The ceremony took place at Rossiya National Centre on Moscow’s Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment, where Znaniye (Knowledge) Society is holding the Russia – My Family educational marathon.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends, good afternoon.
I am delighted to offer my greetings to all of you, everyone who has gathered in this room and across the country, since this marathon is taking place across our nation today.
Looking at this room, and even at the people here on this stage inspires amazement and delight. This amazement comes from your diversity, and what delights me is that we are together.
In this connection, we must recall where we all come from, and how Russia came to be, how the ethnic groups forming it were born, including the Russians, as a nation and a people. After all, what we have now stems from a patchwork of Slavic ethnic groups who lived their separate ways and came together only when they acquired a shared territory and had to cater, as we would now say, to shared economic interests, under a single government and guided by a single set of spiritual values.
The Russian nation is young, dynamic, driven by a sense of purpose and oriented towards the future. But Russia, our multi-ethnic country, gradually took shape on the same foundations as various peoples merged into it. What is important and interesting here? Russia took different paths as it took shape, but what has always been the most important element? A boundless respect for all the ethnicities that became part of Russia, full respect for their culture and traditions, as well as their spiritual values.
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It is for this reason that we have been able to forge our shared values over these centuries. They may be quite different in their appearance, of course, which is very important, positive and must be supported. However, at their core, these are the same values that we all share.
Russia witnessed all kinds of events and dramatic developments throughout its history. The fact that the effort to defend Moscow and with it the Russian statehood during the Time of Troubles came from the grassroots level is truly amazing. A popular militia was formed in the Volga region. It went all the way to Moscow to liberate it from invaders, which meant defending Russia as a unified state for the sake of everyone living in this territory.
The same happened later when Napoleon and Hitler invaded Russia. Armies formed by various nations moved against us. There was a sense of unity among them too, but for them, it was based on a different set of principles. They came together for the sake of gain, to get their piece of the pie from us, to conquer, destroy and invade. Meanwhile, we were united by the desire to preserve and defend everything, including our shared land, our families, our culture, and our traditions. This sense dwarfs any other kinds of unity by its sheer power and strength.
We are witnessing the same processes today as our fighters, our frontline heroes in the special military operation zone call each other brothers, regardless of their ethnic background or religious affiliation. This has exceptional importance, demonstrating our invincible unity. This is what underpins our achievements in various domains, and our victories too.
I declare the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia open.
Congratulations! I wish you every success.