The BBC's Steve Rosenberg on the Kremlin's alternative reality as 2023 begins.
There was nothing "normal" about Vladimir Putin's New Year address to the Russian people. For his annual speech the president normally stands alone outside the Kremlin. This year, standing behind him, were men and women in combat uniforms.
"For years, Western elites hypocritically assured us of their peaceful intentions…but in fact, they encouraged the neo-Nazis in every possible way," President Putin said.When the Kremlin talks about "defending our Motherland", keep in mind that it was Russia that invaded Ukraine. Not the other way around.
The other thing President Putin does in his new year address is to divide Russians into us and them, into those who support his "special military operation" and those who don't.
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