Kremlin reveals Putin is “more worried than anyone else” ahead of annual press conference

"The person who is most worried, I think, is Mr. Putin because no president in the world has talked to reporters so much, in such a free way," Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, said in an interview with the channel.Rossiya-1aired on January 21, referring to President Vladimir Putin's annual marathon press conference.

According to Peskov, Mr. Putin's anxiety is not like that of the organizers or technical staff... He, like the Russian leader, sleeps very little the night before a press conference. Mr. Peskov is the moderator in marathon press conferences.

"There is no question that is difficult for President Putin," Mr Peskov added. "I find them annoying, but he easily solves any problem that is asked." Each meeting "has its own drama" because the questions are not announced in advance.

During a 2017 press conference that lasted three hours and 40 minutes, a Kiev reporter asked whether Russian soldiers had been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine. The room erupted in noise as the mostly Russian attendees chattered. President Putin asked for silence and retold the Ukrainian crisis to the Kiev reporter.

Mr Peskov also dismissed rumours that aides had prepared answers for Mr Putin. "That never happened, not even a little bit," he said. "The president improvises. He often mentions things that we would never think of informing him about."