Russian journalist proposes during Putin’s annual press conference

20 Dec 2025 • 12:00 PM MYT
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A regional journalist proposed to his girlfriend live on air during Vladimir Putin’s marathon televised press conference in Moscow.

MOSCOW: A Russian journalist proposed to his girlfriend live on national television during President Vladimir Putin’s annual press conference.

Regional reporter Kirill Bazhanov seized his moment halfway through the hours-long televised event.

Dressed in a red bow tie, he held up a poster reading “I want to get married” to catch the president’s attention.

“I know that my girlfriend is watching the press conference now. Olechka, marry me!” Bazhanov said, drawing applause from the studio audience.

The conference is a forum Putin uses for major policy statements and domestic advice.

After an hour, hosts interrupted to announce that “Olechka” had said yes, prompting fresh cheers.

Putin did not respond to an invitation to the wedding but offered to organise a collection.

“Now we’ll pass the hat around and collect at least enough for the wedding,” he said. – AFP