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Russian President Vladimir Putin (center) holds his annual televised phone-in with the nation in Moscow on June 20.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (center) holds his annual televised phone-in with the nation in Moscow on June 20.

Live Blog: Putin Takes Questions In Annual Call-In

-- President Vladimir Putin has faced a slew of critical questions during his annual call-in television program, Direct Line, reflecting a rise in public discontent over the handling of Russia's stagnant economy and the drop in approval ratings for the longtime leader.

-- Choreographed to portray the president as a benevolent leader who cares about the plight of ordinary Russians, the rare yearly public performance allows Putin to shift blame for much of the country's ills to local officials.

-- For the 2019 session, millions of Russians nationwide were invited to pose questions that will be selected for the live broadcast. Usually, the hand-picked questions that Putin answers are about domestic issues.

*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Moscow (GMT/UTC +3)

09:16 20.6.2019

Moderator says there were many questions about low incomes. They play a video from a firefighter in Kaliningrad Oblast who says he is getting 12,000 rubles a month, which he says is not a living wage. Many firefighters, he says, have to take second and third jobs. Says this is one of the reasons why there are so many fires in Russia.

09:18 20.6.2019

Activists in Arkhangelsk region, who for months have protested construction of a huge landfill site in Shiyes to store Moscow's waste, have reportedly been banned from addressing Putin today. Just as they've been banned from any publicity in state media

09:18 20.6.2019

Putin says he needs to check the figures that the firefighter provides because he has already ordered that they get more than 20,000. "We need to look into every specific case," he says. Adds that additional funds have already been allocated to raise salaries for firefighters to around 30,000.

09:19 20.6.2019

Correction: They've been banned from recording a video address from outside the landfill site, where they've clashed for months with an army of security guards and riot police. Instead they were bused to an alternative location.

09:20 20.6.2019

Moderator says that many people are writing that life has become more difficult and asks, "when will things get better?"

09:22 20.6.2019

Quick work: Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, says some of the complaints citizens submitted for the call-in show have been resolved even before it started, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports. Still, we can probably expect some regional officials to get a public and stern talking-to from Putin. Peskov says he will most definitely speak with leaders in "specific regions" where citizens have flagged problems.

09:23 20.6.2019

Putin mentions sanctions and low prices on energy exports. Admits that average incomes have fallen in recent years, but says they are now on the rise. Says that paying off commercial loans has also had a negative impact on incomes. Says it is hard to get a handle on wages because of large variations by economic sector and geographic region, but adds that average figures do show an upward tendency.

09:24 20.6.2019

For Russian speakers out there, some Putin Bingo:

09:26 20.6.2019

Putin says main issue is to improve worker productivity and on that basis lift the entire economy.

09:32 20.6.2019

From the popular and bitingly critical social-media personality StalinGulag, who only recently revealed his real identity.

--"Vladimir Vladimirovich, our wages are falling, we are getting poorer."

--"In fact, wages are rising, but I want to tell people out there on the Internet: don't get mad. Wages really are rising, just not yours."

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