After a year-long break, Russian President Vladimir Putin will again hold his marathon year-end press conference on Thursday, broadcast live on state television.
Putin, who has been in power as prime minister or president since 2000, has held these media events most years. They sometimes last longer than four hours.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the meeting would begin at 10 a.m. local time (0800 GMT). The program is expected to last about three hours, but Peskov said there is no time limit.
Last December, Putin canceled the press conference for the first time in ten years. Kremlin watchers were convinced at the time that Putin was avoiding questions from international journalists while his army suffered a series of setbacks in Ukraine.
But nearly two years after launching his offensive, Putin may be sensing a resurgence in his fortunes. Ukraine's recent counteroffensive has failed to penetrate Russia's heavily entrenched lines and support from its allies is waning.
Putin confirms his candidacy for re-election
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What does Putin's press conference look like?
Putin, who recently announced he would run for another term as president in the March 2024 election, is using the show to portray himself as a problem solver.
Unlike Putin's last year-end press conferences, this time there was no official accreditation process and the Kremlin only invited selected journalists.
The press conference will be followed by a carefully choreographed call-in television program for ordinary Russians entitled “Direct Line to Vladimir Putin.”
Citizens who get the chance to ask Putin a question tend to focus on domestic issues, with healthcare, the economy and infrastructure being common topics.
More than one and a half million questions were submitted, Russian state media reported.
dh/rt (AFP, dpa)