The PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky talked with journalists, sharing his thoughts about the history of the holiday and its present essence on National Unity Day, at the end of the flower-laying ceremony.
Vadim Krasnoselsky, the PMR President: “The roots of the tradition of celebrating the Day of National Unity go back to the distant past. The year 1612. The people's militia led by Pozharsky and Minin liberated the capital of Russia, Moscow, from the Polish invaders. It was then, with victory, that Pozharsky entered the liberated Kitai-Gorod with the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. In November, the Day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God began to be celebrated. The holiday was naturalized. It was celebrated in the Russian Empire before the October Revolution. This is history. After the October Revolution, this holiday was forgotten. In addition to celebrating the Day of National Unity, the soldiers - defenders of the Fatherland were also honored. If we take the history of Pridnestrovie, then it - the history of our land, our cities and regions - is inextricably linked with the history of Russia - the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Tiraspol owes its appearance on the map to Catherine II and then Field Marshal Suvorov. The city was created as a military garrison, the construction of the Middle Fortress began. All these have become symbols of Tiraspol. It is enough to look at the monument to Catherine: in the arch there are eternal sentries, the eternal guard of the Catherine Park - the Suvorov grenadiers, who are also the first residents of Tiraspol. These are the grenadiers of the Suvorov companies who entered Tiraspol, set up a tent camp here and began building a fortress. From these distant times in 1792 - the history of Tiraspol became the history of Russia.
We in Pridnestrovie honor our history. I see. Not in words, but in deeds. The history of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and Pridnestrovie is very harmoniously united in Pridnestrovie, without a conflict of generations. There is no conflict. There is history. It must be honored. Therefore, the history of our homeland called Pridnestrovie is revived and becomes available in all cities and regions of the republic.
Another important point, which I would like to draw your attention to: why should this be done? Perhaps, statements from the category “who do not know their past do not know their future seem hackneyed”. This is true, and I have no doubt about it. At the same time, there is another aspect of the need to form and preserve the history of the state, to remember it. History forms a culture. A simple example Many or few, but there is always criticism of officials. They talk about their arrogance, rudeness. Where do the officials come from? They come from society, from the people. Replacing one official with another, you can get the same thing. Why is this happening? Probably because of the lack of culture, lack of upbringing. I am sure that we need to form the cultural space in such a way that being determines consciousness, so that the people are highly cultured, educated, developed. It is difficult to imagine, for example, here in Catherine park, when a symphony orchestra plays classical music of great composers, that someone will sit on a bench and nibble seeds, throw a wrapper of something on tiles, eat ice cream and throw a wrapper on the grass, on the lawn. It is impossible to imagine it precisely because the level of culture determines consciousness.
Now, during the pandemic, many are talking about social immunity. As practice has shown, there is no social immunity, there is only individual and for a short time. Therefore, we are talking about the fact that everyone, without exception, should be afraid of infection. At the same time, I would like something else - the development of cultural immunity among Pridnestrovians to any kind of swagger and rudeness.
Thanks to such places that are being revived or created, thanks to our history and such holidays as National Unity Day, which allow us to look into the past, raise the cultural and historical level, this becomes possible. In the presence of cultural immunity of the people, society, I am sure that good, well-mannered, respectable officials will emerge from it. We are moving towards this gradually, step by step. Much has already been done and much will be done.
If we talk about the uniqueness of the Pridnestrovian national unity, the secret is in the fact that people of 72 nationalities and ethnic groups live on the territory of Pridnestrovie. We have three official languages. There have never been national conflicts in our land. Why is this happening in our country, why is it not so with our neighbors, but this is how it is with us? Because we have no title. In our country, no nation or nationality rises above another. We are all equal. All languages, all nationalities, all religions are equal in our country. It is right. This is the basis of social cohesion. This is essentially the basis of national unity. This is exactly how it is in Pridnestrovie.
I think that this holiday was revived in order to unite the people. To achieve this finally, it is necessary not only to celebrate November 4, but to pursue an appropriate policy aimed at unification, not disunity. One of the most important decisions or tasks in this message, in uniting the people is the harmonious combination of the stories of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and modern Russia and Pridnestrovie. This harmony, this unity will allow us to forget old grievances and unite for the sake of the future. This is what we do in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic”.
