Vladimir Putin is set to hold a live television call-in show with the country's citizens in late November. And this time around, in accordance with the law on equal access to the media, United Russia will not be directly involved in the programme's preparations.
The news of the prime minister's intention to hold his eighth live video link-up with the people came from two party members who are familiar with the event's preparations. According to a government staff member, the programme, "A Conversation with Putin", is planned for Thursday, November 26. Last year's programme also took place on a Thursday, December 4.
Dmitry Peskov, the prime minister's press spokesman, confirmed that the programme was currently being prepared, though he didn't reveal the exact date. A source close to United Russia's leadership said that, just like a year ago, the live video-link was being prepared by VGTRK, with the live interactive programme to be broadcast by the TV channels Rossiya, Vesti, and Radio Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossii. The programme will visit eight cities (compared with last year's ten). The VGTRK spokesman declined to comment, though he did not deny that the company was in fact preparing the programme.
Audiences will be selected differently than they were in 2008, Peskov said. The regional public reception offices of United Russia's chairman, Vladimir Putin, will not be involved at all. As Mikhail Babich, chairman of United Russia's Commission for handling citizens' submission to Putin, explained, it will simply be the prime minister's phone-in programme, and the party's reception offices merely serve to provide information support by sending the prime minister information about the issues that are the most pressing in people's minds. A member of the same commission, Roman Antonov of Nizhniy Novgorod, indicated that the reception offices are already busy processing and transmitting the most frequently asked questions to the phone-in's organisers.
United Russia cannot be directly involved in the event because of a new presidential law that came into force this year, which held that all parties must have equal access to the airwaves: it applies to the media that are part of the VGTRK, a high-ranking member of United Russia maintains. The party will get a lot of air time in November even without Putin's three-hour programme: its congress in St Petersburg on November 21 will certainly get media coverage. Even in the absence of the law last year, the "Conversation with Vladimir Putin" led to a row. The CPRF demanded that the VGTRK give CPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov at least half of the air time "used up" by Putin. According to the Communist Party's lawyer, Vadim Solovyov, if the party theme is at all raised, the Communists will undoubtedly demand air time for Zyuganov again.
Putin will address all the most acute social and economic issues, Babich said. These include not only the consequences of the crisis, but also problems concerning economic development, modernisation and innovation. The fate of the mono-cities is sure to be discussed, as well. Another source informed Vedomosti that direct video links might be set up with Pikalyovo and Togliatti. Members of the Leningrad and Samara Regional administrations indicated that they had not heard anything about preparations for Putin's live phone-in show so far.
As the president's press secretary, Natalya Timakova, explained, Dmitry Medvedev is not considering such a format, since he has enough formats as it is, including regular addresses on state-sponsored TV channels.
The contributors to this article were Maxim Tovkailo, Kseniya
Boletskaya, Olga Morozova, Maria Buravtseva and Yelena Mangileva.
Natalya Glikina, Vera Kostenko