Putin postpones traditional TV appearance - for fear of political questions?
Created: 06/10/2022, 21:11
By: Andreas Schmid
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, takes part in the TV show "The Direct Line".
(Archive) © Sergei Savostyanov/dpa
No TV appearance by Vladimir Putin?
A citizen survey on Russian television has been postponed.
Why remains unclear.
Moscow - The media coverage of the Ukraine war is extremely interesting.
The Kremlin is trying to address the population through government-affiliated media.
Russian television almost exclusively speaks of a “military operation”.
The concept of war is taboo.
The state line also applies to nuclear weapon threats towards Berlin.
The West senses an information war, as federal politicians recently told
Merkur.de
.
The media repertoire of Russian President Vladimir Putin also includes the traditional TV question and answer session “The Direct Line”.
Now it has surprisingly been postponed.
Ukraine war: For the time being, Putin has refrained from “direct contact” with the Russian people
The TV show will not take place in June this year as it has often done before.
Preparations for the event were underway, but there is no specific date yet, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Interfax agency.
However, he ruled out hosting in June.
In recent years, Question Time has always been held in June - with one exception in the Covid year 2020.
"The Direct Line" is an hour-long live broadcast in which Russian citizens can describe their personal concerns to the head of the Kremlin.
The TV marathon gives Putin the opportunity to present himself to the population as a caring father of the country.
Most of the time he promises the callers or viewers that they will solve the problem, be it outstanding salary payments, road repairs or the lack of a gas connection.
In the past, however, some political questions were also asked.
The Ukraine War in Pictures - Destruction, Resistance and Hope
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Ukraine war: Putin postpones traditional TV appearance - for fear of political questions?
It was unclear whether the delay was related to the Ukraine war.
Putin, who actually tries very hard to please his people, has rarely appeared in public recently.
The most striking performance was the military parade in early May.
An event where the Kremlin is in control of the images conveyed.
So is Putin concerned that he will be confronted with critical questions when he is “directly connected”?
Or does the despot's state of health play a role - in line with current speculation?
The Kremlin did not comment on the rumours.
The fact is that just last week Peskov had scheduled the Kremlin chief's television audience for a date close to the International Petersburg Economic Forum in mid-June.
Now the turnaround.
(as with dpa material)