Putin expresses sympathy and says there is a government program for development of rural schools. Then Putin hands the question over to the acting governor of Altai Krai, Viktor Tomenko, ordering him to help the villagers to save their school. Tomenko says there are no plans to close the school, despite what the residents have heard. Tomenko reads from some notes and looks down all the time. Says the village and the school have a future. Putin says he hopes the response will please the villagers, but doesn't actually ask them if it did.
Next question is from St. Petersburg from a military hospital. Question comes from a woman who lost her leg and part of one arm during a bombing in Aleppo, Syria, two years ago. Her artificial leg sits on the bed next to her. The woman expresses her gratitude to Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and the Russian military. She has Ukrainian citizenship and asks Putin to give her Russian citizenship so that she can invite her family to visit her and get access to the latest artificial limbs.
Another take on Putin's comments about Sentsov today:
Putin repeats earlier statement on desirability of making it easier for "compatriots" to get Russian citizenship and says this woman's case is a special one. Assures her she will get support, says he'll ask the Defense Ministry to bring her family to her and will give her Russian citizenship.
Looks like the moderator may be getting ready to wind things down. But first a question about the disputed Crimean Bridge.
Moderator asks which world leaders speak to Putin with the informal pronoun "ty." Putin says he has informal, personal relations with many colleagues, including Merkel, Macron, Abe. Says he addresses Czech President Zeman using formal pronouns because "he is older" as a sign of respect.
Moderator asks if Putin is preparing a "successor." Putin says he thinks about this a lot, but emphasizes that only the people can choose his successor. However, Putin says he's always looking for young people who are ready to lead the country.
Moderator saves the toughest questions for last: Is it hard being without political competition in Russia?
Moderator notes that Putin got a "record-high" result in the last presidential election. Asks if Putin is "lonely" at the top of the Russian political ladder. Putin says, no, because he has a good team of like-minded people.
This Twitter user notes that the color scheme of these two moderators' dresses matches that of the Ukrainian flag: "Another provocation by the SBU [Ukrainian Security Service]"