Putin will discuss his plans for the upcoming year with the Federal Assembly, the Kremlin announced on Tuesday.
Putin is very guaranteed to win a fifth term in the elections scheduled for March 15–17. The speech, airing on state television, will heavily focus on the conflict in Ukraine.
According to Russia’s constitution, the president “addresses the Federal Assembly with an annual report on the country’s situation and the main directions of the state’s domestic and foreign policy.”
Traditionally, during the speech, the head of state discusses his evaluation of the state of affairs in Russia and assigns responsibilities for the future. Putin delivered the annual speech in February 2023. It was the 18th for Putin and the 28th in Russia’s modern history.
Earlier in January, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia’s economy has reached the top spot in Europe and currently holds the fifth position globally in terms of purchasing power parity.
During a meeting with business people from Russia’s Far East, Putin asserted that, despite feeling strangled and pressured from all sides, we remain the largest economy in Europe. “After leaving Germany, we rose to the fifth rank in the world, behind China, the US, India, Japan, and Russia. We lead Europe in this regard,” he continued.