A quarter century after assuming power, President Vladimir V. Putin told Russians in his New Year’s Eve address on Tuesday that their country was overcoming every challenge and moving forward.
But he did not say where Russia was going, even as it takes huge casualties in its war in Ukraine, struggles with rising inflation and absorbs diplomatic blows abroad.
Much of his short speech was characterized by omissions. While Mr. Putin on Tuesday honored the country’s “fighters and commanders,” he invoked Russians’ pride in defeating Nazism and declared 2025 “the year of the Defender of the Motherland,” he did not say who the country was fighting or why.
It was a conspicuous omission nearly three years after he decided to invade neighboring Ukraine. The war has claimed the lives of an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Russian soldiers, reshaped Russia’s economy and upended its place in the world.
Nor did Mr. Putin address inflation, the main concern of most ordinary Russians, or a host of other economic challenges. And while the speech was notable for marking 25 years since he took power in 1999 — an era in which he cemented his rule over Russia — it contained no hint of Mr. Putin’s vision for the country beyond the broadest platitudes.
“We are certain that everything will be fine,” he said.
Mr. Putin’s vague address on the eve of Russia’s main public holiday underlined the biggest contradiction of his wartime leadership: a drive to mobilize society and steel it for a prolonged conflict, while maintaining a sense of normalcy in everyday life.
Unlike his remarks in 2022, the first year of the invasion, his speech on Tuesday did not mention Ukraine, omitting even his usual euphemism for the war as a “special military operation.” He also didn’t mention President-elect Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Putin’s message of optimism and stability masked an uncertain outlook facing Russia in 2025, as well as a string of recent geopolitical setbacks that have shaken the country’s global status.
Russian forces have been gradually gaining territory in eastern Ukraine, but have thus far failed to achieve a breakthrough that could alter the contours of the war. Ukrainian forces remain in control of territory inside western Russia, nearly half a year after launching a surprise incursion there, a persistent embarrassment for Mr. Putin.
And Russia’s slow battlefield gains have come at the cost of staggering casualties, while the pace of recruitment for new soldiers is slowing despite offers of ever greater sign-up bonuses and other financial incentives. (Ukraine, too, faces major problems of replacing injured and killed troops.)
On the international stage, Mr. Putin has also suffered recent blows to his standing. He lost his biggest ally in the Middle East this year, with the sudden downfall of President Bashir al-Assad of Syria, weakening Russia’s influence across the region.
And just last week, a crash of a Russian-bound jet, operated by the state-owned Azerbaijan Airlines, is threatening to undermine the Kremlin’s relations with friendly former Soviet states that are crucial to Russia’s access to foreign goods.
President Ilham Alyiev of Azerbaijan blamed Russian air defenses for the crash, which killed 38 of the 67 people on board. Mr. Putin made a vague apology, which failed to placate Mr. Alyiev, who publicly demanded that Russia accept responsibility for the crash, compensate the victims and punish the officials responsible.
Azerbaijan’s forceful rejection of Mr. Putin’s account suggested the limits of Mr. Putin’s frequently ambiguous language, which he has long used to disguise his intentions and keep options open.
Perhaps the biggest gap between Mr. Putin’s upbeat remarks and reality concerned the Russian economy.
Record public spending and steady oil exports have allowed Russia to bypass the worst effects of Western sanctions, and the country has avoided the economic collapse predicted by many Western economists at the start of the invasion.
But growing indications suggest that Russia’s economic boom, created by the ramp-up of military production, is wearing off, leaving the country with stubborn inflation, crippling labor shortages and slowing growth.
The economy is expected to grow 0.5 to 1 percent next year, down from 3.5 to 4 percent in 2024. Russia’s annual inflation rate is estimated to be 10 percent in 2024, with the prices of many basic foodstuffs growing at double or triple that overall figure.
The national currency, the ruble, last month fell to its weakest level since the start of the war, reducing the Russians’ purchasing power.
The pain caused by inflation was reflected during Mr. Putin’s annual news conference this month: Complaints about rising food prices were the most common topic of the remarks sent by Russian citizens to the president.
The marked slowdown in growth has taken place even as the Kremlin has poured a record 8 percent of Russia’s gross domestic product into the war effort, a figure that represents 40 percent of the federal budget, according to the economic analysts Alexander Kolyandr and Alexandra Prokopenko.
“Kremlin has proved to be unable to simultaneously continue the war, finance social and infrastructure projects and maintain low inflation and stable exchange rate,” the analysts wrote in a Russian media outlet, The Bell, last week. “Russia is slowly but certainly moving toward stagnation and economic degradation, a trend that won’t stop even if the fighting ends in 2025.”
Mr. Putin on Tuesday s brushed off such predictions, saying Russians’ plans and wishes would be realized.
“When we are together, everything will come true,” he said. “Happy New Year, dear friends.”
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