MOSCOW, March 1. /TASS/. Russia has firmly established itself as a democratic society following the path of freedom and independence, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in his annual State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on Thursday.

"It is at such turning moments that Russia has more than once proved its ability to develop, to carry out renewal, to reclaim new lands, build cities, achieve a breakthrough in outer space and make grandiose discoveries," Putin said.

"This continued thrust into the future and a blend of traditions and values ensured the continuity of our thousand-year-long history. We have been through large-scale and complicated transformations, we have coped with absolutely new and very complex economic and social challenges, preserved the unity of the country and firmly established ourselves as a democratic society following the path of freedom and independence."

Putin said that Russia had managed to achieve stability practically in all spheres of life, which was a critically important condition for our vast country, with its complex federative structure, diversity of cultures, memory of truly tectonic faults in history, and the hardest tests that befell the nation.