Worried about potholes in Siberia? Just call Vladimir Putin's annual TV show

It's one way to get things done in Russia's notorious bureaucracy: call up the president directly. 

Yesterday, Vladimir Putin hosted his annual phone-in show, where he answered questions ranging from his romantic life, to the state of the country's economy. 

Russian-American freelance journalist Julia Ioffe tells As It Happens guest host Laura Lynch, "The questioners are very carefully screened. Often times the questions are scripted."

But, she says, "It does give the appearance of the great leader talking to the people."

And Putin always seems to have the perfect answer.

For example, when a caller from Omsk called to complain about badly-maintained roads, Putin promised quick action. Road crews were dispatched and fixed the problem before the four-hour call-in show was over.

"I think it is about showing Putin in this traditional role as the Russian Tsar, that he's the good Tsar, and that it's the people around him that are doing bad things," says Ioffe.

And the calls went far beyond potholes.

One caller asked Putin who he would save first if he saw Ukraine's president and Turkey's president drowning. 

According to the New York Times, Putin smiled and said, "If someone has already decided to drown, it's impossible to save them."

If you have a few hours to spare, you can watch the call in show in its entirety here:

One of the big concerns among the callers to Putin's show was the economy. He admitted that the Russian economy had shrunk, but predicted improvements in the coming years.

But even amid a struggling economy, and rising crime and corruption, Julia Ioffe says Putin's personal popularity has remained strong. 

"His approval numbers are very high, even when the Russian population disapproves of everybody else who runs that system."