The address at Gostiny Dvor in central Moscow is taking place just over two weeks ahead of the presidential vote in Russia, in which Putin is running for reelection.
President Vladimir Putin has said that the West intends to do to Russia what it did to Ukraine and many other nations – turn it into a dying, failed state.
The Russian leader, who spoke in a keynote address on Thursday, at the Federal Assembly, a gathering of leading Russian officials and public figures, said the West, "which has colonial habits and is used to igniting national conflicts all over the world, has intentions that go beyond stalling our development."
“In place of Russia, they want a dependent, withering, dying space, where they can do whatever they want,” he added.
According to RT, Putin said the Russian people and their national unity in the face of foreign threats is what protects the nation.
"We will not allow anyone to interfere in our domestic affairs,” the president vowed.
The address at Gostiny Dvor in central Moscow is taking place just over two weeks ahead of the presidential vote in Russia, in which Putin is running for reelection.
The Kremlin typically doesn’t announce the exact issues which the speech is going to touch upon. Putin said earlier that “given the domestic political calendar,” it’ll be dedicated to setting tasks for the country for the next six years.
Approximately a thousand people have been invited to hear Putin’s message in person, including lawmakers from the State Duma and the Federation Council, government ministers, governors, religious leaders, foreign diplomats and journalists. Servicemen who have taken part in the fighting against the Ukrainian forces, are also among the guests, as in the previous year.
Putin predicted that despite all the efforts of the West to crush the country economically, Russia could soon surpass Japan to become the fourth-largest economy in the world.
“Today, Russia’s economy is the largest in Europe when it comes to GDP in terms of purchasing power parity and the fifth in the world. The pace and, most importantly, the quality of growth allows us to hope or even state that in the near future we will be able to take another step forward and join the four largest economic the powers of the world,” he said.
A shortage of qualified personnel and lack of domestic technology in some areas could lead to a slowdown in economic growth, the president noted, adding that the authorities will focus on eradicating those risks in the coming years
The BRICS countries are overtaking the G7 in terms of global GDP share in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, Putin said.
The BRICS share will increase to 36.6% by 2028, while that of the G7 will decrease to 27.8%, according to estimates provided by the president.
“But ten years ago, the situation was different,” Putin stated, noting that the BRICS countries surpassed the G7 in terms of GDP in PPP terms (31.5% versus 30.3%) in 2022, whereas back in 1992, the BRICS share was only around 16.5%.
Putin rejected claims by the US and its allies that Russia could launch an attack on Europe. “The West provoked the conflict in Ukraine, in the Middle East and in other regions of the world, and they continue to lie. Now, without any shame, they say that Russia supposedly intends to attack Europe. We here understand that it’s nonsense,” he stressed.
The Russian leader also reacted to recent reports in the American media that Russia is planning to deploy nuclear weapons in space, saying that those stories were “misinformation,” aimed at involving Russia in negotiations on US terms.
Some countries are destroying moral standards and pushing their peoples towards extinction, but “Russia chooses life,” Putin said.
“Russia has been and remains a stronghold of traditional values, and its choice is being shared by people around the globe, including in the West,” he insisted.
A large family should become the norm in Russia, the president said, adding that the country should aim to achieve sustainable growth in the birth rate in the next six years.
Moscow is ready for dialogue with Washington on strategic stability, but only if Russian interests are taken into account, Putin said.
“If you want to discuss the issues of security and stability that are important to the entire planet, then it’s necessary to do this in a complex manner, of course, with the inclusion of all the aspects that affect our national interests and affect… the security of Russia,” he stressed.
According to the president, the US is guilty of “hypocrisy” by proposing talks on strategic stability while at the same time trying to inflict a defeat on Russia.
Vladimir Putin, however, warned that the consequences of possible interventions in the Russian Federation would be much more tragic than in previous eras. “Attempts at a new intervention in Russia threaten a large-scale conflict with the use of nuclear weapons,” he said.
Putin announced plans to strengthen the Russian Armed Forces in the west of the country following the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO.
“Russian opponents must remember that it has weapons capable of hitting targets on their territory,” he said.
The capabilities of the Russian military have increased “multifold” amid the conflict with Ukraine, Putin said. “Our units are firmly holding the initiative. They’re steadily advancing in a number of operational directions, liberating new territories,” he added.