Russian President Vladimir Putin Delivers New Year Address to the Nation

The Russian leader recorded his traditional end-of-year speech, wishing happy holidays to his compatriots and listing the most important changes and challenges that the country faced in 2022.

Dear citizens of Russia! Dear friends!

2022 draws to a close. It was a year of difficult but necessary decisions and important steps towards attaining full sovereignty for Russia and consolidating Russian society.

It was a year that put many things in place. It separated bravery and heroism from treachery and cowardice.

It showed that there is no greater force than love for your family, loyalty to your friends, comrades and to your motherland. It was a year of truly pivotal, fateful events that lay the foundations of our collective future, of our true independence.

This is what we are fighting for today. We defend our people who live on our historic lands as new regions of the Russian Federation. We build and create together. The fate of Russia is what matters the most.

The defense of our motherland is our sacred duty to our forefathers and ancestors.

Moral and historic correctness is on our side.

The outgoing year brought massive fundamental changes for our country and for the world. It was full of upheavals, worries and turmoil.

People walk down the stairs at the Savur-Mogyla war memorial complex with a bas-relief of Vladimir Zhoga, leader of the Sparta Battalion rebel military group in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), seen in the background, as Russia's military operation in Ukraine continues, near the city of Snezhnoe, Donetsk People's Republic
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But just like during all the troubled times in Russia’s history, our multinational people showed bravery and supported the defenders of the motherland, our soldiers and officers, all participants of the special military operation, with words and actions.

We have always known, and today we once again confirm it, that the sovereign, independent future of Russia depends on us, on our strength and our will.

For years, western elites hypocritically assured us that their intentions are peaceful, including their attempts to resolve the difficult conflict in Donbass.

Meanwhile, they encouraged the neo-Nazis who continued to perpetrate military and openly terrorist actions against the civilians in the people’s republics of Donbass.

The West lied about peace while preparing for aggression, and today, it openly admits it.

The West cynically uses Ukraine and its people to weaken and divide Russia. But we never have and never will allow anyone to do that.

Russian soldiers, militiamen and volunteers now fight for their native land, for truth and justice, for ensuring the guarantees of peace and safety for Russia.

All of them are our heroes. Their lot is the hardest today.

I sincerely wish a happy New Year to all participants of the special military operation: those who are here with me today; those who are at the frontline and those who undergo training before heading into battle; those who are having their injuries treated at hospitals and those who already returned home after fulfilling their duty; everyone who is on standby duty at the strategic military units, and all personnel of the Russian Armed Forces.

Russian serviceman is seen in the southern sector in the course of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, at the unknown location
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Dear comrades, thank you for your valiant service.

All our vast country is proud of your resilience, bravery and willpower. Millions of people are with you in heart and spirit.

And during the New Year's Eve celebrations, toasts will be raised in your honor.

Many thanks to all those who help our soldiers in the field: to drivers and train operators who transport supplies to the front, to doctors and medics who treat wounded soldiers and civilians.

I thank the workers and engineers of our armament factories and other industrial facilities who work tirelessly, and the construction workers who erect civilian structures and defensive positions and help rebuild the ruined cities and villages of Donbass and Novorossya.

Dear friends!

Since the events in Crimea in 2014, Russia lives under western sanctions. But this year, a veritable sanctions war was declared upon us.

Those who initiated this war expected a total collapse of our industry, finances and transport. But that did not happen because of the "safety margin" that all of us helped create together.

Everything we did and everything we do in that area is aimed at reinforcing our sovereignty in the most important sphere – the economy.

And our fight for ourselves, for our interests and for our future certainly serves as an inspiring example for other countries in their aspirations towards a just, multipolar world order.

I believe it is important that in the outgoing year, qualities like mercy, solidarity and compassion became especially significant among our people.

A Russian serviceman guards the area of Mariupol, Donetsk People's Republic.
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More and more people feel the urge to help others. They unite voluntarily, without any formal directives.

I want to thank you for your attentiveness, responsibility and kind-heartedness, for how you, people of different ages and levels of well-being, actively join the common cause. For how you set up warehouses and secure transport to deliver shipments to our troops in the combat zone, to the suffering residents of cities and villages there.

For how you help organize vacations for the children from the newest regions of the Russian Federation.

You, my dear, provide tremendous support for the families of the fallen soldiers. They gave up their lives while protecting others.

I understand how hard it is for their wives, sons, daughters and parents who raised true heroes.

We will do our utmost to help the families of our fallen comrades, to help raise their children and to give them decent education, to help them obtain a profession.

I sincerely share your pain and I ask you to accept my sincere words of support. Dear friends, even during the most difficult times our country celebrated the coming of a New Year.

It always remained our favorite holiday and it always had a magical ability to help people discover their best qualities, to multiply the importance of traditional family values, the energy of generosity, benevolence and trust.

While celebrating New Year's Eve, everyone seeks to make their kin happy, to give them attention and emotional warmth. To gift them what they always desired, to see delight in the eyes of the children and to feel the gratitude of our parents and our elders. They know how to treasure these nuggets of happiness.

A general view shows the St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin's Spasskaya Tower on a sunny autumn day, in Moscow, Russia
©Sputnik / Alexei Danichev

Friends! This is the best moment to leave all personal grudges and misunderstandings in the past. To tell the people dearest to you of your feelings, of love, of how important it is to always care for one another.

Let these heartfelt words and noble feelings give us all the spiritual strength and confidence that we will overcome all obstacles and preserve our country as great and independent. We will go only forward and prevail for the sake of our families and for Russia, for the future of our only and beloved motherland.

Happy New Year to you, dear friends! Happy new 2023!

Russia's Special Military Operation in Ukraine: How It is Progressing - 30.12.2022

Putin: Russia Won't Give Up Under Pressure, Must Fight

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Russia does not yield to foreign pressure and will fight for its interests as long as it takes, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday.

"Russia was simply put before this line. Either give it all up or fight. But as long as we have people like you and the guys who are next to you, of course, we can give up nothing. (We) must only fight. Only [go] forward. Carefully. Calmly," he said speaking with soldiers of the southern military district.

During his meeting with soldiers, Putin also noted that there is still much space for improvement, including development and production of loitering ammunition, precision weapons and means of communication.

Additionally, the president stated that armed combat was inevitable under present circumstances, however, the active support of the people was essential and Russia could not live without it. Putin also urged soldiers to take care of themselves, if possible.

Putin visited the headquarters of the Southern Military District this morning where he talked to commanders and presented banners to army corps, including from Donetsk and Lugansk, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that the president also presented awards to servicemen who showed courage and heroism during the special military operation.

Putin Awards Commander of Russian Forces in Ukraine With High Military Award

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday presented a state award to Sergei Surovikin, the general in charge of Russia's military operation in Ukraine.

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Surovikin was awarded the Order of St. George, third class, for his courage, bravery and dedication. Mikhail Teplinsky, commander of the Russian Airborne Troops, also received a high military award from the Russian President.

On October 8, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed Surovikin as the commander of the Russian Joint Group of Forces in the zone of a special military operation.

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, following calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. In response, Western countries and their allies have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and ramped up their financial and military support of Kiev.

Highlights of Putin's New Year's speech:

It is noted that last year was a year of important events that laid the foundation for Russia's future and independence.

He stated that the truth is on the side of Russia, which protects its people in its historical area.

I remind you that for years Western elites have been convinced of their peaceful intentions, including in Donbass, but are actually supporting neo-Nazis.

Thank you to the special ops participants for their grit and courage: millions of people are with you in heart and soul.

Express belief that Russia will overcome all difficulties, keep the country great and independent.

The Russian MoD’s briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

• Russian Forces eliminated more than 50 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as destroyed two armored combat vehicles and three pick-up trucks near Kupyansk;



• Russian servicemen eliminated up to 140 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed five tanks, seven armored combat vehicles and four pick-up trucks near Krasny Liman;



• Russian troops eliminated more than 80 Ukrainian servicemen, as well as destroyed two armored carriers, four armored vehicles and three pick-up trucks near Donetsk;



• The Russian Army eliminated up to 50 Ukrainian troops, as well as destroyed three infantry combat vehicles, two armored combat vehicles and five pick-up trucks in the Zaporozhye region;



• Russian Forces hit 75 Ukrainian artillery units at their firing positions;



• The Russian Army destroyed five US-made AN/TPQ- 50 radar stations in the DPR;



• Russian troops destroyed two Ukrainian artillery ammunition depots in the DPR and in the Zaporozhye region;



• Russian Forces destroyed four US-made M777 artillery systems in the DPR;



• The Russian Army destroyed a Czech-made "Dana" self-propelled howitzer in the LPR;



• Russian Air Forces shot down two Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters in the DPR;



• Russian air defenses destroyed Ukrainian UAVs

Scholar: USSR Would Still Exist Today, if Not for Gorbachev's Failed Reforms

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On December 30, 2022, the world marked the100th anniversary of the establishment of the Soviet Union. For some people, the first socialist state was the bane of their existence, while for others it was a glimmer of hope for a better future, an image of humankind united in peace and equality.

Sputnik discussed the ups and downs of the USSR with Geoffrey Roberts, professor of history at University College Cork, Ireland, a leading scholar on Soviet diplomatic and military history. The researcher elaborated on the main principles of the Soviet state and its deep impact on the global history.

Sputnik: The USSR was intended to be "a voluntary association of peoples with equal rights," one that would guarantee the "peaceful coexistence and fraternal cooperation of peoples" while serving as "a faithful bulwark against world capitalism." How did the formation of the USSR change world politics and diplomacy for the next 70 years?

Geoffrey Roberts: You have to remember that the USSR was formed with a view to the spread of revolution from Russia to other countries. The Bolsheviks expected other revolutionary states to join the USSR and that eventually there would be a global socialist federation that would replace the system of sovereign states.

The Russian revolution remained isolated but the Bolsheviks did not abandon their global socialist aspirations. They adapted to peaceful coexistence with the capitalist world but continued to support socialist movements in other countries.

The Bolsheviks were internationalist socialists. Frombeginning to end the USSR championed the struggle for peace and liberation from imperialist oppression.

For more than seven decades it stood as radical, socialist alternative to western capitalism.

Sputnik: What was absolutely new that the USSR managed to introduce, both for its own people and abroad?

Geoffrey Roberts: It was the world’s first socialist country, a system based on public ownership, state planning, social welfare and egalitarianism. It showed that such a system was not utopian but a practical possibility; indeed, at times the Soviet system threatened to economically outperform even the most advanced capitalist countries.

Certainly, the Bolsheviks succeeded in building a world industrial power, one that defeated Nazi Germany and then fought the United States to a standstill during the cold war. A system that created the military, economic, scientific, technical and cultural power that underpins the strength of contemporary Russia.

Of course, the Soviet socialist system was highly flawed: it was bureaucratic, repressive and often corrupt. One should never forget the millions of innocent people who fell victim to Stalin’s fanatical determination to defend communist power from those he saw as its enemies.

Even so, the USSR inspired a great deal of idealism and popular support throughout its existence. Tens of millions of people around the globe look back on Soviet socialism with nostalgia. Even those like me, who were socialist critics of system's authoritarianism and lack of democracy have to admit that it had many virtues as well as vices.

Sputnik: Do you believe the core idea of such a state was viable? Was it somehow ahead of its time?

Geoffrey Roberts: The USSR had two core ideas: socialism and multinationalism. This was a highly viable combination and the USSR would still exist today had it not been the destabilizing impact of Mikhail Gorbachev's economic and political reforms in the late 1980s. Gorbachev aimed to revitalize and democratize the Soviet system but his failed reforms opened the door to nationalists and liberals who wanted to collapse communism and fragment the multinational USSR.

As a multinational state, the USSR has been described as an 'affirmative action empire' – which sought to end Russian ethnic oppression and domination of minority nations and establish harmonious relations between the state’s different nations and ethnic groups.

As internationalists the Bolsheviks, were implacably opposed to nationalism – which they saw as a distraction from class struggle and progress towards communism. But they were willing to countenance and encourage cultural nationalism – the expression of national identity – as long as it didn't threaten communist party rule and was compatible with the values of socialism. At the same time, they sought to foster a common Soviet identity, a patriotism that encompassed people of all nations and ethnicities.

The disintegration of the USSR has served to obscure the success of the Bolsheviks and their communist successors in creating a common Soviet identity. Not long before the USSR collapsed, Gorbachev staged a referendum on the continuation of a multinational Soviet state – a goal that was endorsed by the great majority of voters.

Another measure of the deep roots of Soviet patriotism is its continuation in contemporary Russia. As a multinational state, the Russian Federation is the direct successor of the USSR – a Russia that is headed by a President – Vladimir Putin – who continues to promote citizenship and patriotism as the foundation of the system, albeit one that is also conservative and capitalist.

Sputnik: Was the collapse of the USSR inevitable?

Geoffrey Roberts: Not at all. It is probably true to say that by the early 1990s the Soviet communist system was doomed – the best prospect being its gradual replacement by a mixed economy similar to the social democracy of, say, Scandinavia.

The disintegration of the Soviet state system was another matter. The USSR didn't just fall apart; it was broken up by Boris Yeltsin and other local leaders who utilised local nationalist movements as part of their power grab. Interestingly, while Yeltsin unleashed the forces of Russian ethnic nationalism and then pursed the so-called shock economic therapy of the 1990s – the spirit of multinational Soviet patriotism prevailed in post-Soviet Russia.

It is one of the most striking features of the conduct of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, though there are strong ultra-nationalist elements who would like the war to transform into some kind of nationalist-ethnic struggle.

Putin: West Uses Ukrainian People to Divide and Weaken Russia, We Won't Allow That

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Russia has been conducting a special military operation in Ukraine since February 24.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Moscow will not allow the West to use Ukrainian people in order to weaken Russia.

“The West is using the people of Ukraine to split Russia and weaken it; we will never let it happen,” Putin said during his New Year address to the nation on Saturday.

He also stressed that “moral, historical rightness” is on Russia’s side.

The remarks come after the Russian president pointed out last week that Russia is open to a dialogue with all the sides on the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, but that they have so far refused to negotiate.

"The policies of our geopolitical opponents, aimed at splitting up Russia, are at the roots of the Ukrainian conflict,” Putin said.

Referring to Moscow’s ongoing special operation in Ukraine, Putin underscored that Russia is doing the right thing there.

“I think we are acting in the right direction: we are protecting our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people. And we just have no choice but to protect our citizens,” he said.

This was preceded by Putin emphasizing earlier this month that “the only real guarantor of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in its current borders could be Russia.”

The military operation Russia launched in Ukraine in February took place only because Moscow was left with no other option to resolve the crisis in Donbass, he added, noting how the ensuing situation was used to fan anti-Russian sentiment throughout the world.

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, in order to defend the people of the Donbass republics, who had been suffering from Ukrainian attacks. Shortly afterwards, the Western countries started rolling out sanction packages against Russia and providing Kiev with military and financial aid. Moscow criticized the flow of weapons into Ukraine from Western nations, warning that it only aggravates the conflict.

Putin: Russia Doing Everything to End Ukraine Crisis, But Kiev Seeks to Reach Goals by Means of War

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday spoke with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan's city of Samarkand.

President Vladimir Putin told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Russia is doing everything to end the Ukraine crisis as soon as possible, as the Russian and Indian leaders met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan's city of Samarkand.

"I know your position on the conflict in Ukraine…the concerns that you have repeatedly expressed... We will do everything to ensure that this all stops as quickly as possible… However, Kiev refuses negotiations,” Putin told Modi, adding that the Ukrainian government is intent on reaching its goals by means of war.

"Nevertheless, we will always keep you informed of what is happening there,” Vladimir Putin added.

Ahead of the meeting with Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi described Russia as a critical energy partner and vowed to explore the "huge potential in this area that remains untapped."

Earlier this week, Russia's ambassador to India, Denis Alipov, said the two countries were "very motivated" to ensure that the defense cooperation between the two strategic partners is "uninterrupted" by the Ukraine crisis. He pointed to the fact that India has maintained its stance of neutrality on the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and has continued active trade and military cooperation with Russia, despite Western criticism.

Polisi Berlakukan Car Free Night Arah Jakarta Menuju Puncak

Satlantas Polres Bogor berlakukan Car Free Night jalur Puncak.

Satlantas Polres Bogor menutup Jalur Puncak dari arah Tol Jagorawi, Sabtu, 31/12/2022, pukul 18.00 WIB. Pengendara yang hendak menuju Puncak dari Jakarta via Tol Jagorawi diarahkan melewati Ciawi.

Meski begitu, Jalur Puncak baru akan benar-benar ditutup pada pukul 22.00 WIB di mana tidak boleh ada pengendara menuju ke arah Puncak untuk mencegah penumpukan kendaraan.

“Malam ini Jalur Puncak diberlakukan Car Free Night. Dari jam 6 sore ini, kendaraan dari arah Tol Jagorawi yang mau melintasi Puncak diarahkan lewat Ciawi. Masih boleh naik, sampai jam 10 malam,” kata Direktur Regident Korlantas Polri, Brigjen Pol Yusri Yunus.

Menurutnya, masyarakat yang hendak menuju kawasan Puncak agar mengatur waktu perjalanannya, agar tidak perlu mencari jalan lain, saat penutupan total diterapkan mulai pukul 22.00 WIB.

Sementara Kasat Lantas Polres Bogor, AKP Dicky Pranata menjelaskan, penutupan jalan hanya berlaku untuk kendaraan menuju kawasan Puncak. Sementara kendaraan menuju arah Jakarta, tetap diperbolehkan melintas.

“Sepeda motor pun tetap diperbolehkan melintas. Jalur-jalur alternatif tetap dapat dipergunakan. Namun, mulai pukul 22.00 WIB Jalur Puncak steril dari kendaraan yang menuju ke atas,” tegas Dicky.

Bagi kendaraan yang hendak menuju Cianjur atau Bandung, akan diarahkan melalui jalur alternatif Jonggol atau Sukabumi.

Breaking : Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI Dies

©Vladimir Rodionov/TASS

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has passed away at the age of 95, Director of the Holy See Press Office Matteo Bruni said on Saturday.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the Bavarian-born theologian whose conservative Roman Catholicism earned him the nickname “God’s Rottweiler” and who shocked his flock by suddenly resigning the papacy after just eight years, died Saturday, the Vatican said.

His death was announced in Rome on Dec. 31. His funeral Mass will be held on Jan. 5, 2023, in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican said.

The Vatican press office director, Matteo Bruni, said Dec. 31: “With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican.”

Benedict XVI’s body will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica beginning on Jan. 2, 2023.

Bruni told journalists in a news briefing Dec. 31 that Benedict received the sacrament of anointing of the sick on Dec. 28.

The solemn funeral Mass will be on Jan. 5, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, with Pope Francis presiding.

“In accordance with the wish of the pope emeritus, the funeral will be carried out under the sign of simplicity,” Bruni said.

You can watch EWTN’s live coverage of Benedict’s death from Rome here.

Born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, he was elected to the papacy in April 2005, taking the name Benedict XVI, after decades of service to the Catholic Church as a theologian, prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, cardinal, and one of the closest collaborators of St. John Paul II, whom he succeeded as pope.

On Feb. 11, 2013, the 85-year-old Benedict shocked the world with a Latin-language announcement of his retirement, becoming the first pope in 600 years to do so. He cited his advanced age and his lack of strength as unsuitable to the exercise of his office.

Widely recognized as one of the Catholic Church's top theologians, Benedict’s pontificate was marked by a profound understanding of the challenges to the Church in the face of growing ideological aggression, not least from an increasingly secular Western mindset, both within and outside the Church. He famously warned about the “dictatorship of relativism” in a homily just before the conclave in 2005 that elected him pope.

Born in a small village in Bavaria called Marktl am Inn on April 16, 1927, the future pope grew up in a region of Germany long known as a stronghold of Marian devotion and piety. He was the third and youngest child of Joseph and Maria Ratzinger.

His youth in the nearby Bavarian town of Traunstein was overshadowed by the rise of the Nazi party, a regime he called “sinister” and that “banished God and thus became impervious to anything true and good.”

After a brief forced conscription of two months into the German army at the end of the Second World War, Ratzinger and his older brother, Georg, resumed their studies for the priesthood, first in Freising and then in Munich.

Ordained a priest with his brother on June 29, 1951, Ratzinger finished his doctoral studies in theology and became a university teacher and vice president at the prestigious University of Regensburg in Bavaria. His reputation as an intellectual prompted an invitation to serve as an expert, or peritus, at the Second Vatican Council from Cardinal Joseph Frings, the archbishop of Cologne. He rapidly distinguished himself as an eminent theologian.

In 1977, Pope Paul VI named him archbishop of Munich and Freising and, later that same year, gave him the cardinal’s red hat.

Just four years later, in 1981, Pope John Paul II appointed Ratzinger as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the department of the Vatican dedicated to promoting and defending the teachings of the Catholic faith. He held the post until the death of John Paul II in 2005.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called Benedict a “giant of faith and reason” that history will never forget. Olaf Scholz, chancellor of his native Germany, said Benedict was a “formative figure of the Catholic Church.”

Benedict took the title pope emeritus and continued to wear the papal white. But he returned the Ring of the Fisherman, which traditionally is ceremonially destroyed with a blow from a hammer after a pope dies. And he asked that he be addressed as Father Benedict.

The former pope also maintained a cordial relationship with Francis. Both men were beaming when they embraced Dec. 8, 2015, before opening the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica to mark the start of the Catholic Holy Year, or Jubilee. In June 2016, Francis kissed Benedict on both cheeks to help celebrate the 65th anniversary of the former pope’s ordination.

Over a series of conversations, Benedict, played by Anthony Hopkins, confesses that he can no longer hear God’s words and his belief that perhaps Bergoglio should succeed him as the only man who might be able to shatter the Vatican bureaucracy and reform the institution.

Change is needed, Benedict says, but “change is compromising,” and he is incapable of compromising. “For my entire life, I have been alone, but never lonely, until now,” he says.