Putin Will Not Deliver a Message to the Federal Assembly 0 8

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not deliver his annual message to the Federal Assembly in 2025, despite the obligations enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Preparations for this event are not underway, independent media outlet Faridaily reported on Thursday, November 6, citing three sources in the Russian government.

A press conference for Putin has already been scheduled for December, which will once again coincide with a "direct line," as it has for the past three years. Sources for Faridaily consider it unlikely that the Kremlin will hold another major event less than two months before the end of the year.

According to a source close to the Kremlin, another reason for the cancellation of the message may be that the administration of the head of the Kremlin "mostly focuses on the personal convenience of the president more than on formal requirements, even those enshrined in the Constitution. Putin is currently more concerned about the war and nuclear threats from the U.S. than about domestic issues," this source believes.

The message to the Federal Assembly was planned for February. The publication reminds that the announcement of Putin's 20th message to the Federal Assembly was initially scheduled for February but was postponed. According to Faridaily, the decision was related to Putin's hopes for a quick meeting with Donald Trump, who has returned to the presidency of the United States, and the preparations for it.

On November 6, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Vedomosti that Putin "has not decided" on the issue of the message to the Federal Assembly in 2025. Meanwhile, the president's obligation to address such a message annually is explicitly stated in Article 84 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. This event was also canceled in 2022 against the backdrop of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.