Meduza’s sources say Putin’s annual televised question-and-answer show likely being planned for June

Meduza has learned that the Russian authorities are likely planning to hold “Direct Line with Vladimir Putin,” the Russian president’s annual television question-and-answer program, in early June.

Moscow’s Gostiny Dvor convention center has canceled or postponed all of the events it had previously scheduled for early June, including Arch Moscow, an annual design and architecture convention. When the event’s organizers announced the change, they attributed it to “public necessity,” without revealing specifics.

Meduza’s sources, including some close to the Kremlin’s political bloc, noted that Gostiny Dvor is the traditional venue for “Direct Line,” and that it’s traditionally held in early June. However, the sources said that while the facility has likely been reserved already, “pre-prepared questions haven’t been collected yet, and there haven’t been instructions for the government.”

“Everything will depend on the situation on the front,” one source told Meduza.

At a press briefing on Friday, Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the exact dates for “Direct Line” haven’t been determined yet. When asked about the scheduling changes at Gostiny Dvor, Peskov told journalists to “ask the facility’s owner.”

“Direct Line” was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and again in 2022 against the backdrop of the full-scale war against Ukraine.