By Galina Korol and AFP | 2023-12-28

MOSCOW/KYIV -- Russian President Vladimir Putin in his annual televised news conference sought to reassure his nation's populace by pledging "victory" in Ukraine despite mounting questions about domestic problems.

Putin's choreographed call-in show on December 14 -- "Direct Line with Vladimir Putin" -- was cancelled last year as Moscow reeled from military failures, with Ukraine managing to repel the Kremlin's initial assault on Kyiv and then regaining territory in the east and south.

He reaffirmed the same military objectives that date back to the start of the invasion, insisting that Kyiv required "de-nazification and de-militarization," as well as adherence to neutrality as defined by the Kremlin.

But in contrast to Putin's bluster, the viewer-provided questions broadcast behind him told a different story at home.

Russian citizens submitted more than 2.8 million questions to Putin as part of the four-hour televised event, many of which appeared seemingly unfiltered on the screens of the grand conference hall.

It was unclear whether or not Putin saw them.

"No need to run for another term -- make way for the young!" one viewer said, sending his question by text.

"Who will be president after you?" another asked.

"Why is your reality different from ours?"

Another question read: "Vladimir Vladimirovich! When will we have a better life?"

Answering 67 pre-selected questions, Putin contended that Western sanctions and international isolation had done little to hurt Russia's economy or morale, two years into the offensive.

He laughed off a question about egg prices, which have risen 42.4% so far in 2023, according to the Kremlin.

"I just recently spoke with the minister of agriculture and asked him about the situation with eggs," Putin said.

"They say that everything with eggs is fine, to which I said, 'But our citizens are having problems.'"

Putin, however, ignored the more difficult questions, according to observers.

For example, the news conference completely ignored recent protests by drafted Russians' wives who want their husbands back.

"Putin understands that there won't be any good answers here and that no matter what he said on this topic, he would bolster his opposition within Russia and harden the stance of the dissatisfied, who are quite numerous [in Russia]," said Ihor Chalenko, a Ukrainian political scientist and director of the Center for Analysis and Strategies.

"His total apathy was really visible. That is, you get the impression he forced himself to do it, because it was technically necessary to gain this domestic 'popular' legitimacy in the run-up to Putin's elections March 17," Chalenko told Kontur.

'Manipulative'

"Direct Line with Putin" wholly failed as the Kremlin's principal annual media event, Chalenko said.

Putin notably did not offer a new approach to the war, did not describe how Russia intends to achieve victory in Ukraine and did not specify what a Russian victory would look like, the ISW assessment noted.

"This means that [Putin] has absolutely no strategy or sense of what to do within the country and no strategy for achieving any success in Ukraine," Vadym Triukhan, a Ukrainian diplomat and public figure, told Kontur.

"And he will employ his usual methods: throw manpower and bodies at the front, and engage in populism, manipulation [of the truth] and belt-tightening within Russia," Triukhan said.

The main purpose of Putin's speech at the event was to demonstrate that the Russian dictator is healthy and capable of effectively governing the country, according to Pawel Usow, director of the Center for Political Analysis and Prognosis in Warsaw.

"This was a year of serious challenges for him and, in fact, a year in which he demonstrated weakness, if we're talking about Prigozhin's mutiny," said Usow, referring to the brief uprising led in June by Wagner Group owner Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Prigozhin was killed in August in a plane crash.

"And Putin's behavior and his reaction [to the coup] ... were completely unexpected -- obvious weakness and fear. Wagner's unexpected actions essentially paralyzed the system."

"That's why some measures were also needed on the ideological front, to convey that Putin is more alive than everyone living, that he is capable of ruling, capable of responding to some challenges and messages from citizens," Usow told Kontur.

However, the lives of Russians are not a key priority for Putin and his system.

"People need to understand that all these speeches are absolutely manipulative in nature and have no real motivation other than to maintain Russia's aggressive course," said Usow.

A message to the West

Putin is preparing for a serious leap after the elections, said Triukhan, the Ukrainian diplomat.

On the one hand, Putin tried to lull Russians back to sleep with assurances that another draft will not happen, everything will be fine, the economy has survived all international sanctions, etc., said Triukhan.

On the other hand, Putin further threatened the West, he added.

"Between the lines, Putin actually repeated at his news conference what he first said in Munich," he said, referring to a 2007 speech when Putin made clear the Kremlin's unwillingness to accept its status as an outsider on the world stage.

"NATO, think tanks, and intelligence analysts need to work hard to figure out where he is planning a provocation," Triukhan said.

All this propaganda once again shows who the aggressor is, who the victim is, and that "for us [Ukrainians], the enemy is as undisguised as it possibly can be, and we understand how it thinks, what it is striving for," said Chalenko the political scientist.

"With the right diagnosis comes the correct treatment, and this is a signal today not only to Ukraine but also to our partners."