Vladimir Putin's Annual Address to Federal Assembly and What We Can Expect

Russia's President Vladimir Putin will address the Federal Assembly with a message about the situation in the country and the domestic and foreign policy agenda on 21 February, with the speech broadcast live by leading federal television channels.

Delivered at noon from the historic Gostiny Dvor venue in Moscow, near Red Square, the annual presidential address to Russia’s lawmakers, ministers and other high-ranking officials is the first since April 2021. In 2022, when Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on 24 February, the event - enshrined in Russia’s constitution - did not take place.

At the time, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov cited President Putin’s tight business schedule as the reason. At the end of the year, Vladimir Putin himself also offered clarification on why the address was cancelled, saying that the “dynamics of events were very high and it was difficult to record results and specific plans for the near future at a specific moment in time.” Putin had indicated that the presidential address would probably take place at the start of 2023.

According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the President will place special emphasis on the "current situation" and a number of topics related to Russia’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine. The address comes on the eve of the anniversary of Moscow's launching the operation to liberate the Donbass region, where the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been suffering under a barrage of escalating attacks from the Kiev regime.

The operation aimed at "demilitarizing" and "de-Nazifying" Ukraine, according to Peskov, “influences our life in one way or another, influences the life on the continent.”

In the months that followed the launch of the operation, the US and its NATO allies proceeded to pump up Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in arms and training assistance, while unleashing a load of self-destructive sanctions against Russia.

“Therefore, of course, it would be reasonable to expect that the President will pay a lot of attention to the operation," the spokesman stated earlier. He added that everyone was “waiting for the address”, hoping to hear “an assessment of the current state of affairs, the ongoing special military operation, the international situation and the President’s vision of how we manage it and how we will develop in the future."

According to Peskov, President Putin may elaborate on the main direction taken by the country’s economy, which has withstood the onslaught of restrictive measures resorted to by the so-called collective West. Furthermore, the President is expected to weigh in on how the country’s defense capabilities and security are being ensured, as Washington continues its proxy war with Russia, beefing up the Kiev authorities with an endless array of weapons.

In line with tradition, Vladimir Putin is expected to expound upon the measures of social support to Russian citizens, including those that live in the newly integrated regions. The Donbass republics and the pro-Russian administrations in Zaporozhye and Kherson held referendums on their status in September, 2022, acceding into the Russian Federation after an overwhelming majority of residents in each territory voted in favor of doing so. At the time, President Putin underscored that the people had "made their unequivocal choice", adding that "the people living in Lugansk and Donetsk, in Kherson and Zaporozhye" were now Russian citizens.

The approximate time format for the Presidential Address, to be shown live on federal TV stations, is about one hour. However, as the Kremlin spokesman Peskov told journalists, this was only a "formality," and Vladimir Putin may speak longer than that. This was the case with the speech in April 2021, when the address lasted 1 hour and 19 minutes.

The longest such speech was in March, 2018 which lasted 1 hour and 55 minutes.

As a rule, the format of the Presidential Address presupposes the invitation of lawmakers and senators, members of the government, high-ranking employees from the ranks of the presidential administration, heads of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Constitutional and Supreme Courts, heads of regions, as well as heads of the main religions.

Peskov earlier told journalists that bearing in mind the specifics of the present situation, a "new category" of guests would be in attendance. When asked whether participants of the special military operation will attend the event, he replied: "We can certainly say that they will be invited."

The Kremlin has decided to invite only Russian journalists and those from friendly countries, Peskov said, with foreign reporters from unfriendly states not accredited, but welcome to watch "the live broadcast on a TV channel of their choosing".