Says the world is going through a transitional period, but Russia will continue to move on its own unique path. Praises Russian unity, strength, knowledge, and talent.
Says Russia and Russians must be bold and take the initiative. Says the next decade will be "a time of our victories." All stand as the national anthem plays. Speech over.
Wrap-up so far from our newsroom of Putin's state-of-the-nation speech today, which we live-blogged in this space earlier today.
Putin: Russia Has Developed Missiles To Evade Antimissile Systems
By RFE/RL
Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country has developed and successfully tested new nuclear weapons, including a nuclear-powered cruise missile and a nuclear-powered underwater drone, that would be immune, the Russian leader claimed, to enemy intercept.
In his annual address in Moscow on March 1, Putin said that the newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile Sarmat had an unlimited range and was capable of penetrating any antimissile system.
Using graphics and video, Putin said a new deep-water missile could be launched from submarines and target both aircraft carriers and coastal facilities and, he claimed, be impossible to track.
Putin said that a new strategic aircraft armed with cruise missiles had been successfully tested and was now in production.
CONTINUE READING
Grudinin Walks Out Of Second Debate
One day after the first debate among Putin's presidential challengers descended into chaos when Zhirinovsky called Sobchak a "whore" and Sobchak doused Zhirinovsky with a glass of water, the second debate featured the Communist candidate storming off the stage.
Putin's Full Remarks
We live-blogged the Putin address (see entries below) and soon we'll be providing an annotated transcript of the speech.
In the meantime, here's Current Time TV's video stream of the full 1-hour, 58-minute Putin speech. (This takes you to the beginning of the defense portion of the speech, but you can drag to any part of the address.)
'Listen To Us Now': Putin Unveils Weapons, Vows To Raise Living Standards In Fiery Annual Address
By RFE/RL
Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a new arsenal of nuclear-capable weapons, vowed to cut Russia's poverty rate in half, and make the country's economy one of the world’s mightiest during his annual state-of-the-nation address in Moscow on March 1.
Speaking before hundreds of top officials and lawmakers weeks ahead of the March 18 presidential election that he is expected to easily win, Putin struck a defiant tone as he set out his future goals and policies.
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- By Andy Heil
Putin Platform Emerges?
Our Current Time TV colleagues have the bullet-point rundown of Putin's pledges to Russians from today's speech, which in many ways served as a venue for the 18-year leader to spell out the election platform that he has otherwise failed to provide.
His pledges include increasing GDP by half by the mid-2020s, making Russia one of the world's five biggest economies; halving poverty in six years; boosting non-energy exports to $250 billion per year (from around $134 in 2017); raising life expectancy to 80 by 2030; devoting 4-5 percent of GDP in 2019-24; and more.
See the full Current Time list (in Russian) here.