Ten questions for Vladimir Putin

Tomorrow, Vladimir Putin will appear on television for his yearly question-and-answer session with the public. The questions are carefully screened in advance, so don’t expect much drama. (Though some pretty weird tidbits can sometimes surface after the Western media does some digging into the questioners’ identities.) If you’d like to submit a question for him, you can use this online form (sorry, it’s in Russian).

Here are 10 questions that, in an ideal world, we would love to hear the enigmatic Russian prime minister answer.

1. Are you planning a return to the presidency?

2. The current president, Dmitry Medvedev, has been more vocal on matters of foreign policy lately. How much authority does he have to set policy?

3. It’s been reported that the Russian government has instructed state-run media outlets to downplay the severity of the economic crisis. Won’t this only make the public more angry when the crisis inevitably hits Main Street?

4.You said this week that it’s “unfair” that the prices of Russian securities are affected by global economic conditions. How do you intend to attract foreign investment without exposing Russian markets to risk?

5. Russia is planning major investments in military hardware, including six new aircraft carriers, eight nuclear submarines, new missiles to be based in the Kaliningrad enclave, and a new space base in Cuba. Will you be able to complete all of these projects in light of the economic downturn?

6. What steps are you planning to address the increasing violence in the North Caucasus?

7. After sending Russian troops into Georgia, you allegedly told Nicolas Sarkozy that you planned to hang Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili “by the balls.” Yet you eventually decided to pull Russian troops back and leave Saakashvili in power. What, or who, changed your mind?

8. If President Obama were to cancel plans for a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, what concessions would you be willing to make in return? Accepting NATO membership for Ukraine? Giving up support for Iran’s nuclear enrichment program?

9. Opinion polls show that you are overwhelmingly supported by the Russian public. Why do you still find it necessary jail opposition leaders and restrict the operations of civil society groups? Do you believe that you could be voted out under completely democratic conditions?

10. This past year, you shot a Siberian tiger and released an instructional judo video. What public displays of manliness do you have planned for 2009?

Photo: SERGEI KARPUKHIN/AFP/Getty Images