Long before Putin takes the stage for his annual end-of-year news conference, the waiting begins outside.
Hundreds of journalists from across Russia and around the world line up for security checks to enter Gostiny Dvor, a vast exhibition complex just steps from the Kremlin and Red Square. Organizers say more than 700 media representatives are expected inside, adding to the long, slow-moving line outside.
A billboard in Moscow promotes Russian President Putin’s annual year-end televised phone-in and press conference. Ramil Sitdikov / Reuters
The process is deliberate. The line moves at a crawl along Varvarka Street, one of Moscow’s oldest thoroughfares.
On one side of the narrow street, small historic Russian churches rise close to the pavement, their golden domes catching the winter light. Church bells ring, their sound cutting through the low murmur of the crowd. Christmas lights glow above, strung along the streetlamps, incongruous against the heavy security presence that dominates the scene.
Patience is a necessity here.
Multiple layers of screening await every credentialed reporter, camera operator and producer before entry is granted. It’s a familiar ritual for those who have covered the Kremlin for years.
As always, the line itself offers a preview of what will unfold inside. Some journalists dress extravagantly, a longstanding tradition at this news conference, hoping to stand out in the packed hall and catch the president’s eye for a chance to ask a question.
Among them, a young reporter from a local television station in Nizhny Novgorod stands out unmistakably, wearing a traditional Russian headpiece paired with a bright red pantsuit.
Inside Gostiny Dvor, the questions will soon begin. Outside, on Varvarka Street, the waiting continues.