During the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s summary press conference, TV host and TVRain journalist Kseniya Sobchak asked him a question, to which the Russian leader replied, addressing his press secretary Dmitry Peskov: “Why did you give her the floor?”
Sobchak mentioned the events in Grozny and asked Putin whether he would defend the citizens and their families in Chechnya, who were deemed guilty even before the trial, and whether he would burn their houses down. The journalist also mentioned the so-called ‘fifth estate’ to Putin, as well as the fake reports on Ukraine on Russian federal channels, and asked whether the President viewed the world as divided into ‘banderlogs and his associates.’
Putin replied to Sobchak’s question with a joke: he asked his press secretary Dmitry Peskov: “Why did you let her speak?”, to which the latter replied: “guilty.”
After which he granted a comment to Sobchak, formally distancing himself from the massacres in Chechnya.
However, Putin did not reply to the question about the fake reports on Russian federal channels.
The politician also tried to joke his way out of inciting animosity among Russian citizens, saying that it had been Kipling who’d come up with the banderlogs, and that nobody is oppressing the discontented in Russia, however, he did mention Valeriya and Kobzon’s “oppression” in Europe.
Also a reminder that during Putin’s press conference, the police arrested 20 oppositional journalists, who were not allowed to attend the President’s press conference.
My comparison makes a lot of sense too when you consider that Putin's actually brought paid pro-Putin Chechens to Ukraine to terrorize the people there.