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  1. 15:23 p.m. — Putin concludes his annual news conference to applause. This year's presser ran for 3 hours and 20 minutes, making it more than 45 minutes shorter than last year's event.
  3. 15:15 p.m. — Putin says the head of state is responsible for everything that happens in the country, while noting it is too early to start thinking about the 2018 presidential election.
  4. Overall, he believes the government does a good job saying: "These are difficult times, but overall our policy is right. Our economy will get diversified and oil prices will go back up."
  5. 15:14 p.m. — A more direct question follows, with Putin asked: Do you think you have a personal responsibility for the current state of the economy?
  7. 15:10 p.m. — Putin is asked about the rehabilitation of Crimean Tatars, answering that it will take a long time to achieve results. A special program is being developed that will give social benefits to repressed peoples across Russia, including Chechens and Crimean Tatars.
  8. 15:07 p.m. — Putin says he will take last three questions.
  9. 15:03 p.m. — The shale oil projects in the U.S. demand a higher oil price, so current oil prices are likely to go back up, Putin says.
  10. 15:02 p.m. — Putin says Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin is an "effective" manager, adding he has no plans to fire him. "Sechin works properly and effectively," Putin says.
  13. 15:00 p.m. — The press conference is nearing a duration of three hours and is expected to last at least another hour.
  14. 14:57 p.m. — So far, the main statement that Putin has made on the economy is his prediction the current economic crisis will last two years and his pledge that Russia will not give up its confrontation with the West despite the economic hardship.
  16. 14:50 p.m. — Putin dismisses a question about his popularity saying he has more important issues to attend to than his popularity ratings.
  17. 14:46 p.m. — Putin's invitation to Yevtushenkov to attend a meeting at the Kremlin with the country's top businessmen seems to be the president's boldest outreach to the financial market so far — the oil tycoon's arrest was one of the biggest shocks to the market this year.
  18. 14:43 p.m. — Russia won't ban the import of foreign-made cars as the plunge of the ruble has already made them more expensive, Putin says.
  19. 14:33 p.m. — Answering a question on neighboring Georgia, Putin says Russia has practically no contacts within the Georgian government, so little can be done to improve relations between the two countries.
  21. 14:28 p.m. — A journalist from the Financial Times asks Putin about oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov and oil firm Bashneft — will the decision to nationalize the company mean that the results of privatization can be revoked? Putin says no, Bashneft is a special case.
  22. 14:27 p.m. — Putin takes a question from China's Xinhua news agency on the state of Russian-Chinese relations. He says Russia's main goal is to diversify the economic relations between Moscow and Beijing.
  23. 14:18 p.m. - The hall breaks into laughter following a question from a man who says the Russian drink kvas is better than Coca Cola.
  25. 14:08 p.m. — As he has shown before, Putin likes to take questions from those living and working in the Russian regions. His spokesman Peskov prefers to select questions from the major media outlets.
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