In two SFD regions, Day of Russia celebrations were accompanied by protests

Today, festivities in honour of the Russia's Independence Day were held in Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Astrakhan and Maikop.

At noon and in the evening Volgograd held a motor rally "We are Russians", where the participants asked passers-by what meant to be Russians for them, and gave them souvenirs.

Besides, on the eve of the Day of Russia, a flash mob called "We Are Together!" was held in the city organized by about 100 young people. They lined up on the embankment forming the word "Russia"; and then unfolded a 12-meter Russian flag, the "Volgograd Business Television" reports.

In Rostov-on-Don, in Theatre Square, at noon, they organized a mass performance of the Russian state anthem. Despite the fact that the organizers had invited 10,000 people to come to the action and break the mass anthem performance record, in fact, there were only 2550 singers.

In Krasnodar, the official events in honour of the Day of Russia, including concerts, rallies and exhibitions, were held in most city parks and squares, the "Channel 9 Kuban" reports.

In Astrakhan, the holiday was marked by a sailing regatta on the Volga River and a motor rally in the city centre, which was attended by children from creative teams. The motor rally gathered more than 50 cars; and a holiday concert took place after it, the "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" reports.

In honour of the feast, Maikop organized an exhibition of arts and crafts and concerts of the city creative collectives.

In Volgograd and Rostov-on-Don, celebrations were accompanied by protests.

In Volgograd, about 150 people took part in the action "June 12 is Day of Lost Dreams". They said that they did not support the celebration of the Day of Russia; they raised issues of renaming Volgograd into Stalingrad, support for agriculture, development of nickel deposits on the Khopyor River and point-wise build-ups.

Today, some fifty cyclists staged a protest action in Rostov-on-Don, trying to attract city officials' attention to the problem of absence of bicycle lanes and cycle parks.