MOSCOW, January 4. / TASS / Russian President Vladimir Putin in his work on the address to the Federal Assembly, scheduled for January 15, pays special attention to the issue of increasing the incomes of Russian citizens, he told TASS in an interview on Saturday.
"I'm getting ready for the address on January 15," said President Putin, however he did not disclose the contents of the speech, citing that it is still under development. "I can't say yet, there are no final decisions. There are options, but no final decisions have been made," he explained.
President Putin said that, in particular, he had in mind the "issues related to overcoming stagnation in areas of citizens' incomes, reducing the number of people living at the minimum wage, and overcoming poverty." "These decisions must take place," he said.
"We are concerned, I am very concerned about the stagnation in real incomes of the population," the President said.
The president’s address to the Federal Assembly is, as a rule, a regular annual speech by the head of state, as written in the Constitution as his duty. In it, the President outlines the main directions of the country's development and sets the corresponding tasks for the government and parliament. The text of the message is prepared over several weeks, and at the final stage by the president himself. Usually the contents of the document are not disclosed until the actual address.
Last time, President Putin spoke to the Federal Assembly was on February 20, 2019.