MOSCOW, February 20. /TASS/. On February 21, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver his 18th Address to the Federal Assembly at the Gostiny Dvor venue in Moscow.
General information and background
The President’s Address to the Federal Assembly is an annual public speech by the head of state before both chambers of the parliament which assesses the country’s state of affairs and determines the main directions of domestic and foreign policy.
In Russia, this practice of addressing State Duma legislators and members of the Federation Council was introduced by President Boris Yeltsin: from 1994-1999 he spoke before the parliament six times (the first time being on February 24, 1994). Russian President Vladimir Putin has addressed the Federal Assembly 17 times: in 2000-2007, 2012-2016 and in 2018-2021 (the Address was not delivered in 2017 and in 2022). When Dmitry Medvedev was in office, he addressed the parliament four times from 2008-2011.
The longest address, lasting 1 hour and 55 minutes, was delivered by Putin in 2018 (here and below, the address is rounded to whole minutes - TASS). The shortest speeches were delivered by Putin in 2004 and 2005 (48 minutes).
On average, Vladimir Putin’s addresses last 1 hour and 8 minutes while Dmitry Medvedev’s - 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The content and form of the address are determined by the president and are not regulated by any legal acts.
Instructions on implementing addresses
The addresses are of an advisory nature and are not legal acts, however, in recent years they have become closer to legislative initiatives because they contain specific instructions from the head of state to the government.
Following the president’s address, the State Duma and the Federation Council approve decrees directed at the implementation of the tasks enshrined in the address and take into account its provisions when preparing legislative acts.
In 2005, following the Russian leader’s address to the Federal Assembly, a list of 15 tasks for the Russian government on the implementation of the presidential address was published for the first time. Over the next two years, instructions on the address’ implementation were published by the Russian government.
Since 2008, the head of state has been assigning tasks to the cabinet of ministers on a regular basis.
The highest number of instructions was issued in 2013 (57), and the fewest were in 2008 and 2018 (seven each). In 2021, following the address, the president approved an 18-point list of tasks.
Preparing texts
Since 2005, before delivering the address, the head of state has been holding meetings with the parliament’s leadership to discuss the main directions of foreign and domestic policy. Starting in 2006, such meetings have been attended by the leaders of executive power bodies and business representatives.
The text of the address is prepared over several months and its content is kept secret until the day of its delivery. Until 2014, the text was prepared by the staff of the Russian presidential administration and members of the government as well as the apparatus of the cabinet of ministers. Since 2015, these functions have been fully entrusted to the presidential administration.
Delivering the address
The president is giving the speech before members of both chambers of the parliament - the Russian State Duma and the Federation Council. This is the only occasion when the Constitution permits a joint session of both chambers.
The ceremony is also attended by members of the government, the leaders of the Constitutional and Supreme Courts, the Prosecutor General, the chair of the Election Committee, members of the Russian State Council, the Civic Chamber, the heads of main religious denominations, regional leaders, other high-ranking officials as well as media representatives. As a rule, about 1,000 guests are invited to the delivery of the address.
In 2019, Vladimir Putin addressed legislators and senators at Moscow’s Gostiny Dvor, and in 2020 and 2021, the address was delivered at the Manezh exhibition hall.