Russians tune into Putin Q&A on TV

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russians have been deluging their president with questions in a unique television interview aimed at bringing him closer to the electorate.

Russians were able to pose questions to President Vladimir Putin via e-mail and phone during the run-up to the televised event on Monday, which featured live link-ups with 11 cities across the country.

An estimated 500,000 Russians had e-mailed questions ahead of the question-and-answer session, ITAR-Tass news agency said.

Presidential spokesman Alexei Gromov said two million people had called in with their questions, the Interfax news agency added.

It is the first time Putin has held such a large-scale direct interview with the Russian people.

Questions covered a range of subjects, from Russia's planned role in Europe and NATO to the raising of the Kursk, to everyday domestic issues such as electricity prices and the shortage of good housing.

But it was pensions which dominated the questions. About 70 percent of the questions posed were complaining about the low amounts paid to pensioners.

CNN Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty called it "classic Putin."

"Many people have not heard or seen him in this format. It is the first time he has done it," she said.

"He appeared as a man in command with a lot of information and facts and speaking directly to the people.

"There is enormous interest in everything Putin has to say. He is quick on his feet and talks like ordinary people. There is concrete information for people but it is also about how he looks on camera."

Dougherty added that Putin's press team has been working on his image with an eye on future elections.

Putin has only been in power for about a year but his team wants him to secure a second election.

The interview is part of the Kremlin's campaign to bring the popular but still-remote leader closer to the people.

"Putin has been learning very fast in how a democratic leader should talk to those who have elected him. He has been personal, asking them their name, what job they do, where they are from.

"This is one way of putting him in the public face."

The session was broadcast live on the RTR and ORT state television stations, as well as over the Mayak and Radio Rossii state radio networks.

Questions released by the television stations included queries on Putin's plans for integrating Russia into European institutions including NATO and the European Union.

Other questions included his predictions for the further course of the anti-terror campaign, and whether Russia intended "not in words, but in deeds" to defend ethnic Russians abroad.

One questioner wanted to know what Putin planned to do about the explosion in the number of street children in Russia, while another wanted to know who Putin thought would be willing to work as a teacher in a country where salaries are so low.

Still another asked when Russia would introduce tough measures against drug traffickers.

Some of the questions were friendlier though, such as, "Don't you think that in order for reforms to succeed, Russia needs at least 500 Putins?"

Also these: "Who picks out those wonderful neckties for you?" "What is your traditional New Year's toast?" "Do you ever suffer pangs of conscience?"

It is the first time Putin has undertaken such an event in his own country, though he shared a Q&A session at a Texas school alongside U.S. President George W. Bush during his visit earlier in the year.