Throw another reliable holiday tradition out the window.
The Kremlin said Monday that President Vladimir Putin would not hold his traditional late December marathon press briefing.
The briefing, which sometimes goes on for four hours or more, has been a major political event on the Kremlin’s calendar and has featured everything from Mr. Putin’s views of the future of mankind to his thoughts on the rising price of groceries in Yakutsk.
It was also used by the government as an advertisement for the president’s continuing effectiveness and familiarity with the issues, big and small, after holding unchallenged power since the turn of the century.