President Vladimir Putin
has warned Russians of hard times and
urged self-reliance, in his annual
state of the nation address to parliament. Speaking to both chambers in the Kremlin, Mr Putin accused Western governments of seeking to raise a new iron curtain around Russia.
Russia has been hard-hit by falling oil prices and by Western sanctions imposed over its role in eastern Ukraine.
The government has warned that Russia will fall into recession next year.
Mr Putin accused foreign "enemies" of having supported the "Yugoslav scenario" for Russia, which would mean disintegration at the hands of separatists, but "we did not let it happen".
He expressed no regrets for annexing Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, saying the territory had a "sacred meaning" for Russia dating back to the early spread of Christianity.
Source:BBC
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