Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday showed up at a ceremony marking the national holiday — the first big public event he has attended since announcing a nationwide lockdown more than two months ago. Putin observed the hoisting of the national flag at a memorial park in western Moscow and then took part in an award ceremony. Putin pointed to the nation’s “thousand-year history full of pages of great glory and pride, the unrivaled bravery of our ancestors and their love for their country.”
