Vladimir Putin may be upset to discover that his hotly anticipated state-of-the-nation address delivered this morning in central Moscow was not quite as impactful as he would have hoped.
Almost one year to the day of his invasion of Ukraine, the despot took to the stage in Moscow before both of Russia’s houses of Parliament and a sea of military commanders, where he launched a marathon tirade against the West.
He spoke with passion and venom, but even the cream of the Kremlin crop couldn’t help but show signs of fatigue as top officials were seen yawning amid their president’s 115-minute-long rant.
Clips from Russian state media’s live coverage of the speech even appeared to show several audience members nodding off in their chairs as Putin continued to ramble for an hour and 45 minutes.
Then, as his speech finally concluded and the Russian national anthem began blaring from the speakers, many attendees were seen refusing to sing, wearing stone-faced expressions.
Russian…
