Putin promises brighter future as marathon phone-in takes gloomy turn

Russians turned to President Vladimir Putin with fears over squeezed incomes and civil liberties during a four-hour annual phone-in Thursday, but the longtime leader insisted a brighter future was ahead. The marathon event -- to which viewers this year submitted some two million questions online and via telephone -- came with Putin's approval ratings in decline. Putin claimed there was "no proof" of Russia's involvement.

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