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- Text messages criticizing Putin were displayed on-screen during his annual phone-in session.
- The texts criticized Putin, Kremlin propaganda, and issues like the rising costs of groceries.
- The annual phone-in session is thought to be carefully choreographed.
Text messages with rare criticisms of Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared behind him on a large screen during an annual televised phone-in on Thursday.
The event is framed as a question-and-answer session between Putin and the public but is typically carefully choreographed, making it unclear how the dissident messages snuck through.