Putin to make first annual address of new term

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin Wednesday makes the first annual address to the nation of his new Kremlin term where he is expected to stake out Russia's strategic priorities at a time of unprecedented challenge to his rule.

Putin's state-of-the-nation speech to the Federal Assembly of both houses of parliament comes one year after disputed parliamentary elections sparked the first mass street protests against his domination of Russia.

The Russian strongman in May returned to the Kremlin for a third term as president following his four-year stint as prime minister, with activists complaining he swiftly struck back with a tough crackdown on civil society.

The text of Putin's speech has been kept secret but aides have indicated he will set out the priorities for Russia's development for his entire mandate, which is due to last to 2018.

"The address contains a range of new initiatives in the sphere of the economic and political development of the country and a number of tasks for the government to carry out," said Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov.

It will contain a "vision for the development of Russia in the next years," he added, quoted by the Interfax news agency.

Ivanov said the speech would also extend to promoting questions of national unity and "great attention will be given to moral and spiritual values."

The speech in the Kremlin will begin at 0800 GMT and is expected to last around one hour.

Putin will also look at ways of stemming Russia's capital flight, which has seen $61 billion net capital outflows from the country so far this year, the Vedomosti daily said, quoting Kremlin sources.

Since Putin returned to the Kremlin in May, parliament has rushed through a range of laws damned as repressive measures by activists, including forcing foreign-funded NGOs to register as foreign agents and tightening treason legislation.

The West has also condemned the jailing of the anti-Putin feminist punk band Pussy Riot for performing a song against him in a Moscow cathedral, as well as the prolonged detention of a dozen opposition demonstrators accused of violent behaviour in a rally ahead of his inauguration.