Direct Line with the President of the Russian Federation has shown who will win the 2024 elections.
Vladimir Putin held another Direct Line on December 14, during which he spent four hours answering questions from Russians. This year it was combined with another traditional event – a large press conference that the president gives to representatives of the media.
Sharp-witted people joked that the new format essentially includes the New Year’s address of the head of state and even his message to the Federal Assembly, which is usually read out at the beginning of the year. There is some truth to this – the times are so hot some questions cannot wait.
Go for Odessa!
The main and most concerning topic, of course, is the Special Operation.
– A barrage of questions about the Special Military Operation. Everyone is interested, when will there be peace? – the host boldly took the bull by the horns.
– Peace will come when we achieve our goals. They do not change. The issue of denazification of Ukraine is relevant. If they don’t want to negotiate – well, then we are forced to apply other, military measures, – the president reacted.
As political analyst Dmitry Yelovsky explained GORUS, these words of Putin’s are the most important of everything said.
– There was and is no wavering, vacillation, or correction of goals, as some observers claim, – emphasized the expert.
It seems that Putin has “discovered” the Russian people. Their determination, sacrificial spirit. Mobilized guys, recruited last fall into the army, despite, as a rule, a considerable age, fight excellently. Among them, the president emphasized, there are 14 Heroes of Russia.
The achievements in recruiting volunteer contract soldiers are also impressive. There are already 486 thousand of them. The flow of men ready to defend the Motherland is not decreasing. One and a half thousand – a whole regiment – every day, meaningfully said the president. And he addressed the main concern of society: at the moment, there is no need for a new mobilization.
Much detail was given about the new regions of the Russian Federation. It is planned to allocate one trillion rubles annually for their development. Fortunately, despite the fact that the federal budget has already been compiled, additional revenues are expected. Plus, there is direct assistance within the framework of cooperation with sister regions.
The president’s political maneuver regarding the entire Black Sea region, the reminder that Odessa is a Russian city, convinces of the broad intentions of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The admission that he secretly visited Luhansk is intriguing. It turns out that Russians still don’t know everything.
The Direct Line and the large press conference with Vladimir Putin, kremlin.ru
The foreign policy block of questions went hand in hand with the Special Military Operation. The answers were in the context of Russia’s pivot to the East. The US and Europe have shown themselves to be bad partners, so we will cooperate with others. Putin’s refusal to give the floor to “The New York Times” was an eloquent gesture.
– First, Xinhua Agency, – he insisted, indicating what are now Moscow’s priorities.
– There are great successes on the diplomatic front in relation to China, the countries of the Middle East, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, – noted political scientist and economist Vasily Koltashov in an interview with “GoR.” – It’s getting harder in Europe and the USA, but we don’t depend much on them. Economic growth shows that the president’s team is coping. After Putin’s visit to the UAE, they announced that they would not trade in dollars. Now the entire structure of international trade settlements is changing. With China, we reached $200 billion in trade turnover, now the goal is $300 billion. The neighboring Kazakhstan trades with us very well.
It was felt that the relatively successful reorientation of the Russian economy to the east gives satisfaction to the president. Quite understandably, since the success of military actions depends on people, and they need to be paid. Salaries in the Special Military Operation zone are substantial – over 200,000.
For macroeconomists, the internal economic parameters sound like heavenly music. This year, the profits of enterprises increased by 24 %, real wages are expected to grow by about 8 % by the end of the year, and the real income of the population – by 5 %, unemployment has decreased to 2.9 % (a record in the country’s history).
As a result, life expectancy in 2023 is expected to be around 74 years. And this, as demographers know, is an integral – a composite indicator of success. “We should be more numerous, and we should be healthy,” – such a credo was once voiced by the president in the context of searching for a national idea. Have we finally reached that point?
Grief of the Opposition
– This Direct Line showed that the president is becoming a real national leader, – Vasily Koltashov continues. – Moreover, society doesn’t even request an alternative. On the contrary, among people, there is a desire for Putin to stay, manage the country, and solve problems in a very difficult historical situation. It’s not for nothing that social polls show 70% approving Putin’s nomination. Just a few years ago, there were only 33% of such, then this figure grew to 62%. Society is consolidating in the face of an existential threat. People feel that it’s about the survival of the country and the people.
It seems that a part of the people is even more radical than the president. Anyway, judging by the questions asked via SMS. They were displayed on a big screen. “Why was Chubais allowed to flee abroad? When will this practice stop?” “Why hasn’t the Yeltsin Center been closed yet?” “Why was Pugacheva allowed to enter?” “When will Ksenia Sobchak be deservedly punished?” “Why have traitor artists appeared on television again?”
Well, democracy is like that. People expect not only a piece of bread from a national leader but almost the creation of a SMERSH. And he, in a paternal way, just scolds the liberal intelligentsia that has got lost in the woods.
But there are those who are critical. “How can one move to Russia, which is portrayed on Channel One?” “Why does your reality differ from our reality?” “Why are eggs sold at a space price?” – such tough questions the head of state could freely transmit from the audience.
Putin answered 67 questions, kremlin.ru
Even from far-off America, former Zelensky adviser Alexei Arestovich shed a tear over Putin’s screen – uncomfortable questions from Russians. “And we are getting more and more immersed in [the movie] ‘Don’t Look Up,'” he rhetorically lamented. Well, it’s expensive to reforge such a nimble political player.
The peculiarity of the last dialogue with Russians is that Putin acted as a future presidential candidate. He announced this recently, at the suggestion of the military from the Special Military Operation zone. The president surely realized: the success of his fifth term depends on what impression he makes.
– During this Direct Line, technological tasks of the election campaign were being solved, – Dmitry Yelovsky pointed out. – The president directly spoke about individual elements of his future program. The announcement of additional measures of social support was made with an eye on Putin’s nuclear electorate. The main thing is that he patches up painful issues that have been worrying people for the last six months: rising prices, migration, abortions. He has already voiced his position in advance to avoid speculation on these topics later and not damage his rating.
It seems that Putin has nothing to worry about. He managed to start ahead of society learning the names of his competitors in the 2024 elections. Considering the three-day voting and Remote Electronic Voting (REV), the outcome promises to be overwhelming.
This special meeting was held by Putin as a candidate for presidency, kremlin.ru
According to Yelovsky, Putin’s competitors in the presidential elections will be representatives of parliamentary opposition parties. Most likely, these are Zyuganov from the Communist Party, Slutsky from the LDPR, and from the “New People,” either Nechaev or Davankov.
– I don’t think they are disheartened by the results of the Direct Line, – the political analyst believes. – Rather, they are carefully analyzing the president’s answers and identifying problem points that they can use in their pre-election rhetoric to win over at least a part of the voters.
Yelovsky is sure that there is no threat from the opposition to the “main candidate.” But they don’t set themselves such a task. Their goal is to strengthen the positions of their parties and their own within their organizations.
Vasily Koltashov is even more categorical:
– In my opinion, Putin’s election campaign is already over with this Direct Line. Everything else will be a kind of aftertaste. An element reflecting constitutional norms. Other candidates will put forward proposals. The healthiest, most interesting of them will be taken on board.
It seems that in the spring of next year, Russia will acquire the much-desired political stability for many by smoothly re-electing Putin for another six-year term. And then another. And then…
Let’s stop here for now. Considering the global turbulence, both six and twelve years are eternity. So Putin is with us now forever.
By Sergei Aksenov