MOSCOW — In a commanding, czar-like performance, Vladimir Putin held a live televised question-and-answer session Thursday which indicated once again that he considers himself Russia's leader, even though he now holds its No. 2 position.

During the three-hour chat, the widely popular prime minister tried to calm Russians' fears about the economy, said he is encouraged by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, and used crude language in a tirade against Georgia's president.

But above all Putin's annual Q&A session _ the first since he yielded the presidency to his protege Dmitry Medvedev in May _ signaled that he is still the one calling the shots in Russia.

By continuing a tradition that keeps him far more prominent than his own prime ministers ever were, Putin also fueled speculation about an early return to the presidency _ something he tried to downplay to reporters afterward.

"The next election is in 2012, and I think everyone in their own place should fulfill their own duties," Putin said. "There's no need to make a fuss about what will happen in 2012. We'll make it to that point and we'll see."

The Q&A broadcast _ Putin's seventh _ comes as Russia faces its worst economic trouble in a decade, threatening to undermine the increased prosperity and stability he oversaw during eight years as president.

The scope of the more than 60 questions Putin chose to answer _ ranging from bread-and-butter issues to global politics _ appeared to cast him as the best hope during tough times. Medvedev has kept a lower profile and has not held such call-in shows.

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Many of the more than 2 million questions submitted by e-mail or by phone dealt directly with growing unemployment, the ruble's sharp drop, rising inflation and mortgage markets grinding to a halt.

Average monthly salaries run around 18,000 rubles ($650); pensions are about 4,500 rubles ($165). Inflation, meanwhile, is set to reach 13 percent this year and the ruble has lost around 15 percent of its value against the dollar since January.

Putin pledged that the government would halt any drop in living standards and go forward with plans to increase public sector salaries and pensions.

"We have every opportunity to get through this difficult period with minimal problems," he said.

He assumed a fatherly demeanor at times as callers asked for help with personal problems _ like vassals before a czar _ and Putin was interrupted by applause more than 20 times.

When a girl from Siberia called to ask for a new holiday dress, Putin invited her to a Kremlin party. He told a widow who complained she lacked money to keep up her husband's gravestone that he would try to find funds for her. One parent asked Putin to help her son serve as a Kremlin honor guard.

Putin has encouraged a surge in national pride among Russians, many of whom yearn for the military and athletic might seen under the Soviet Union and many of whom share his distrust of the United States.

In the past, Putin himself has railed against Washington's policies, at one point comparing the United States to the Nazi Third Reich. On Thursday, he again put blame for the global economic problems squarely on the United States, saying it "contaminated all leading economies of the world with this crisis."

But asked whether he expected changes under the Obama administration, Putin indicated that Moscow is encouraged by what it sees as Obama's skepticism about the current administration's plans for U.S. missile defense sites in Europe, which Moscow calls a threat.

"We're hearing about the need to work with Russia, taking its interests into account. ... If it's not just words, if they are transformed into practical policy, we will respond accordingly, and our American partners will immediately feel that," Putin said.

He also has been scathing in his criticism of the United States for its longtime support for the former Soviet republic of Georgia, against which Russia fought a short war in August.

Putin put some of his renowned salty language on display to a caller who asked whether he would like to see Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili "hanged by one of his body parts."

"Why by just one part?" a smirking Putin said to laughter and applause.

Last month, a French magazine quoted Putin as saying that he wanted to have Saakashvili hanged by a part of his male anatomy _ comments that a spokesman later confirmed.

Putin also accused Saakashvili of starting the war with a bloodbath by attacking Russian-supported South Ossetia.

Wrapping up the session, Putin flipped through a folder of e-mails, rattling off answers and ending with one that asked what he loved most:

"Russia," he replied.