Putin's speech, April 21, 2021


 * ''See also: Belarusian coup plot

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual address to Russia’s Federal Assembly. It was speculated that Putin will announce changes to Russia's Ukraine policy, pending approval of an emergency session of the Federation Council to be held on April 23rd (although some, including patriotic opposition figures, were sceptical).

In the end, the speech was mostly on domestic issues, such as post-covid support for families and businesses, and various domestic projects and initiatives. While there were some foreign policy items, such as coups being unacceptable, changes in the posture were rather subtle, and desire to not burn the bridges was emphasized, while warning was given not to cross (not specified) red lines. It ended with briefly reporting on increased readiness of the armed forces.

Speculation

 * ''See also Talk # What will Putin say?


 * Zyuganov before an emergency meeting of the Federation Council allowed the introduction of troops into Donbass - Moskovskij Komsomolets, April 20, 2021
 * ''Earlier, the head of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, announced a meeting of the upper house of parliament for April 23, explaining that the instructions given by Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 21 during the announcement of the message would require "quick implementation."
 * ''[Boris] Vishnevsky explained that the Federation Council has only three operational powers - approval of a presidential decree on the introduction of martial law; approval of the presidential decree on the introduction of a state of emergency; resolving the issue of the possibility of using the Armed Forces outside the territory of the Russian Federation.
 * Critical hours: Putin prepares presidential decree - Russia at war again! - The leaked map of Ukraine (video) - WarNews 24|7, April 20, 2021

Analysis

 * ''See also World Cup offensive on Donbass # 2021


 * Vladimir Putin On Petty Tabaquis And International Issues - Moon of Alabama, April 21, 2021
 * Post Script to Vladimir Putin’s Address to the Nation on 21 April - Gilbert Doctorow, April 22, 2021
 * Unlearned History Lessons - Dmitry Medvedev, Sputnik, April 23, 2021
 * Putin rewrites the law of the geopolitical jungle - Pepe Escobar, The Saker Blog, April 23, 2021
 * TEXAS interprets Putin's speech - Russell Bentley, April 23, 2021

The Jungle Book characters

 * List of The Jungle Book characters
 * Sher Khan --tiger king- mentioned, positively
 * Tabaqui, -"dish-licking Dog", jackal-mentioned, negatively
 * Bandar-log, aka banderlogi (used to describe Ukrainian or Russian wrong-thinking masses), aka bandera /banderovtsy (Ukrainian 'nazi' followers of Stepan Bandera)---not mentioned, only Yanukovich is