Questions to Putin are censored

AlArabiya English

People who ask President Putin questions during the annual end-of-the-year press conference are afraid of asking unpleasant questions, Putin’s former speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov says.   #Putin #Russia

Transcript

00:00Yeah, I'm just wondering, I mean, sometimes during these phone-ins, I'm told, although

00:04I don't understand what's being said, because I don't speak Russian, but people call in,

00:07they ask questions that can be sometimes a little bit uncomfortable for the president to answer.

00:14Do people remain cautious, however, about what they ask him, or do people feel quite free to

00:19ask him really anything they want? No, look, definitely Russia is not a free country now at

00:25all. Even 25 years ago, when it was pretty democratic, there was still the feeling of

00:33discipline, like, this is a national leader, you cannot feel free, feel at ease with him,

00:41he's not just like a chap or a pal or your classmate whom you can talk anything about.

00:50Of course, it was never like this. Everyone had the feeling that he's a big deal. And now,

00:59when we have a not-authoritarian, almost totalitarian state, you should understand

01:04what is happening in Russia. In this case, of course, everyone is afraid to say something

01:11which he wouldn't like.

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