Putin to address the Federal Assembly on April 25

At 12:00 Monday April 25, President Vladimir Putin will make his annual state of the nation address to the parliament, reports his press service.

It will be Putin's sixth address on the situation in the country and guidelines of the foreign and domestic policy delivered in accordance with Article 84 of the Constitution.

The ceremony will be attended by members of the two houses of the parliament, cabinet members, chairs of the Constitutional, Supreme and Supreme Arbitration courts, the Prosecutor General, the chairs of the Central Election Commission and the Audit Chamber, members of the State Council and heads of the main religions.

The address usually lasts about an hour. The 2004 address, made on May 26, was the first of Putin's second term. He set the goals of higher living standards; a safe, free and comfortable life; a mature democracy and developed civil society; stronger positions of Russia in the world; and, most importantly, a substantial growth in the people's incomes.

The president also noted that the economic improvement, political stability and the strengthening of the state had a favorable effect on Russia's international standing and called for gearing foreign policy to the goals and possibilities of the new stage in the country's development. One of the key social tasks was "to provide accessible housing to the people."

The address is usually delivered in the Marble Hall of the Kremlin lined with white marble. The essence of the address is kept secret until its delivery.