The Putin Show had love, poetry and bears

The interview that was promoted on state TV with a blockbuster trailer focused on world politics and Putin’s personal life

Bloomberg’s dedication to Russian President Vladimir Putin is titled, “Welcome to the Putin Show: Love, Poetry Bears” and the Daily Mail titled it “From Russia With Love”. The article refers to the show that lasted over three hours where Mr. Putin was bombarded with questions from 1,200 reporters. They asked everything, including off-beat topics.

* The economy: He said Russia’s economy would bounce back in two years and referred to the world’s need for energy increasing again, blaming “external factors” for the country’s economy and the ruble.
* Sanctions: He described sanctions against Russia as “illegitimate” and suggested that Saudi-Arabia and the US may have conspired to lower oil prices. He also said it was illogical to blame him for frosty relations with the West.
* Ukraine: He said he wants problems to be solved by political means.
* His future; He said it was too early to decide whether he would run for president in 2018.
* His love life: “All good, don’t worry,” he told a reporter. Last year, the president had divorced his wife Lyudmila after 30 years of marriage. He revealed he was in a relationship but refused to comment if Olympic gymnast Alina Kabayeva was the lucky lady.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was in good form and seemed to be enjoying himself throughout the interview. There was rhetoric but no new policies were announced.