"I congratulate you and all citizens of the country on the Russia Day, the public holiday, which is dedicated to our native country, filled with pride in its history, faith in its future. Today, we understand especially clearly how important it is for the Motherland, for our society, for the people to be united," the president said during the awarding ceremony of the Russian State Prize laureates.
Putin added that centuries-old traditions and moral values have deepened throughout the entire Russian history, and are now uniting the multinational people of the country.
Russia Day has been celebrated in the country since 1992. Until 2002, it was known as the Day of Adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). The adoption of this declaration marked the beginning of constitutional reform in the Soviet Union before it officially dissolved in December 1991.