Russian President Vladimir Putin will not address the Russian parliament [Federal Assembly] in 2022, although the address traditionally happens at the end of the year, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed.
“The president will, obviously, not be addressing [the Federal Assembly] before the new year. <…> His schedule is very tight at the moment. Geographically, [the address] will happen next year. When it comes to the date, we will be the ones to clarify,” he said, as quoted by Radio Mayak.
Earlier today, the Kommersant newspaper reported that there would be no Federal Assembly address this year, citing sources. According to the newspaper, the Presidential Administration never started full-scale work on writing the address. It would be better for the president to address the parliament when the situation on the front line is clearer, the newspaper’s source shared.
On 15 December, US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) speculated that Putin had postponed his annual address to the Russian parliament because he is not certain of his ability to control the Russian information space amid growing criticism over Moscow’s invasion into Ukraine.
On 12 December, Peskov announced that Putin would not hold his annual end-of-the-year press conference in 2022.
Putin has been holding press conferences for journalists annually since 2001, the only exceptions being the years when Dmitry Medvedev was president. In November, RBC reported that the Kremlin was looking into possibly rescheduling the event to 2023.
