On November 4, Russia celebrates National Unity Day. The origins of the holiday go back centuries – to the feat of the people who rose up to fight for their Homeland, cleansed it of strife and betrayal, put an end to the Time of Troubles and restored our united statehood.
This day is a tribute to the memory of the people’s uprising in Russia, which liberated Moscow from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders on November 4, 1612. The leaders of the uprising – citizen Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky became national heroes. Not long before that, they had gathered a people’s militia near Nizhny Novgorod, which included representatives of different nationalities, classes and religions, and led it in the struggle to liberate the capital of the Russian state.
In 1649, the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich declared November 4 (October 22 according to the Julian calendar) a national holiday. Russians celebrated this day until 1917. November 4 became a national holiday again in 2005, when the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin signed a decree establishing Unity Day or National Unity Day in Russia.
Throughout the history of the Russian state, there have been times when people of different social and religious strata united for the sake of the salvation and good of the Fatherland. And I would like to emphasize that our country, having withstood the most difficult trials, was always gained victory.
Today, our Motherland is once again fighting the misanthropic ideology of neo-Nazism in Ukraine, which the West is using as a means to inflict a “strategic defeat” on us. The United States and its satellites have never abondoned their futile efforts to weaken Russia and incite hatred and instability around the world. They are the ones who are planting their military bases everywhere, using military force, sending weapons and financial resources to conflict zones. This applies not only to Ukraine, but also to Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan. The latest example is the events in the Middle East.
Failing to achieve results on the battlefield, they want to split us from within, weaken us and sow discord. We will not surrender to this. We will defend our Fatherland, our unity, our sovereignty, just like our heroic ancestors. The truth is that the stronger Russia is, the more united our society is, the more effectively we will be able to defend our own national interests, truth and justice, as well as the interests of those peoples who have become victims of Western neocolonial policy.
Our agenda is open and positive – Russia is actively involved in the formation of a new, more just multipolar world with equal rights and opportunities for all countries and civilizations. Actually, nowadays Russia is fighting on the battlefield for the sake of the future and freedom of all countries and peoples of the world majority.
Each nation brings its own experience, its own unique heritage to the world. Russia has such an invaluable heritage in the form of centuries-old experience of peaceful coexistence of the people comprised of different nationalities. There is simply no other country as large and multifaceted as ours. And preserving the diversity of the peoples of Russia, their ethnic and cultural identity is of key importance to us, as are the traditions of mutual trust, harmony and kinship. It is these foundations that fill the unity of the Russian nation with a special, inner strength.
We appreciate even more Ethiopian truly selfless activities, commitment to truth and justice, your efforts to preserve historical memory and strengthen cultural, business, and friendly contacts with Russia and its citizens. Friendly century-old relations with fraternal Ethiopia have been showing increasing dynamics in recent years, especially, in the spheres of politics, security, trade, economy and culture. A number of major mutually beneficial projects are under implementation, including in the sphere of infrastructure development. Cooperation in the field of education remains traditionally large-scale, first of all, in the training of Ethiopian national personnel. Cooperation in the sphere of health care and epidemiological security is also deepening. The legal framework basement is being progressively improved, with several vital agreements important for the development of bilateral cooperation being recently signed. In the context of Ethiopia’s accession to BRICS during Russia’s current chairmanship in the association, we have noted a large-scale increase of delegations exchange, which also testifies to the growth of our multifaceted interaction.
Finally, I am availing myself of this opportunity to cordially thank all our Ethiopian friends who have congratulated us on the occasion of our national holiday.
Evgeny Terekhin is the Ambassador of Russia to Ethiopia
