The draft law was adopted by 370 out of the necessary 226 votes against two, with one abstention.
The draft law will establish the Day of Russian Students (January 25), the Day of Astronautics (April 12), the Day of Solidarity in the Fight against Terrorism (September 3), the Day of the 1917 October Revolution (November 7), and the Day of the Constitution (December 12).
The draft law is to rename the law into a law "On Days of Military Glory (victorious days) and Memorable Dates of Russia."
According to Andrei Isayev, the chairman of the committee for labor and social policy, the draft law is aimed at unifying memorable dates and days of military glory into a legal act and at establishing common principles of their arrangement and financing.
According to Isayev, the draft law establishes a list of memorable dates in the history of our country, which are essential for our nation and accord in society.
Isayev also said that September 3 (the day of the terrorist attack on the Beslan school in 2004) was chosen to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack. "There are no important or unimportant terrorist attacks for us," said Isayev.
When asked why the October Revolution had been included in the list, Isayev said the event was ambiguous, but had to be remembered to prevent revolutions in Russia.
According to Sergei Baburin, the vice speaker of the Duma, "the memorable dates provide the basis for people to stabilize their attitude to historical events and achieve accord in society."
Boris Gryzlov, the Duma speaker, believes that the names of memorable dates and the dates themselves would be specified in the second reading of the draft law.
The law adopted in 1995 established 15 dates of Russia's military glory - from Prince Alexander Nevsky's victory over the German knights on Lake Chudskoye (Battle on the Ice) on April 18, 1242 to Victory Day when the Soviet people defeated the Nazi in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45 marked on May 9 in Russia.
