Says global warming could threaten Russian Arctic cities and towns built on permafrost
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had acted unfairly - Putin
This will be the 15th press conference of its kind; during his tenure, Putin has devoted almost two days to talking with the media via this format, about 47 hours.
Last year’s presidential news conference took place on December 20, lasting for three hours and 43 minutes. Putin fielded questions from 53 mass media outlets.
Vladimir Putin has addressed global warming, as well as the banning of Russian athletes from the Olympics and other sporting events, at his annual marathon news conference.
Fielding questions from Russian and foreign journalists in Moscow on December 19, Putin said Russia is warming more than twice as fast as the global average.
He said that global warming could threaten Russian Arctic cities and towns built on permafrost.
Putin said that Russia has abided by the Paris agreement intended to slow down global warming.
Regarding the banning of Russian athletes from the Olympics and other international sports event for four years, Putin said the the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had acted unfairly. Putin said any punishment of Russian athletes should have been meted out individually and not collectively.
Putin’s annual news conference comes after a summer of protests that rocked Moscow and other Russian cities.
The televised end-of-year news conference has been a regular event of Putin's tenure, one of a series of high-profile set-piece events he uses to burnish his image, reassure Russians that they are in good hands, and send signals to the United States and the rest of the world.
The Russian leader is fielding questions before an audience of Russian and foreign journalists, some of whom have flown in from abroad or from far-flung corners of the country.
The event is also legendary for its length. The 2008 news conference clocked in at a record four hours and 40 minutes.
But the latest one comes amid a drop in Putin’s popularity, according to opinion polls, amid slow economic growth and other issues.
Putin's popularity has dropped by 10 percentage points since 2017, even though he still enjoys high job approval numbers among Russians, according to a survey by the independent Levada Center published on November 18.
This year’s media event follows a string of protests in Moscow over consecutive weekends this past summer, sparked by local election officials’ decision to bar many independent and opposition candidates from a municipal poll. However, the protests, which also spread to other cities, evolved into wider calls for democratic change in Russia.
Hundreds of people were briefly detained by police, with most released for misdemeanor violations. Several activists were charged with assaulting police and were given prison sentences or suspended sentences.
Russian security services were criticized for their heavy-handed tactics during the rallies.
Regarding the banning of Russian athletes from the Olympics and other international sports event for four years, Putin said the the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had acted unfairly. Putin said any punishment of Russian athletes should have been meted out individually and not collectively.
Putin’s annual news conference comes after a summer of protests that rocked Moscow and other Russian cities.
The televised end-of-year news conference has been a regular event of Putin's tenure, one of a series of high-profile set-piece events he uses to burnish his image, reassure Russians that they are in good hands, and send signals to the United States and the rest of the world.
The Russian leader is fielding questions before an audience of Russian and foreign journalists, some of whom have flown in from abroad or from far-flung corners of the country.
The event is also legendary for its length. The 2008 news conference clocked in at a record four hours and 40 minutes.
But the latest one comes amid a drop in Putin’s popularity, according to opinion polls, amid slow economic growth and other issues.
Putin's popularity has dropped by 10 percentage points since 2017, even though he still enjoys high job approval numbers among Russians, according to a survey by the independent Levada Center published on November 18.
This year’s media event follows a string of protests in Moscow over consecutive weekends this past summer, sparked by local election officials’ decision to bar many independent and opposition candidates from a municipal poll. However, the protests, which also spread to other cities, evolved into wider calls for democratic change in Russia.
Hundreds of people were briefly detained by police, with most released for misdemeanor violations. Several activists were charged with assaulting police and were given prison sentences or suspended sentences.
Russian security services were criticized for their heavy-handed tactics during the rallies.
With reporting by TASS, AP, AFP, Sputnik and Reuters
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