He did not elaborate, nor did his defense or foreign-policy advisers, though some analysts said he appeared to be referring to Russia's efforts to modernize its nuclear arsenal and to develop low-yield nuclear devices. That remark was greeted with applause.
Putin read from a prepared text, often looking downward. He was stern, even grim at times, his brow knitted.
The address was twice delayed, prompting speculation about differences over what Putin should say and the sensitivity of its timing during the strained relations with the US over the war in Iraq.
As he had during a meeting on Wednesday with Secretary of State Colin Powell, he said that Russia was prepared to cooperate with the US and other nations on global issues, particularly the fight against international terrorism.
But he also made a thinly veiled reference to what many here view as America's expansionist policies when he said, "Strong and well-armed national armies are used not to combat this evil" -- terrorism -- "but to expand certain countries' zones of strategic influence."
Putin also made clear Russia's support of the UN. He acknowledged that the UN was at times unwieldy and said he was open to discuss changes in it, but emphasized that "the international community has no other ... mechanism" for confronting conflicts.
On domestic policy, Putin pointedly lamented a new rise in unemployment and the fact that one in four Russians have incomes below the "living minimum," which is now about US$60 a month.
While he pointed to rising use of the Internet and of mobile phones as nascent signs of a new Russian modernity, he blamed government bureaucracy, political insularity and infighting and a growing concentration of wealth in the "monopoly sector" for threatening to stagnate growth.
"Can Russia seriously counter these threats," he asked, "if our society is divided into small groups, if we are concerned only about our own narrow-minded group interests, if parasitic sentiments grow, not subside, and these sentiments are fueled by bureaucracy's complacent attitude toward the fact that the national wealth is not protected and accumulated but often wasted away?"
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