MOSCOW, November 4. /TASS/. On National Unity Day, Russian Secretary of the Security Council Nikolay Patrushev spoke on the historical significance of protecting Russia’s sovereignty in the long-running conflict with the West.

National Unity Day

- National Unity Day represents the Russian people's triumph over internal and external challenges through unity and coherence.

- During the Time of Troubles, Russia was on the verge of losing its sovereignty, but its people "united, defended their own country and state," drove out invaders and traitors, reestablished authority, and embarked on a path of independent development.

- This was made possible by the tremendous spiritual uplift of the country's multinational people, "whose statehood has always been based on three pillars - unity, faith, and a strong vertical of power."

Age-old conflict

- Europe has long wanted to destroy the Russian state, which has manifested itself in attempts at "political intrigue, economic enslavement, and direct aggression.

- Almost all of Europe has participated in aggression against Russia, from the German Knights to the Nazis in the twentieth century.

- Russia has always been a "bone in the West's throat," obstructing its hegemonic goals while representing a powerful civilizational alternative.

- Western Russophobic ideologues devised schemes to bring Russia to its knees, which served as the basis for the Western conspiracy to destroy the country.

The new Time of Troubles in the 1990s

- The eventful 1990s became the "new Time of Troubles," when the existence of the Russian state was once again threatened.

- The collapse of the USSR emboldened the authorities of the United States and other Western leaders, who believed that they could destroy Russia by dividing it.

- In the 1990s, Western advisers flocked to Russia, attempting to create turmoil by "encouraging separatism, imposing debt bonds and onerous international obligations. The West was counting on creating turmoil and establishing external control over the country.

- The West also used additional levers of pressure, such as NATO's aggressive push to the East, support for extremism and extreme religious groups, and "a wave of defamation of the Russian Orthodox Church and traditional Islam.

- As a result of the radical reforms imposed by the West, the country's standard of living declined, unemployment increased, industry, agriculture, transportation, and the financial system were destroyed, and the military-industrial complex effectively ceased to fulfill its primary function of providing advanced weaponry to the armed forces.

- In the 1990s, international terrorism posed a significant threat to Russian sovereignty, while Western governments hypocritically called terrorists "fighters for freedom and democracy.

Challenging the West

- After becoming president in 2000, Vladimir Putin focused his efforts on stabilizing the country's internal life and restoring constitutional order.

- As a result of the president's policies, strong systemic anti-crime measures have been implemented, and the number of criminal acts has decreased by more than a third since 2000.

- In the early 2000s, Putin saw a multipolar world order as the solution to many international problems. His famous Munich speech was devoted to the idea that a unipolar model was not only unacceptable, but generally unattainable in today's world.

- In August 2008, the West tested Russia's strength by igniting the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict. As a result, the country reformed its army and introduced new types of weapons.

- However, the West did not relent - as a result of the Washington-engineered coup in Ukraine in 2014, supporters of neo-Nazi ideologies came to power in Kiev, where they promptly launched a genocide against the Russian people.

Fighting neo-Nazism in Ukraine

- Despite Western sanctions and pressure, Russia could not tolerate the atrocities committed by Ukrainian neo-Nazis and supported the demand for reunification of the millions of inhabitants of the original Russian territories.

- Ukrainian officials and their Western backers are increasingly resorting to blatant terrorist tactics to terrorize the population and damage Russia.

- Ultimately, Kiev officials will have to answer for attempts to annihilate the Russian people in Donbass, as well as for the deaths of Ukrainians in a fratricidal war.

- Ukrainian neo-Nazis will be tried in an international court for attempting a provocation by detonating a "dirty bomb".

- There are reasonable forces in Ukraine. They are suppressed, but they are ready to fight the neo-Nazi regime.

Sanctions war

- The West launched an unprecedented economic war against Russia, but its blitzkrieg failed.

- Western censorship is working hard to eliminate stories about Russia's good development trends. "The Anglo-Saxon media deliberately ignore the obvious fact that Russia has been able to ensure its military, economic and food security.

- A large number of unjust sanctions have been imposed on Russia, but the country is dealing with them. The economy has recovered and has already exceeded the level of 2021.

- The Russian economy has demonstrated its stability and ability to develop gradually in the face of global economic uncertainty and the imposition of restrictive economic measures.

Multipolar world against the "new order"

- The West intends to create more hotspots near Russia, similar to Ukraine, but Moscow will not be deterred.

- Washington, along with Russia, China and India, will become just one of several poles in the new multipolar world order, but Europe is unlikely to be able to claim even that.

- Russia, under Putin, has offered a civilizational alternative to the West that is gaining traction. At least 25 countries have expressed a desire to join or cooperate with BRICS.

- Russia prioritizes the development of relations with its nearest neighbors, especially Belarus, through the Union State.

- Moscow is in contact with Baku and Yerevan to normalize relations, and a peace treaty is being drafted.

- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared that Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory under the influence of the West.

Remembering history

- While the West tries to rewrite history, Russia treats it with care and does not allow it to be lost.

- Future generations must know the truth and remember that it was Russia that overcame fascism at the cost of nearly 30 million deaths of its people.

- Amendments to the Constitution in 2020 restored the supremacy of national law and established laws on the security of the country's borders and territories.

- The support of the majority of the population for the President's plans in the 2020 referendum created the basis for Russia's future prosperity, stability, security and good living conditions for its people.