On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will once again answer questions from citizens in his annual, multi-hour, live television call-in show, “Direct Line With Vladimir Putin.” Many observers describe these shows as entirely fake, and “Direct Line” is indeed a highly staged and controlled event: Journalists have reported on this year’s preparations and the elaborate rehearsals that those selected to appear undergo.
Christine E. Evans is an associate professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and author of “Between Truth and Time: A History of Soviet Central Television” (Yale University Press, 2016).