How Russia celebrated National Unity Day (PHOTOS)

National Unity Day has a historical background — on this day Russians mark the liberation of Old Russia from the 17th-century Polish invasion. Its celebrated heroes are Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, who led the people's militia.

On November 4, Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus laid flowers at the Minin and Pozharsky monument on Red Square.

A festive concert was held at the Museum of Victory in Moscow.

The ‘Matryoshka of Moscow’ multimedia installation presented a bright show in Zaryadye Park.

The holiday was celebrated not only in the capital but throughout Russia. In St. Petersburg, the multimedia performance ‘Light of Unity’ was shown on the facade of the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

In Kazan, a solemn procession took place along the Kremlin Embankment.

National Unity Day celebrations at the Chapel of Alexander Nevsky in Chita.

And in the city of Baltiysk, the Russian tricolor was raised on the tallest flagpole in the Kaliningrad region.

A folk concert was held on the main square in Siberian Krasnoyarsk.

In southern Pyatigorsk, a Chechen choir performed on the main square.

In Crimea, a large-scale street concert took place on the grounds of the ‘New Chersonesus’ museum and church complex.

There were also massive celebrations in Vladivostok.

People played tug-of-war and other folk games, with round dances also held.

The Komsomolsky Bridge in Volgograd was illuminated with the colors of the national flag.