Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting his traditional year-end news conference on Thursday.
A record-breaking number of journalists – 1,895 to be exact – have been accredited for this year’s conference. By comparison, last year’s event drew 1,702 reporters.
Regional media outlets traditionally submitted the longest list of accredited journalists. The list also includes reporters working for federal and foreign media.
This is Putin’s 15th annual press conference since 2001. The first such event drew more than 500 journalists.
Last year’s presidential news conference took place on December 20, lasting for three hours and 43 minutes. Putin fielded questions from 53 mass media outlets.
