Mr. Putin said that the information that came in through telephone calls, direct address and questions via the Internet is very important material for analysing the real situation in the country.
The President said that this kind of direct dialogue with the population is very useful and necessary, especially at a time when the economy is still in transition and state institutions and the country’s political system are still being developed.
Mr. Putin said it is also useful in that it helps the state agencies make adjustments to their policies, and he noted that the live dialogue brought to light some urgent issues that need to be addressed.
President Vladimir Putin answered questions from the population live on Channel One television, Rossiya TV channel and radio stations Mayak and Radio Russia.
The question and answer session was also broadcast live on the official presidential Website.
Questions for the President were taken from December 14. By the time the broadcast began, around 12000000 questions had come in by telephone and more than 43000 on the site www.linia2003.ru. During the broadcast another 400000 calls came in and around 14000 questions via the Internet.
Vladimir Putin answered about 70 questions live during the broadcast.