'Red line' and 'tough response': what Putin promised and who threatened in his annual message

On April 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual address to the Federal Assembly and governors. It lasted an hour and a half and, as the politician himself said, was mainly devoted to the internal problems of Russia, writes "Present".

Photo: video frame YouTube / Channel One

Putin touched on the international topic only towards the end, announcing that a coup d’etat with the murder of Alexander Lukashenko was allegedly being planned in Belarus. In the same part, Putin threatened “asymmetrical responses” to those who “cross the red line in relation to Russia.”

What else did Putin talk about in his message? Present Tense identifies 10 main themes.

1. Accusations of a coup in Belarus and an attempt on Lukashenka's life

Putin supported the version of the FSB and Lukashenko himself that they allegedly planned to kill him, and said that a “real coup d’etat” was being prepared in Belarus.

“The practice of organizing coups d’etat and plans for political assassinations, including senior officials, well, this is too much. All boundaries have already been crossed. At the same time, it is typical that such egregious actions are not condemned by the collective West,” Putin said. – I repeat, you can treat the same Yanukovych in any way you like, who was also almost killed and removed from power through an armed coup. You can have different attitudes towards Lukashenko. But what if there was actually a coup attempt in Belarus? How many people in Belarus would have suffered?”

Putin also said that “a massive cyber attack was actually being prepared on Belarus” with the shutdown of infrastructure in Minsk.

As adds Air forceIn his message, Putin also recalled former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Rostov-on-Don in 2014 after the Euromaidan. He once again called the then events in Ukraine a coup d'etat and compared the situation with the recent report of an alleged coup attempt in Belarus.

“Even such egregious actions are not condemned by the so-called collective West; no one seems to notice,” Putin said. — The practice of organizing coups d'etat, planning political assassinations, including of senior officials, is too much. All boundaries have already been crossed.”

2. Threats of “asymmetrical responses” in international relations

Immediately after speaking about Belarus and Lukashenko, Putin moved on to international politics. He stated that “Russia does not want to burn bridges with anyone, but if someone intends to do this, then the Russian Federation will respond asymmetrically, quickly and harshly.”

“We really want to have good relations with all participants in international communication, including, by the way, those with whom we have not had good relations lately,” he said. “But if someone perceives our good intentions as indifference or weakness and intends to completely burn or even blow up these bridges, they should know that Russia’s response will be asymmetrical, fast and tough.”

“The organizers of any provocations against us will regret what they did as they have never regretted anything,” Putin said separately. “I hope no one is determined enough to cross the red line in relation to Russia.” And where it will take place, we will determine ourselves.”

Putin also remembered Kipling and his “Jungle Book” and compared the countries “bullying” Russia to the jackal Tabaqui, who revolves around the tiger Shere Khan.

“All sorts of small Tobaccos are spinning around them, just like around Shere Khan. Everything is like Kipling. They howl in order to appease their sovereign,” he figuratively described.

In recent months, relations between Russia and the West have become especially aggravated, recalls Air force.

On April 15, the United States introduced new sanctions in relation to the RF. Washington accused Russia of trying to undermine the holding of free and fair elections in the United States and its allies, as well as of harmful actions in American cyberspace.

Subsequently, a diplomatic war broke out between Russia and the Czech Republic. On April 18, Prague expelled 18 Russian diplomats from the country over suspicions of the involvement of Russian special services in an explosion at an ammunition depot in 2014. Russia responded symmetrically.

On the subject: Skripal poisoners blew up an ammunition depot in the Czech Republic: Prague expels Russian diplomats

Particular attention was focused on Putin's message because of Ukraine. It was expected that it was in this speech that the President of the Russian Federation would make it clear what his further actions would be. During the last month Russia systematically increased its military presence on the borders with Ukraine. The situation in Donbass as a whole has worsened, but Russia has so far ignored all the calls of Ukraine and the international community to stop the escalation.

3. Increase life expectancy

In his message, Putin demanded that the average life expectancy in Russia be 2030 years by 78. Currently, she is just over 72 years old, but statistically, women in Russia live much longer than men. Women live more than 77 years on average and men less than 68 years. Due to what the life expectancy will increase sharply in the future, the president did not explain.

4. Money for families

Putin announced several measures of material support for parents, including those who raise children alone.

He offered:

• pay parents sick leave for a child in the amount of 100%,
• from July 1, pay 5650 rubles for children from 8 to 16 years old who are brought up in single-parent families,
• pay from this year to parents of schoolchildren a one-time payment in the amount of 10 thousand rubles,
• to pay pregnant women who find themselves in difficult conditions - 6350 rubles a month.

Putin also proposed reforming Russia's alimony system and charging them directly from the parents' bank accounts, but did not explain when these measures would be introduced.

5. Money for resorts

Putin announced in his message to the Federal Assembly a “new national project in the field of tourism” and the development of several tourism clusters:

• Sheregesh ski resort,
• construction of a yacht resort in Balaklava Bay in Sevastopol,
• tourist projects in Altai,
• tourist projects in the Kaliningrad region,
• routes of the Golden Ring (Tarusa, Palekh, Murom, Gorokhovets, Tutaev, Borovsk),
• development of tourism in the Volga region,
• resorts of Crimea,
• Staraya Russa in the Novgorod region,
• Caucasian Mineral Waters with its pearl - Kislovodsk",
• “in general, Black Sea and Pacific resorts.”

Arkady Rotenberg, a businessman close to Putin, and a contractor for the construction of a bridge to the annexed Crimea, has a share or interest in several of the projects and regions listed by him.

6. Build an expressway in three years

Putin demanded that the Moscow-Kazan expressway be completed by 2024 and extended to Yekaterinburg using funds from the National Welfare Fund. Thus, according to him, “taking into account the existing Moscow-St. Petersburg route and the Central Ring Road, safe high-speed traffic will be ensured through the entire European part from the Baltic to the Urals.”

“We will allocate funds from the National Welfare Fund for supporting highways. “First of all, we need to speed up the already ongoing construction of the Moscow-Kazan expressway, and moreover, extend it to Yekaterinburg, complete this project in three years,” he said.

7. History textbooks

Putin separately noted that in Russia there are history textbooks “that do not mention the Battle of Stalingrad.”

“To this day, you know, I open some school textbooks and look with surprise at what is written there. As if it's not about us. Who writes, who misses such tutorials? - he said. – Everything is written there: about the second front...Only nothing is said about the Battle of Stalingrad. Sometimes it happens. Simply amazing!

Just 7 years ago, Putin called the assessments of the history of World War II, which were contained in a number of textbooks, “disgraceful.” “I’m not talking now about deliberately belittling the role of the Soviet people in the fight against fascism, there are even deeper things there. Just some ideological garbage. This is what we need to get rid of,” he demanded. The president did not explain whether his order seven years ago was ignored.

8. Return of “commissars” or those responsible for educational work to schools

Putin confirmed that “educators” will come to work in schools and will engage in ideological work with children and teenagers. Representatives of the Ministry of Education announced this in March as a reaction to mass protests in support of Navalny on January 23 and 31 and the participation of young people in them.

“Schools should also receive specialists who will become real assistants to class teachers, mentors and educators, and who will organize exciting, interesting projects for children at school,” Putin said. – It is very important that for young people, the fate and victories of our outstanding ancestors and, of course, contemporaries, their love for the Motherland, and the desire to make a personal contribution to its development serve as a guide in life. Children should have the opportunity in advanced formats to get acquainted with our national history and multinational culture, with our achievements in the field of science and technology, literature and art.”

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9. Gas networks

Putin separately stated in his message that “citizens, people” should not pay for connecting to gas networks - namely, for extending gas to the site on which the house is located. These costs, he said, should be borne by regional gas companies.

“Many Russian families live in settlements to which gas networks are already connected, but their houses still do not have access to gas, for reasons unknown to people! It seems like there is a pipe, but there is no gas in the household. I ask the government, together with the regions, to develop a clear plan for gasification of such households. People should not pay for gas supply directly to the border of a land plot in a populated area,” Putin said. After that, he named several regional gas companies that should take up this issue.

“Both Mosoblgaz and other organizations must understand what they must do, in what time frame and for what money,” Putin emphasized.

Consumers from different regions repeatedly and en masse complained about problems with gas connections during “direct lines” with Putin. But the president had never previously devoted time to this issue in his messages.

10. Sanctions for environmental damage to nature

Putin called for speeding up the adoption of a law that will financially punish enterprise owners for the environmental damage these enterprises have inflicted on nature. According to him, it was decided to make changes in the legislation after the recent accidents in Norilsk and other northern cities.

“What a different path threatens was shown by recent events in Norilsk, Usolye-Sibirskoye and some other places. We must not allow such environmental situations to arise again. I ask you to speed up the adoption of a law that will establish the financial responsibility of enterprise owners for the elimination of accumulated harm, for the reclamation of industrial sites... This approach is very simple, as it sounds: “If you make a profit at the expense of nature, clean up after yourself,” Putin said in his message.

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