MOSCOW, November 4. /TASS/. Russian Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, who are currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), congratulated the Russian people on National Unity Day marked on November 4 in a video address published on the website of the Roscosmos State Space Corporation.

"On this day, we pay tribute to the events that took place in 1612, when a volunteer army led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky showed spiritual and military unity and liberated Moscow from foreign invaders," Shkaplerov pointed out. Dubrov, in turn, urged Russians to remember how people had united back then to defeat a common enemy, achieve peace and prosperity. "Today, we would like to wish you to never lose the feeling of brotherhood that unites Russians across the vastness of our great nation. Stay healthy and take care of your loved ones," the cosmonaut said.

Roscosmos told TASS earlier that Shkaplerov and Dubrov would work on Unity Day and would have days off on November 6 and 7.

Seven crewmembers are currently working aboard the orbital outpost, including Roscosmos cosmonauts Shkaplerov and Dubrov, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide.