Russian President Vladimir Putin fielded 74 questions Thursday during his annual marathon call-in show on Russian TV.
Among the lighter moments of the nearly four-hour long question-and-answer session:
• Asked by an 11-year-old about his views on eating porridge for breakfast, Putin said, “I eat porridge with pleasure. Everyday.” Asked whether he was forced to eat it as a child, he answered: “I generally don’t do what I don’t want.”
• On what he would wish for if granted three wishes: "Do you remember there was a little song in Soviet times, 'No one will help us. Not God, not a tsar, not a hero.' We shouldn't rely on miracles. We have to work with our own hands, otherwise we will end up with nothing, just like in a famous Pushkin fairy tale."
• Asked if he preferred Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump as the next U.S. president, he said the individual doesn't matter as much as the need for Washington to abandon its "imperial ambitions." “It isn’t about specific people. If they (the U.S.) will maintain their false assumption of exceptionalism, then it means they will always demand a special place and special rights.”
• A 12-year-old girl asked which of his political adversaries he would save first if they were drowning — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. "If someone has decided to drown, it’s probably already impossible to save them anyway," he said. "Though of course we are ready to reach out a helping hand to any of our partners, if they want it.”
• On whether he ever swears in private: "Only at myself," adding: "Do I ever swear at subordinates? Yes, but again it’s because I’m angry at myself."
• He dodged a question on whether he plans to remarry, saying, according to Sputnik News: "I'm not sure if I should advertise my personal situation, it may change the currency exchange or price of oil!" he said. "I'm aware people want to know about my personal life but it's not really important. I may satisfy your curiosity in the future."
• On whether he takes imported medicine: "I try not to let it come to that. I work out..."
• On a re-election bid for 2018: "It's too early to say."
