Larisa Viktorova
Russians phone Mr Putin: questions asked and answers received
Komsomolskaya Pravda traces stories of people who phoned President Vladimir Putin in past years
At noon today, the Head of Government will talk with Russians on live television
People who have been invited to the studio in Moscow's Gostiny Dvor have already been to Mr Putin's United Russia public reception offices. They will be asking him questions both as Prime Minister and party leader. Mr Putin will also answer questions put to him via telephone, on the Internet, and in text messages during direct link-ups with Russia's regions. Popular TV anchors Maria Sittel and Ernest Mackevicius will host the show.
A question to the Prime Minister can be asked anytime during the live programme (which is expected to last several hours) by phoning for free at 8-800-200-40-40, by sending a text message for free to 0-40-40, or also online at www.moskva-putinu.ru.
Two years ago, a resident of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, who wished to remain anonymous, complained to Mr Putin that his town of Bor was infested with drug peddlers.
"I will be sure to tell the anti-drug watchdog agency to look after your region and your town," Mr Putin promised.
The very next day, many drug-selling spots in the town were closed, the staff of law enforcement bodies was fired, and the district prosecutor resigned. But it was no victory.
"The drug pushers have merely moved to our district," say residents of a village 13 kilometers away from Bor. Time to phone the Prime Minister again!
"When will the state pay back what it owes servicemen?" asked Gennady Barakin, a retired colonel from the Samara Region.
"We will solve the problem before the year is out," the President promised.
We put in a call to Mr Barakin.
"The President fulfilled his promise, and I now have my money," he told the paper. "My reaching the President was a real godsend. Since then, my life has been quite orderly."
Marina Bondarenko, Principal of Sochi's School No. 65, complained to Mr Putin that her pupils had nowhere to play sports.
"Now our school can hire an additional four sports instructors on full pay and one at half the rate. Apart from volleyball, football and basketball, we also have groups for Thai boxing and tourism," Bondarenko said.
"I am wearing myself out going around to various officials. It has been two years that I have been trying, in vain, to get a country plot of land registered to my name," complained Vladimir Komelev, a resident of the Krasnodar Territory.
"I did not expect this, but all my problems were solved after I addressed Mr Putin," he told the paper. "It took a month for all papers to get collected. But in our district I am the only lucky one. All the others are still camping outside offices."
Prepared by Olga Knyazeva (Komsomolskaya Pravda - Nizhny Novgorod), Anna Shipilina (Komsomolskaya Pravda - Samara), and Vladimir Verbitsky and Valeria Ekomasova (Komsomolskaya Pravda - Krasnodar).