- 13:15 p.m. - Putin concludes his State of the Nation address saying: "Difficulties create new opportunities. We are ready to confront and overcome them." Putin's speech is over, and the audience stands up for the Russian national anthem.
- 13:14 p.m. - Putin's 2014 speech is now officially longer than last year's, which was 70 minutes long.
- 13:13 p.m. - Putin says all citizens should get involved to help change Russia's course, but he does not mention any specific elections or institutions.
- These comments are peppered by abstractions such as "inclusion" "lack of indifference," and "unity."
Again, what is clear is that Putin's speech is directed at Russians at large, not at eager journalists and pundits. #putinspeech- 13:10 p.m. - Putin talks about education in schools and also about healthcare. But there is no mention of the recent protests carried out by healthcare workers in Moscow and the regions.
- 13:07 p.m. - Putin offers presidential grants to Russian students on the condition that they stay and work in Russia for some time after they graduate.
- He offers 5,000 grants of 20,000 rubles ($380) a month for the best students.
- 13:03 p.m. - Putin talks about the Winter Olympic Games that took place in Sochi this February. He thanks Russia's Olympians and Paralympians who helped Russia to top the medal tables in their respective games.
- 13:02 p.m. - Putin says the average life expectancy in Russia now exceeds 71 but that the country should be aiming to improve this to 74.
- He declares 2015 to be a year for fighting against cardiovascular diseases.
- 13:00 p.m. - Putin now talks about demographics, noting that a United Nations forecast that said Russia's population was in decline has not been fulfilled.
- "For two years in a row we have had natural population growth. With Crimea and Sevastopol, Russia's population will surpass 146 million this year," he says.
- 13:00 p.m. - "We all understand what we have to do, we just have to start doing it," Putin says. He also talks about engineering education.
- 12:56 p.m. - Assessing the speech so far, Putin appears to be arguing for greater state control and has not mentioned any possible political liberalization. The main message of the speech seems to be that Russia must mobilize itself in the face of grave challenges.
- 12:55 p.m. - Putin talks about Russia's state armaments program and state companies' budgets. He says that "key effectiveness indicators must be applied in all state-owned companies."
- 12:50 p.m. - Putin talks about excessive construction costs in Russia. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, sat in the front row and dressed in a red tie, watches on.
- 12:46 p.m. - Putin talks about import substitution and offers to create a coordination center within the government. The center will work on using local industries in large-scale projects.
- He says that “reasonable" import substitution is Russia's long-term priority.
- 12:44 p.m. - Putin takes pride in the fact that Russia's agricultural production grew "at a rate of 6 percent" this year. He thanks people in the industry for all their hard work.
- 12:43 p.m. - Putin says that inflation must be lowered to 4 percent, and issues a warning to those looking to profit from Russia's current economic plight.
- "The Central Bank must do everything to reduce speculative activity on the currency market," Putin says. "The government knows who these profiteers are. It is time to do something about them," he adds.
As seen on
themoscowtimes.com
