Putin’s big state-of-the-nation speech gets a date and venue (it’s not at the Kremlin, and it’s less than three weeks before Election Day)

Vladimir Putin’s big speech to the Federal Assembly will take place on March 1 at the Moscow Manege, which is adjacent to Red Square, just outside the Kremlin.

According to Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, the next address (which usually takes place in December) is getting an expanded guest list, and the Manege also has some fancy television screens that would be difficult to relocate to the Kremlin, where Putin typically speaks to a joint meeting of the houses of parliament.

According to the newspaper Kommersant, the president plans to talk about the next six years, though these events are usually only dedicated to the next year, and Putin is expected to unveil his campaign platform — all less than three weeks before Russia’s March 18 presidential election.