Putin plans to skip annual year-end press conference in 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not hold the year-end press conference that took place annually in December for the past decade, reports the Interfax. The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press:

With regard to the large press conference, it’s true that it’s not going to happen before the New Year. At the same time, we expect the president to find an occasion for speaking with the journalists. He does this regularly — during his trips abroad, for example.

When asked whether the president might address the Federal Assembly before the end of the year, Peskov replied: “We have to check about the address. We’ll give clarifications later.”

• Putin has conducted regular press conferences since 2001. Since 2012, they have taken place annually in December. The only time the Russian president skipped his year-end media event was in 2005. They were also on hiatus in 2009–2011, while Putin was prime minister.
• Earlier, RBC reported on the uncertainty in the Kremlin about whether to host the president’s annual “hotline” for taking calls from ordinary Russians. The final decision, said RBC sources, would “take into account, among other things, the situation in the zone of the special military operation.”
• Since the start of Ukraine war, Dmitry Peskov said repeatedly that the president’s “hotline” would still take place, though its exact dates were uncertain. In August, Peskov said that it might be combined with the annual press-conference, as done in 2020, during the pandemic.

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