Yesterday, far from the number of people who wanted to address Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were able to do so. Media sources said the unasked questions mostly mirrored those that were answered by Mr Putin. The Prime Minister discussed the financial crisis, housing issues, social security and domestic and foreign policies.
A few lucky callers got their questions answered and a few even had their problems solved by Mr Putin.
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A lady named Olga Mikhailovna from Nizhny Novgorod complained about the decision of City Mayor Vadim Bulavinov to shut down local milk kitchens for children. She said: "Is this a good birth-rate incentive? What are we to do? Please, help us." For a month, this has been a hot topic in Nizhny Novgorod, having also been mentioned by Izvestia. Local mothers even launched an online signature-collection campaign to save the milk kitchens and planned to mail the list to Mr Putin's public reception office.
They also decided to talk to him during the December 4 question-and-answer session. In a sharp reply, the Prime Minister said: "Municipal leaders would feel the people's reaction during subsequent elections, unless they respond to their concerns." People in the studio applauded Mr Putin's statement which also caused jubilation at Internet forums in Nizhny Novgorod. "This is really cool. We don't believe it," local mothers said. The City Hall reacted quickly to Mr Putin's comments and issued a press statement saying "the Administration of Nizhny Novgorod shares the position of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin regarding milk kitchens."
A huge screen was installed in downtown Yekaterinburg and enabled city residents, mostly students and retired persons, to watch the session live. Both groups focused on the financial crisis.
Anzhelika Shaidurova who had been laid off for a month and who is now looking for a job brought an issue of Jobs for You magazine. "I used to get 22,000 rubles ($797) per month as a sales-department specialist and recently took out a car loan. But now I don't know how I can repay it. Mr Putin has accomplished a lot in the last few years and has taken the country out of a quagmire. I would like to know when the current turmoil will end."
"Why is the victorious Russian nation so poor?" asked retiree and former prison-camp inmate Alexandra Veselova. "We envy the well-off people living in other countries. I want to know whether I will live to see these kinds of living standards," she said.
Fifty people were admitted to Mr Putin's public reception office in Saratov in the Volga Federal District. Another elderly lady moved towards Mr Putin wanting to know why she was not receiving the pension bonus for people over 80. She was intercepted and had to talk to Health and Social Development Ministry officials who advised her to send a letter to Nikolai Semenets, head of the regional Pension Fund. The lady said this would produce no results because she had already visited the Pension Fund a month ago but was not allowed to see Mr Semenets and did not receive any clear answer about her pension.
Nonetheless, two Saratov residents got a chance to talk to the Prime Minister. Olga Savelyeva asked what the Government planned to do about unemployment. Student Sergei Shumilov inquired how Mr Putin managed to combine the posts of Prime Minister and United Russia Party leader. "I hoped that the Prime Minister would tell me about his schedule, his favourite sports and leisure activities," said Shumilov who was obviously dissatisfied with Mr Putin's answer.
Aslanbek Khushtov from Nalchik, who won a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the Beijing Summer Olympics, was the only athlete who was able to ask a question to Mr Putin live.
Mr Khushtov wanted to know about the development of junior-league sports in Russia. "I am quite satisfied with the Prime Minister's interested reaction," Mr Khushtov told Izvestia after the question-and-answer session. "His detailed reply on reinstating the Zolotaya Shaiba (Golden Puck) and Kozhany Myach (Leather Ball) hockey and football tournaments and other team sports events and on spending sizeable budgetary allocations on junior-league sports makes one hope that new world and Olympic champions will emerge in Russia," Mr Khushtov said. "Most importantly, teenagers will leave the streets for stadiums and gyms and will be exercising for their own benefit and ultimately for the benefit of their country," Khushtov added.
Ninety minutes after the session began , employees of Maisky state farm in the Tatarstan Republic also had a chance to talk to Mr Putin.
Dressed in a white gown, agronomist Lyusana Zakhvatova said she was worried that their farm could not sell its fresh and environmentally friendly vegetables at local stores. The Prime Minister calmed her down saying the Government was taking action to curb food imports. Ms Zakhvatova seemed satisfied with his answer.
Farmer Vladimir Apakov told the Prime Minister that he was concerned about those low agricultural-produce prices and the lack of government assistance for farmers. Mr Apakov also had a satisfied look, after Mr Putin discussed price disparity with him.
Rossia TV Channel correspondent Yevgeny Rozhkov said this was an interesting and packed dialogue, but that the live session did not last very long.
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Words, words, words
The most popular words, "Russia" and "Russian," were mentioned 84 times.
The words "crisis" and "critical" were mentioned 32 times.
The word "pension" and its derivatives were mentioned 38 times.
The word "justice," "stability," "stabilisation," and "security" were mentioned nine, five and four times, respectively.