Putin Annual Direct Q&A: Important Quotes On WW3, Market, Economic Growth

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held his 16th annual televised question-and-answer session, officially titled “Direct line with the president,” ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which starts June 14.

Nearly two million questions from people all across the country were submitted by Thursday morning, and according to Russian news agency Interfax, the number kept on growing as the live session commenced.

Since there were no limitations to the kind of questions that could be directed to Putin, everything from “Mr. President, are you a free mason?” to “When will blogging be recognized as a profession?” were asked by people from all over Russia. Needless to say, the president only took some questions from the audience.

For example, he did answer a female blogger, in her 30s, demanding to know the future prospects of blogging in the Kremlin. After telling the blogger she looked younger than a 30-year-old woman, Putin asked her not to worry about blogging getting recognized as a profession as she already made a career out of it and was using it pay her bills.

Unlike other years, no audience members were allowed in the venue where the televised event was taking place. Instead, people were allowed to submit their queries by phone or video messages. Putin also interacted live with people on a screen placed in front of him, answering their questions and discussing their concerns regarding domestic issues such as healthcare and economic growth plaguing Russia at present.

The following are some important quotes from Putin in response to the pressing problems of his country:

"We have reached a sustainable economic growth trajectory. Indeed, it is rather modest, but it is not a decline, but growth — of 1.5 percent last year, industry is rising by 1 percent, agriculture is demonstrating a stable growth, which has turned into a sustainable trend,"

"The realization that a third world war could be the end of civilization that should restrain us from dangerous steps globally.”

“By the fall of this year, additional measures should be introduced which will stabilize the situation on the market. I am basing this on the fact that the government will be monitoring this carefully.”

"Agreements have been reached at the government level with all companies to increase the production of oil products and on deliveries to the domestic market to not permit a deficit. Additionally, we have worked out a series of measures aimed at stabilization. I am referring to the possibility of introducing export tariffs by the Russian government on deliveries of oil products for export."

“I know perfectly well that if we had renewed the government by 100 percent and brought in absolutely new people, even very knowledgeable and very-skilled persons, it would have taken at least two years to formulate either already existing tasks or new ones. We would have lost at least two years. But we do not have these two years.”