Leaders of social organisations and representatives of compatriots abroad working on the development of Russian language and culture in foreign countries laid flowers at the monument alongside the President.
National Unity Day is a public holiday established four years ago in honour of the events of 4 November 1612. On that day a volunteer militia led by Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky liberated Moscow from Polish invaders, providing a model of heroism and solidarity of the Russian people.