During a televised debate on channel Rossiya 1, the debates' host, Dmitry Shchugorev, denied that Vladimir Putin ever mocked a man who called into the president's “direct line” question-and-answer program. Shchugorev was responding to an accusation made by Mikhail Kasyanov, an opposition leader and a former prime minister, who said Putin once asked a man why he needs a car, if there are no roads in his town.
Meduza: Russian TV insists Putin never laughed away a villager’s problems, but footage shows he totally did
Russian President Vladimir Putin
