Steve Rosenberg

So in the days leading up to a Putin press conference, I kind of shut myself off and I scribble down questions and then rewrite them.

We keep rewriting them.

think about every word in them, where I can say war, where I can't say war.

You have to think so hard about the phrasing of a question and practice it.

So, yeah, in December 2025, I was lucky I got a question.

And...

Yeah, I asked Vladimir Putin, how did he see the future of Russia?

Were there going to be more special military operations?

Was he going to continue to cut off the mobile internet for people?

That's happening a lot here.

Was the hunt for enemies, internal enemies and external enemies, going to continue?

Were critics of the authorities going to be prosecuted like they are now?

So I packed a lot into it, and I said, you know,

Basically, power is in your hands in this country.

So what kind of future are you going to build for your country?

And, yeah, he replied, a nine and a half minute reply.

And even though, obviously, one question at a press conference is not as good as an interview, you can still find out quite a lot about...

the Russian president, I think, from one response at a press conference.

He was clearly fueled by resentment of the West.

That comes through time and time again when he responds.