**Vladimir Putin hosted a ceremony at the Kremlin to present state decorations and the Presidential Prize for Contribution to Strengthening the Unity of the Russian Nation**


> This holiday [National Unity Day] reflects our great history, our values, and our national character. No matter what challenges our country and the Russian statehood itself faced, the response has always been the unity of our people, bound by a shared and therefore invincible will, and a determination to shape their own destiny,


the President said in his opening remarks.