The Kremlin is planning to hold a large-scale rally-concert on February 22, presumably President Vladimir Putin will take part in it. This was told by three interlocutors of RBC. The event will be held at Luzhniki Stadium. One of the sources indicates that the rally will be a continuation of the President’s address to the Federal Assembly, which will take place on February 21.
Photo: Dmitry Azarov, Kommersant
According to one of the sources, this year the Kremlin wants to hold a message to the Federal Assembly as close as possible to the anniversary of the start of the military operation in Ukraine – February 24. The presidential address is planned to be held the day before the rally-concert – February 21, sources say.
At the same time, State Duma deputies Denis Parfyonov (KPRF) and Evgeny Moskvichev (United Russia) said earlier that the message to the Federal Assembly could take place on February 22, on the anniversary of the recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he “has nothing to say yet” about the concert at Luzhniki. According to sources, in addition to a rally-concert at the stadium, venues on military-patriotic themes can be organized, but a final decision has not yet been made.
On March 18, 2022, on the eighth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea, Vladimir Putin took part in a rally-concert in Luzhniki. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, more than 95 thousand people came to the stadium then . At that speech, Vladimir Putin said that the main goal of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine is to rid the Donbass “of genocide.”
Source: Komersant
