Russian President Putin on the night of December 31 to January 1 will wish Russians a Happy New Year
Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin on the night of December 31 to January 1 will deliver New Year's greetings to the Russians.
Residents of Chukotka and Kamchatka were the first to see the congratulations. An hour later, at 16:00 Moscow time, the New Year will come on Sakhalin and Magadan, in another hour 2022 will be met by residents of the Khabarovsk Territory and the Jewish Autonomous Region.
On the eve of December 30, Putin wished the world leaders a Happy New Year and Merry Christmas. Congratulations from the Russian leader were received by the head of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, US President Joe Biden, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Great Britain Boris Johnson and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as the head of Moldova Maya Sandu, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.
Among the former leaders who received congratulations were former German Chancellors Angela Merkel and Gerhard Schroeder, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, 43rd US President George W. Bush, ex-Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, as well as former presidents of Armenia Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sargsyan.
Putin's plans for December 31
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that on December 31, Putin will have “an ordinary half-working day off.”
The president does not have any official or public events. Such a half-job non-working day of the president. By definition, the president cannot have a full day off
Dmitry PeskovRepresentative of the Kremlin
Putin will spend the New Year in the company of family and friends, but will partly work during the Christmas week, Peskov said. According to the presidential press secretary, the Russian leader rarely spends this time entirely as “New Year's holidays”, but he will rest for the first few days.
At the same time, Putin himself joked that he plans to “sit with loved ones, celebrate the New Year, listen to the president.”
The Russians admitted their desire to stay at home for the New Year
Earlier, a poll showed that about 65 percent of Russians do not plan to go anywhere for the New Year holidays. Only 10 percent of survey participants plan to travel around the country, and only two percent will travel abroad for the New Year.
65 percent of Russians plan to leave for the New Year holidays
In total, the majority of Russian residents (about 70 percent) are going to celebrate the New Year at home with their families. Moreover, the average age of the respondents is over 45 years old. Respondents aged 18 to 25 admitted that they will celebrate the holiday outside the home environment.
