Russian City Screens Tucker Carlson’s Putin Interview for Free

Authorities in the Russian city of Vologda announced Tuesday that a local movie theater will screen U.S. conservative pundit Tucker Carlson's interview with President Vladimir Putin.

“This [interview] took place last week but it’s still being discussed all over the world,” Vologda Mayor Sergei Voropanov wrote on the messaging app Telegram.

“But not every Vologda resident had the chance to watch it online,” he added, announcing an early-morning matinee of Putin’s talk with Carlson on Wednesday.

Entry to the screening will be free, the mayor said.

Voropanov's announcement comes a day after the speaker of the southern Saratov region's legislative assembly proposed similar screenings in that region.

Carlson's interview, which premiered on Friday, was the first time Putin spoke one-on-one with a Western journalist since 2019.

During the interview, the Russian leader defended his decision to invade Ukraine, arguing that Moscow cannot be defeated on the battlefield, despite U.S., European and NATO assistance to Kyiv.

Since the interview's premiere last week, students at some Russian schools have been filmed watching the interview during class.