Deng Xiao Pu and his team

Grigory Pasko, journalist

Recently in the Russian mass information media there appeared a publication, the main theme of which was – the rating of the broadcast “A Talk with Vladimir Putin”, which had been demonstrated to Russians on 5 December of this year. According to this rating, the teleconversation with the premier of the RF was watched by nearly half of the televiewers of Moscow. I don’t know how much this is when calculated as human individuals. But , in the opinion of the mass information media, these indicators bear witness that the popularity of mister Putin among the people remains high, while the significance of the format of his teleperformance is incomparably higher than for president Dmitry Medvedev.

Personally, I’m convinced: the ratings of both Putin, and of his protégé Medvedev – are purely a television phenomenon. Were there no television and newspapers, there would be no popularity for these television personalities.