Putin makes webcast history

Moment of history: the webcast gets under way

President Vladimir Putin has made internet history by becoming the first Russian leader to take part in a live forum on the worldwide web.

The event, carried live on BBC News Online, was conducted by the BBC and two Russian websites, from inside the normally closely-guarded walls of the Kremlin.

Mr Putin delivered a warning over US plans for an anti-missile defensive shield, the so-called Son of Star Wars programme, which Washington says it needs to combat the threat from "rogue" states.

Thousands of internet users from around the world e-mailed their questions for the president.

The forum, which lasted nearly an hour, began with a question about the president's own internet use. Mr Putin said the internet was a "very promising" form of communication - and he was a regular user.

Kremlin aides believe the webcast will boost Mr Putin's image

Questions from BBC News Online readers were put to President Putin by correspondent Bridget Kendall, who says the event was an experiment for a leader normally well-shielded from the world inside his Kremlin apartments.

She and two Russian journalists, all armed with laptop computers, selected questions in turn - with no subject out of bounds. A relaxed-looking Mr Putin revealed aspects of his private life, as well as dealing with major political issues facing his administration.

The Russian Army was forced to rebut a challenge by international terrorists

Mr Putin on Chechnya

On the "star wars" question, Mr Putin said that if the US withdrew from the existing Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, it would jeopardise the whole international system of arms control.

He said Russia's ratification of the Start II treaty was based on the ABM treaty, and if one ceased to operate, the other would too.

The president insisted that he wanted to work with Europe and the US to determine the nature of the threat from the "rogue" states, and to overcome it together.

I hope very much that common sense will prevail

Mr Putin on his relationship with George W Bush

The first question posed by a News Online reader was from a US resident, Jonathan Jones of Texas, who wanted to know which was more important - democracy or law and order. Mr Putin pledged his commitment to democracy.

Questions over Russian policy in Chechnya came from Denmark and Switzerland.

Mr Putin insisted that Russian action in Chechnya had not been a war against the Chechen people, but against militants.

'Lack of understanding'

"The Russian Army was forced to rebut a challenge by international terrorists," he said, adding that some Chechens were in favour of Russian policy.

Terrorists compromised Chechnya and Islam by attacking neighbouring territory in Dagestan, he said, a pattern which was being repeated now in Kosovo and Macedonia.

Mr Putin said the webcast gave him the chance to deal with a "lack of understanding" in the west over what was happening in the Caucasus and Chechnya.

If I had the time, I would listen to Tchaikovsky and Schubert...I used to like French cinema a lot

Mr Putin on his hobbies

Mr Putin gave details of his daily routine - and music and film tastes - after a question from UK reader Scott Pack in Windsor.

Mr Putin revealed that he works out for around one-and-a-half hours every day - and stays at his desk until midnight.

In the rare moments he gets to relax, he listens to classical music - particularly Tchaikovsky and Schubert; reads Russian classical literature and books about Russian history; and used to love French cinema.

Citizens elected me - not my wife - she has a very difficult cross to bear

Mr Putin on his wife's public behaviour

He named his favourite western actor as the glamourous Austrian-born star Romy Schneider, who starred in a string of films until her death in 1982.

As the focus turned towards his domestic life, Mr Putin replied fairly sharply when asked about his wife's apparent shyness in public.

"Citizens elected me - not my wife. She has a very difficult cross to bear," he said.

The way they behaved in public was a personal issue for them, he added.

Freedom

Mr Putin did back calls for more women in Russian public life.

"The degree of freedom of society... determines the position of women in that society," he said.

Bridget Kendall says agreeing to the interview was something of a gamble for Kremlin aides, but they saw it as a chance to boost Mr Putin's image and show off Russia's hi-tech skills.

Mr Putin has been keen to develop the use of the Russian internet, which is still in its infancy.

His predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, had no computer in his office and nearly a quarter of all Russians have apparently never even heard of the internet.

Mr Putin, by contrast, used his website to boost his presidential campaign, and has made the official Russian Government website a source of government information instead of merely a list of names.

At the G8 summit in Okinawa last year, he surprised some world leaders by suggesting they communicate by e-mail.