Family as a tradition: Putin opened the year of Unity of the peoples of Russia

2026 has officially become the Year of Unity of the Peoples of the Russian Federation. President Vladimir Putin attended the opening ceremony at the Rossiya National Center in Moscow. This year's goal is to strengthen friendship and mutual understanding between the peoples living in the country. The Russian leader stressed that as a multinational country, it developed gradually, but basic spiritual values became an important attribute of unity. This topic is a key element of the marathon "Russia — Family of families", where the head of state spoke.

Unity in diversity

Since the morning of February 5, the national center "Russia" has been crowded. In almost 20 degrees of frost, people wrapped themselves in warm down jackets and coats. However, the costumes of more than 190 peoples of Russia were hidden under unremarkable outerwear. Many of them are handmade, taking into account the traditions and history of their regions.

"I'm wearing a typical costume typical of the Bryansk region," Olga told Izvestia, showing the patterns on her shirt and apron. — The Bryansk region is unique in that it borders Belarus and Ukraine, and all our traditions are closely intertwined. Here, on the shirt, there is something from the Belarusian, something from the East Ukrainian rose. The fact that we are Slavic brothers can be traced by the costume.

A participant named Nontelu said that he represents the culture of the Nganasans, an indigenous people of Siberia. The Nganasans descend from the oldest population of Taimyr. According to him, many people do not realize the national diversity of Russia, and his goal is to tell as much as possible about his people.

— You need to know who lives next door. For example, many people live in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and don't know that Evenks live nearby," Nontelu said. — There are a lot of different small nations in Russia, and this diversity unites us.

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The marathon "Russia — Family of Families", organized by the Znanie Society in cooperation with the authorities, brought together over 4 thousand participants. The focus is on the uniqueness of the Russian Federation as a state in which all nationalities live in one family.

At the same time, the organizers emphasize that Russians are united not just because they have gone through the same story and speak Russian. Russian citizens also share common spiritual and moral values, the list of which was approved by the President of the Russian Federation back in 2022. The "passport of the keeper of Russia's values" was distributed to the young marathon participants and to all comers. To fill it out, it was necessary to get 17 seals on special racks located in different parts of the pavilion. Everyone had to explain in their own words what a strong family, humanism, patriotism, service to the Fatherland and responsibility for its fate meant to them.

— We broadcast these values in order to distract people's attention from everyday details to very important things that unite us. By doing this, we show that we are very similar to each other," said one of the organizers of the marathon.

Of course, Russians are united by such an element as a common kitchen. For example, gastronomic workshops on cooking dumplings were held at the site of the national center. In addition, the participants could entertain themselves by painting shoppers (fashionable roomy bags) with Slavic ornaments.

Opening of the Year of Unity

In the middle of the day, Vladimir Putin also arrived at the event. With his speech, he launched the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia. Speaking at the opening ceremony, the head of state recalled that during the invasions, from the time of Troubles to the Great Patriotic War, different peoples united to protect Russia as a single state for all who live on its territory, although "diverse armies" were moving from the invaders.

— They were also united, but their union was based on completely different principles: they were united by the desire to make money, the desire to take something away from us, to conquer, destroy, capture. And we were united by the desire to preserve everything – our common land, our families, our culture, our traditions," Putin said.

He also stressed that the Russian people are passionate and look to the future. At the same time, the President recalled that Russia as a multinational country developed gradually, and different peoples joined it.

— But what was the most important thing? Infinite respect for those peoples who were part of Russia, full respect for their culture and traditions, for their spiritual values. That is why, over the centuries, our values have become common. Outwardly, they certainly differ from each other – and this is very important, it's good, it must be supported — but the basic values are common," Putin added.

As an example, the head of state cited the situation with Russian soldiers participating in their military operations. Despite their different ethnic backgrounds and religious differences, the fighters address each other as "Brother!"

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— And it's worth a lot. This underlines our invincible unity. This is exactly what underlies our achievements in various fields and our victories," the Russian leader noted.

After concluding his speech, the president, together with the participants of the event, chanted several times: "Russia!".

It is worth emphasizing that Ukrainians are among the largest peoples of Russia. According to the All-Russian population census of 2021, they occupy the eighth largest number in the Russian Federation. Vladimir Putin previously stated that Russia continues to consider the Ukrainian people fraternal, noting that Russians and Ukrainians have the same roots. The Russian Federation also respects the Ukrainian language. For example, in Crimea, according to the constitution of the region, it retains the status of one of the three state languages (along with Russian and Crimean Tatar).

In Ukraine, where the languages of national minorities are formally protected by the constitution, the Russian language is actually discriminated against and abolished. Back in 2019, a law was passed there that established the mandatory use of the Ukrainian language in public spheres, including public administration, the service sector, education, culture and the media. At the end of last year, the Verkhovna Rada voted to deprive the Russian language of protection in Ukraine, according to the provisions of the European Charter, as the language of representatives of national minorities.

The President declared 2026 the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia by his decree at the end of December. Putin supported the initiative of one of the members of the Council on Interethnic Relations. A wide program of events is planned within the framework of the Year of Unity of Peoples. It includes festivals of folk cultures, exhibitions, concerts, theater projects, as well as scientific and public forums. Each region will have the opportunity to celebrate the Year of Unity in its own way, taking into account its national composition, history and cultural traditions.