Vladimir Putin: Dear friends,
My fellow Russians,
I warmly congratulate you on the national holiday, Russia Day.
On this day we honour our Homeland, a country with a thousand-year history and a unique heritage. A country that unites a multitude of peoples, territories and cultures on its vast expanse.
It is a holiday of national unity that is being marked today in all the regions of our boundless country.
Together with Russia it is being marked by all those who hold the Russian land dear and close to their hearts.
We appreciate these feelings. And we wish well, we wish prosperity and well-being to all our fellow countrymen.
As Russia celebrates its holiday, it is a united nation. We have just seen all the regions of the Russian Federation stage a colourful parade in Red Square. Their successes and their labour contribute to the strength and dignity of a great country. It is in the regions that its riches are generated. It is in the regions that live the people for the sake of whom and for whose benefit the Russian state is growing stronger and developing.
For every person Russia is above all the place he lives in. So Russia Day has not only a national, but a personal dimension. Wherever we were born and wherever we are raised, it is our own homeland.
Together we are one, a single and mighty Russian people.
Yes, we know from our experience that it is better to live in a strong and united family. We know that we should treat Russia carefully and solicitously.
Only together can we make it an economically powerful, democratic country open to the world.
Only together can we make the Russian state enduring and the country a good place to live for us, for our children and grandchildren.
Our songs were played here today. They were created in various periods of history, but they are still remembered and loved by the people.
These songs are about all of us, about our love of our country, about a united, indivisible, strong and great country.
My fellow Russians,
Every year in our centuries-long history, whether triumphant or dramatic, is part of the fate of our native land. So it is part of our common destiny. The destiny of millions of our ancestors who defended and transformed Russia, who multiplied its achievements and handed them down to their children.
Our predecessors have taught us that such a country as Russia can only exist if it is strong. We have no right to forget history, history with all its bright and grim pages.
Today we already have the foundation on which we can build a solid future for our great country. A future for many years and decades ahead.
We know that our strength is in consolidation. Our victories are in solid unity. Russia is aware of its potential. It knows this and it is confident of its strength. The confidence comes from the country’s citizens, from the whole of Russian society.
Congratulations, dear friends, on Russia Day.