Putin speech live: Watch Vladimir Putin's end-of-year press conference live

Watch Putin's annual press conference live and translated here

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014 (AP)

Today, Vladimir Putin will face questions from the global press and Russian public in his annual end-of-year press conference.

The hotly anticipated conference will start at 9am GMT and see the Russian President field questions on a number of domestic and global issues.

With the Russian economy facing massive problems and the Russian Rouble in free fall, much of the questioning is expected to revolve around the country’s economic struggles.

On Monday, Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said that the Russian economy was facing a “perfect storm” and expected the country's problems to last for years.

So far, Mr Putin has kept his cards close to his chest on the state of Russia’s faltering economy and people in Russia and around the the world will be listening intently to hear how the popular leader reacts to these questions.

The whole press conference can be watched in translated and in full on our live feed above.

Pictures courtesy of RT