Like a galley slave

Russia is known for its bold, sweeping, intimidating, and ultimately pointless gestures. Presidential press conferences are no exception. On Thursday, Vladimir Putin met with over 1,300 reporters in the Round Hall of the Senate building in the Kremlin, and fielded an even 100 questions for a total of four hours and forty-five minutes.

Because my desk at the office faces the newsroom television, I got to catch almost every minute of it. Sure, no one would have mistaken the event for the Oxford Union, but just as a stunt it was remarkable. It would have turned George W. Bush into a weeping mess. No breaks, no notes. He met specific concerns with vague wonkishness, threw out glimpses of his uniquely coarse humor, and petulantly swatted away the handful of confrontational questions thrown at him by the western reporters who got to ask their questions.

The two things that stuck out most to me relate to how I imagine Putin's extensive spy-training must have helped him. First, he said an awful lot, but divulged incredibly little actual information. It is a real skill to be this glib. Second, just the sheer stamina of it. The lights, the attention, and to not so much as break a sweat. I actually wonder if they train for this kind of thing.

Anyway, my favorite quote was when Putin allowed his modest side to peek through...

"I can see no serious failures, I have achieved all my goals and fulfilled every task. We restored the fundamentals of the economy on a new market basis.I have nothing to be ashamed of before the citizens who twice voted for me... I have worked as hard as a galley slave in the past eight years."