President Putin covered a range of key issues during his two-hour speech.
Here’s a quick recap. Let’s start with the main international issues:
Putin claimed that the West wanted to see a “dying” Russia – but it “miscalculated” because of the determination and unity of the Russian people
He warned that any deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would have “tragic” consequences
The Kremlin leader also claimed that a majority of Russians supported his full-scale invasion of Ukraine – now in its third year
And he warned that Western rhetoric threatened a “conflict with the use of nuclear arms and consequently the destruction of civilisation”
He added that Russia’s strategic nuclear weapons were “in full combat readiness”
But the bulk of Putin’s speech was dedicated to domestic issues:
He praised new Russian businesses that emerged after Western departures because of sanctions
He said digitalisation was key, stressing that high-speed internet should be available to everyone across the vast country
Putin also called for the “modernisation” of taxation in Russia for the purpose of “a fairer distribution of the tax burden”
And he also announced a number of environmental and climate projects
