This story is free to read.

Putin: Russian economy is on the road to recovery

FILE - In this Thursday, April 16, 2015 file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin, listens during an annual call-in show on Russian television "Conversation With Vladimir Putin" in Moscow, Russia. On the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s annual call-in show, the Kremlin has been sifting through more than a million questions from Russians across the country. Chief among concerns this year are the rising cost of utilities_ a perineal issue_ and the state of Russia’s roads, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, adding that photographs of pockmarked highways have come flooding in ahead of Thursday’s April 14, 2016 show. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, file) FILE - In this Thursday, April 16, 2015 file photo Russian President Vladimir Putin, listens during an annual call-in show on Russian television "Conversation With Vladimir Putin" in Moscow, Russia. On the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s annual call-in show, the Kremlin has been sifting through more than a million questions from Russians across the country. Chief among concerns this year are the rising cost of utilities_ a perineal issue_ and the state of Russia’s roads, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, adding that photographs of pockmarked highways have come flooding in ahead of Thursday’s April 14, 2016 show. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, file)

By Associated Press April 14, 2016 1 min read

MOSCOW (AP) – President Vladimir Putin says Russia’s agricultural production has risen even though its national economy has plunged into recession, and predicts that the economy will start growing next year.

Putin was speaking Thursday during his highly scripted marathon call-in TV show. The Russian leader uses the annual event to burnish his image as a strong leader who protects Russia from foreign threats and cares about people’s needs.

The first question came from a woman from the Siberian region of Omsk who asked about potholed roads. Putin replied the government needs to make sure that local officials don’t divert road construction funds to other needs.

Ahead of the show, Russians sent more than 1 million questions to Putin, ranging from economic troubles at home to the situation in Syria and Ukraine.