The raising of the Russian flag
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends!
Congratulations on this great event - we are here to raise the flag of Russia in honor of the 400th anniversary of House of Romanov, as well as 400 years of Russian History. That history created the largest country in world and the Golden and Silver Ages of the Russian culture, a world class culture. We are very proud of this. I'm representing the Russian-Canadian Cultural Aid Society, our organization was founded in 1950 by Russian immigrants who came to Canada after Second World War and we are the oldest Russian society in Canada.
It is a great privilege for us to have had in our community the Last Great Duchess Olga, she was a sister of Tsar Nicholas the Second, and came to Canada with her children in 1948. Every time that Queen Elizabeth ll visited Canada she met with Duchess Olga. In fact they were relatives.
Since Duchess Olga passed away in 1965 we have had at least two waves of Russian immigration to Canada, most of them have successfully integrated into Canadian society. Russian roots and Canadian values have combined to produce a dynamic Canadian community.
Today we celebrate our past in Russia and our hope for a great future in Canada. We all pray for continued good relations between Russia and Canada.