Moscow - Russia watchers were long curious to hear President Dmitry Medvedev's first national address, originally scheduled for October 23. Now, interest has only grown, after a last-minute decision was made to delay it by almost two weeks.
Speculation about the speech, scheduled for November 5, is rampant. For the past eight years, it has been delivered by former president - now Prime Minister - Vladimir Putin.
The president's office provided no reason for the delay. Igor Shuvalov, Putin's chief economic advisor and deputy premier, told daily Vedomosti that Medvedev needed to personally revise the draft.
National media initially speculated that the global financial crisis forced a change to the content of the speech.