Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold customary year-end presser

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday will hold the customary year-end news conference, his 15th since coming to power in 2001.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the President talked to ministers, deputy premiers and heads of federal agencies to get the most up-to-date information about the social and economic situation in the country, reports TASS News Agency.

A record-breaking number of journalists - 1,895 - have been accredited, compared to 1,702 who gathered for the event last year.

Regional media outlets traditionally submitted the longest list of accredited journalists.

The list also includes journalists working for federal and foreign media.

Putin's first news conference in 2001 drew more than 500 journalists. The number of journalists grew from about 700 in 2002 and in 2003 to as many as 1,364 in 2008.

Since 2001 Putin has held the major year-end news conference every year, except for the period of his premiership in May 2008 to 2012. He resumed the tradition after his election for a six-year term in 2012.

The 2001 conference was the shortest one (an hour and 35 minutes). The longest one in 2008 lasted for four hours and 40 minutes.

Last year's presidential news conference took place on December 20. It lasted for three hours and 43 minutes.

Putin responded to questions from 53 media outlets.