On this day 34 years ago, on December 27, 1991 (November 22, 1991 lunar calendar), Russia replaced the former Soviet Union in the United Nations. On December 27, 1991, the Russian Federation officially replaced the former Soviet Union's seat in the United Nations, and the former Soviet flag in front of the UN headquarters building was also replaced by the Russian flag. Since the flags of the UN member states are arranged alphabetically according to their country names, the Russian tricolor flag is raised between the flags of Romania and Rwanda. UN Secretary-General de Cuellar has notified the UN member states of Russia's application to succeed the former Soviet Union for a permanent seat on the Security Council and seats in other organs of the UN system.