Putin to deliver state of the nation address on 21 February

Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver his annual Address to the Federal Assembly (Russian parliament) on 21 February, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced.

The Russian leader will speak in Moscow. In the speech, Putin will focus on the “current situation” particularly in the nation’s economy and social sphere.

“The work is starting now, the list of guests is in the works. There’s a traditional category of those invited but there will definitely be another category due to the current circumstances,” Peskov added.

Earlier, Russia’s state news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti reported that the address could be delivered on 20 or 21 February.

Putin last delivered his Address to the Federal Assembly in April 2021. The Russian president skipped this duty in 2022 despite the fact that he is mandated to address the parliament every year in office by the constitution.

TASS notes that the 2022 address never happened due to the fact that the situation was developing dynamically and it was difficult “to pinpoint results and draw specific plans for the near future at any given moment in time”.