Russian President Vladimir Putin Holds Annual Press Conference, As Reported By Pravda.Ru

The Russian President answered questions for more than three hours; Russia's policies, political issues and "Sovietologists" were among the topics, wrote the Russian newspaper

On the same day U.S. President Bush gave his nationally televised State of the Union Message, Russia's President Vladimir Putin held a press conference in the Kremlin. The speech and question and answer session were open to Russian and foreign journalists, Pravda.ru reported in the English language version of its online newspaper.

Putin responded to one question that so-called specialists in history of the Soviet Union, which he referred to as "Sovietologists", were not going away even though the USSR no longer existed, according to Pravda.

The newspaper added, "As for the "Sovietologists" Putin was obviously talking about the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice."

Pravda went on to quote Putin as saying some of these individuals don't understand processes in Russia and other countries.

Russia's membership in the G-8, the eight most industrialized nations that hold an annual meeting, was defended by Putin, and the Russian President also talked about energy issues and Russia's economy, according to the Russian newspaper article.

The full article on President Putin's press conference can be accessed at Pravda.ru.