FACTBOX - International Day Of Slavic Friendship, Unity

Slavs all around the world celebrate June 25 as the annual Day of Friendship and Unity of the Slavic people

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th June, 2019) Slavs all around the world celebrate June 25 as the annual Day of Friendship and Unity of the Slavic people.

Slavs represent the largest linguistic and cultural community of people in the world. There are about 300-350 million Slavs throughout the world. There are western Slavs (Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Kashubians, and Sorbs), southern Slavs (Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Macedonians, Slovenes, Montenegrins) and Eastern Slavs (Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians).

Slavs make up the majority of the population in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro, and also live in all post-Soviet countries, as well as in Australia, Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, and in American countries.

Most of Slavs are Christians, except for the Bosnians, who converted to islam during Ottoman rule in southern Europe. Bulgarians, Serbs, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Russians are mostly Orthodox, while Croats, Slovenes, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, and Sorbs are Catholics. There are many Orthodox among Ukrainians and Belarusians, but there are also Catholics and Uniates among them.

In the second half of the 19th century, Slavic peoples were part of three empires the Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman. The only exceptions were Montenegrins and Sorbs, as Montenegrins lived in a small independent state of Montenegro, while Sorbs lived in Germany. By the end of the 20th century, all Slavic peoples, except for Russians and Sorbs, who lived in modern Germany, received independence.

The idea of uniting Slavic peoples is rooted in history and dates back to the creation of a common written language by Saints Cyril and Methodius, who are revered both in Russia and in a number of other states with Slavic population.

Local national-culture associations are making a great contribution to the unity of Slavs. Thanks to their activities, original traditions of Slavic peoples, their centuries-old culture, customs and rituals are passed on from generation to generation, while civil peace and harmony are being strengthened.

Cultural activities aimed at reviving the traditions and culture of Slavs are held in different countries on June 25.

The international Slavic Unity festival is held annually on the border of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. It was first held in 1969 and initially started as informal celebrations held by the peoples of the three countries. In 1975, the Monument of Friendship, which is also known under the symbolic name "Three Sisters," was erected in the area where the tripoint is located. In recent decades, the celebrations were held on a large field near the monument. The event annually brings together tens of thousands of people.

The festival is traditionally organized by the three countries on a rotating basis.

Ukraine has refused to participate in the festival since 2014, so the event was moved from the Ukrainian border for security reasons. That year, the main celebrations were held in the Bryansk village of Klimovo, Russia, and in 2015, the festival took place in the Belarusian town of Loyew. A year later, when Ukraine was set to be the host country, the festival took place in Bryansk.

In 2017, the festival was held in the town of Klintsy, Bryansk Region, and after that, in 2018, the celebrations were held in the town of Vietka in Belarus.

This year, Ukraine was set to organize the festival, but the authorities of the border Chernihiv region have said that the Ukrainian side will not officially participate in this event.