TODAY: Putin gives State of Union address, blames West for sanctions, promises tax freeze, threatens speculators; ruble is world’s second-weakest currency; ECHR orders payment for Navalny; human rights is at a ten-year low in Russia, says HRW; Europe says South Stream cancellation is blackmail.

During his keynote State of the Union address yesterday, Vladimir Putin said that Russia’s actions in Ukraine had little to do with the Western decision to impose sanctions, because ‘they would have come up with another reason to contain Russia’s growing capabilities’. He promised a freeze on taxation levels, and a reduction in red tape for small businesses.  He also ordered the Central Bank to track down speculators and prevent them from wreaking havoc on the ruble, saying that they could not hide from the authorities. ‘On hearing this, Central Bank Chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina, a celebrated economist, bowed her head and appeared to wince,’ says Time’s report, which paints one of the more scathing pictures of Putin’s address.  The New York Times analyses some of Putin’s recent remarks that, it says, encourage pro-Russian separatists and nationalists.  The ruble is now the second-weakest currency in the world, having lost 39% of its value this year.  The Central Bank says it is prepared to spend unlimited amounts of money to support it.