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Putin leads inauguration of statue of Prince Vladimir

Putin leads inauguration of statue of Prince Vladimir | iNFOnews.ca
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the unveiling ceremony of a monument to Vladimir the Great on the National Unity Day outside the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Nov. 4, 2016. Vladimir the Great brought Christianity to pagan Kievan Rus in the 10th century. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has led ceremonies launching a large statue outside the Kremlin to a 10th-century prince of Kyiv who is credited with making Orthodox Christianity the official faith of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

In a speech by the 16-meter-tall (52-feet-tall) bronze monument to Prince Vladimir, Putin said the medieval ruler was a “farsighted politician” who “laid down a moral foundation that defines our lives to this day.”

The opening took place as Russia marks National Unity Day, a contemporary holiday that replaced the Soviet Union’s annual celebration of the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917.

Prince Vladimir, also known as Vladimir the Great, chose Orthodox Christianity for the medieval kingdom of Kyiv Rus.

Ukraine also claims Prince Vladimir as the country’s founding father.

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