the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper, Peskov disclosed some details of working side-by-side with Russian President Vladimir Putin, praising it as a unique opportunity.
That being said, Peskov noted that he has no idea what his future job will be after he leaves office.
Presidential schedule
In the interview, Peskov said Putin could wake him up in the middle of the night with a sudden call. "This has happened sometimes, when some emergency situations had occurred. But thank God, this has not happened often," the spokesman pointed out.
At the same time, he said, "One needs to understand that the president is a real workaholic. He has his own understanding of time." "An ordinary person waits all week for Fridays and the weekend, but Putin does not have this feeling, because he does not have any days off. Sunday certainly is different from Monday, but everything depends on the situation," he explained.
"Ruling a country is like a blast furnace that cannot be extinguished. This is a permanent process and it does not depend on the time of a day," Peskov said. "10-11 pm in the Kremlin is the height of a working day," he noted.
The presidential spokesman disclosed some details of how the president’s communication channels with his subordinates are organized. "The presidential office has a system of government communications: ministers and administration heads can certainly use it. They may directly contact the president when he is at the workplace. If someone wants to get in contact with him at another time, a request is conveyed via assistants and personal aides."
When replying to a question on who communicates with the president more often, Peskov explained that he himself is somehow nearby when it comes to the public part of Putin’s work. "But a significant part of the president’s work is not public. At this time, many other people interact with him. For example, when there is work with international issues, staff members of the administration’s international department are constantly with the president," he noted.
Impossible to keep silent
Peskov admitted that Putin reprimanded him for some mistakes. "In order to safeguard himself from blunders, a spokesperson has only one way out: to keep silent. But then why do we need a spokesperson?" he said.
"Let’s not forget that I am a person, who officially "talks nonsense," Peskov said, recalling Putin’s remark in an interview in March. "Sometimes he talks nonsense and I watch TV and think: what is he talking about?" Putin said in the context that many staff members of his administration sometimes express their viewpoints on various issues but this does not mean that all of them had agreed on their theses with him personally.
Unique opportunity
The Kremlin spokesman declined to speculate on any possible post in the future when he leaves office, but said he is not going to build a career in journalism. "I’m not a professional journalist and I am unlikely to ever become one. A special talent is needed for this, which I probably don’t have," he explained.
"How do I see my future? I have been working in the presidential administration since 2000. That’s 18 years! And I have been Putin’s spokesman for 10 years. It’s hard for me to imagine life after this office," he said, noting that this life may be wonderful, but it’s difficult to imagine it.
Peskov emphasized, "I’m delighted to have worked all these years with such a person as Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin]. You can say anything, but he has already made history in our country and throughout the world, and I am firmly convinced of this. Therefore, to be close to him and see how history is being made in front of your eyes is a unique opportunity, which is given once in a lifetime."