Support The Moscow Times!

Russian City Postpones Planned Power Cuts for Putin's Q&A Show

The western Russian city of Tver has postponed plans to cut power supplies to local residents for maintenance work, rescheduling blackouts to accommodate President Vladimir Putin's upcoming “direct line” live question-and-answer broadcast on April 14, the local energy utility said.

All power shutdowns that had been planned for Thursday will be bumped to Friday, TverGorElektro said in an online statement, adding that the power utility has also expanded the list of the city's districts that will be left without electricity on Wednesday.

The rescheduling is “due to the live broadcast of April 14, 2016 of the 'direct line' with President Vladimir Putin,” the statement on Tver energy utility's website read.

Putin is scheduled to answer Russians' questions on domestic and foreign-policy issues starting at noon on Thursday. It will be his 14th annual “direct line” program, which is traditionally broadcast on main state-run television networks and radio stations.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more