Vladimir Putin remains defiant on economy

Russian president Vladimir Putin tried to reassure Russians over the ailing economy and said the US wanted “vassals” rather than allies in his annual phone-in yesterday, but offered no new financial remedies and gave no ground over Ukraine.

For nearly four hours, the Russian leader fielded mostly tame questions from across the country on problems ranging from Iran’s disputed nuclear programme and the conflict in east Ukraine to the price of milk and the state of Russia’s roads.

In a live broadcast from a Moscow television studio, Putin burnished his image as the ‘father of the nation, offering help for a woman who wept over devastating forest fires in Siberia and for unpaid workers at a cosmodrome in the far east.