Day of National Unity or Day of Harmony and Reconciliation. Day of National Unity or Day of Harmony and Reconciliation Such a holiday as the Day of National Unity
By the way, they did a nice thing on November 7 - now this day officially marks the anniversary of the famous Parade on Red Square in November 1941. Then the parade seemed to have been started in honor of the 24th anniversary of the same October Revolution, but contemporaries remembered it more for another reason - a demonstration of military power in Moscow, which was besieged by the Nazis and outright lost the first months of the Great Patriotic War. However, let's return to the November 4 holiday - it's time to see why our legislators chose this date.
The time of troubles begins
At the end of the 16th century, Russia entered one of the most unstable periods in its history. In 1598, the last tsar from the Rurik dynasty, Fyodor Ioannovich, died, leaving no heirs. The country was devastated - the countless aggressive campaigns of Ivan IV the Terrible had an effect, and the Livonian War was especially difficult for Russia. Historians wrote that ordinary people in those years were mortally tired - both from wars and from the authorities, which, after the cruel oprichnina, they simply stopped respecting. A serious factor of instability was crop failure, which provoked a terrible famine of 1601-1603, which killed up to 0.5 million people.
The authorities, represented by the new monarch, former boyar Boris Godunov, did not sit idly by. People flocked to Moscow in droves, where they were given bread and money from state reserves. But Godunov’s kindness played against him - the chaos only intensified due to the peasant gangs formed in the capital (they included serfs and servants expelled from noble estates due to the landowner’s lack of money and work).
The Time of Troubles began due to the spread of rumors that the legitimate heir to the throne - Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich from the Rurik dynasty - was still alive and not dead, as was commonly believed before. But the rumors were spread by an impostor who went down in history under the name “ False Dmitry" Having enlisted the support of Polish aristocrats and converted to Catholicism, in 1604 he gathered an army and set off on a campaign against Moscow. What helped him win was not so much his own talents as the failures of the authorities - the betrayal of governor Basmanov and the death of Godunov. On June 20, 1605, Moscow greeted False Dmitry with jubilation. But the boyars and ordinary Muscovites quickly realized that the new tsar was very focused on Poland. The last straw was the arrival of False Dmitry's Polish accomplices in the capital - on May 16, 1606, an uprising broke out, during which the impostor was killed. The country was headed by the representative of the “Suzdal” branch of Rurikovich, the noble boyar Vasily Shuisky.
However, it did not become calmer. The first two years of the new government were seriously threatened by the rebel Cossacks, peasants and mercenaries of Ivan Bolotnikov - there was a time when the rebels, angry with the boyar arbitrariness, stood near Moscow. In 1607, a new impostor appeared - False Dmitry II (also known as the “Tushinsky thief”) - a year later, seven significant Russian cities were under his rule, including Yaroslavl, Vladimir and Kostroma. In the same year, the Nogai Horde and the Crimean Tatars decided to raid Russian lands for the first time in many years.
Together with False Dmitry II, Polish troops came to Rus' (until unofficially). Even for the interventionists, they behaved, to put it mildly, defiantly - they plundered cities (even those that voluntarily agreed to the rule of the new “tsar”), imposed excessive taxes on the local population and “fed” in them. A national liberation movement arose, and it was supported by the authorities - Russia concluded the Vyborg Treaty with Sweden, according to which, in exchange for the Korelsky district, it received a 15,000-strong detachment of mercenaries. Together with them, the talented Russian commander, a relative of the legitimate Tsar, Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, inflicted several sensitive defeats on the invaders.
But here Russia was unlucky again. Tsar Shuisky and his brother Dmitry, frightened by the popularity of Skopin-Shuisky, poisoned the young military leader (otherwise the power would be taken away!). And then, as luck would have it, the Polish king Sigismund III declared war on his neighbor, exhausted by internal problems, and besieged the powerful fortress of Smolensk. But in the battle of July 4, 1610 at Klushino, the Russian troops, led by the mediocre Dmitry, were defeated by the Poles due to the betrayal of German mercenaries. Having learned about the successes of the Polish army, False Dmitry II came to Moscow from the south.
In the capital itself there was already a new government - the boyars lost the last remnants of trust in the “boyar tsar” Shuisky and overthrew him. As a result, a council of seven boyars came to power, which went down in history as the Seven Boyars. The new rulers immediately decided who would become their king - the choice fell on the Polish prince Vladislav.
But here the people had already opposed - no one wanted a Catholic ruler. People decided that it was better to have “their” False Dmitry than Vladislav. One after another, even those cities that had previously fought desperately against him began to swear allegiance to the impostor. The Seven Boyars were afraid of False Dmitry II and took an unheard of step - they allowed Polish-Lithuanian troops into Moscow. The impostor fled to Kaluga. The people were on his side - people really didn’t like the way the Polish interventionists behaved in the country. The self-proclaimed Rurikovich really began to fight the Poles - he liberated several cities and defeated the army of the Polish hetman Sapieha. But on December 11, 1610, he quarreled with the Tatar guards and was killed. It became clear that no one except the Russians themselves would save the country.
People's militias
There were two of them. The first was headed by the Ryazan nobleman Prokopiy Lyapunov. His power was recognized by former supporters of False Dmitry II: Prince Dmitry Trubetskoy, Grigory Shakhovskoy, and the Cossacks of Ivan Zarutsky. The Poles knew about the conspiracy and were nervous: as a result, they mistook a domestic quarrel in the market for the beginning of an uprising and massacred thousands of Muscovites. In China Town alone, the number of victims reached seven thousand...
At the end of March 1611, the First Militia approached Moscow. The militia took several districts of Moscow (White City, Zemlyanoy Gorod, part of Kitay-Gorod), and then elected a “provisional government” called the “Council of the Whole Land”, led by Lyapunov, Trubetskoy and Zarutsky. But at one of the military councils of the militia, the Cossacks rebelled and killed Lyapunov. The two remaining members of the council decided to keep the Kremlin with the Polish garrison entrenched in it under siege until the Second Militia arrived.
Problems followed one after another. After a long siege, the Poles took Smolensk, the Crimean Tatars ravaged the Ryazan region, the Swedes turned from allies into enemies - Novgorod fell under their onslaught. And in December, Pskov was captured by the third False Dmitry... Soon the entire north-west of Russia recognized the next impostor.
The second militia arose in September 1611 in Nizhny Novgorod. Its basis was made up of peasants from the northern and central regions of Russia, as well as city dwellers. It was headed by the Nizhny Novgorod zemstvo elder Kuzma Minin. He was supported first by the townspeople, and then by everyone else - service people (military) and governors, the clergy, the city council. At a general gathering of townspeople, Archpriest Savva delivered a sermon, and then Minin himself called on his fellow citizens to liberate the country from the occupiers. Inspired by his speech, the townspeople decided that every resident of Nizhny Novgorod and the district would transfer part of their property to the maintenance of the “military people”. Minin was entrusted with distributing income - trust in him was one hundred percent.
For military leadership, he invited Prince Pozharsky. It was difficult to think of a better candidate - the nobleman was Rurikovich, in 1608 he defeated the troops of False Dmitry II, remained faithful to the Moscow kings, and in March 1611 took part in the battle for Moscow, where he was seriously wounded. The people of Nizhny Novgorod also liked his personal qualities: the prince was an honest, disinterested, fair person, and he made thoughtful and rational decisions. A delegation from Nizhny Novgorod went to see Pozharsky, who was healing his wounds, on his estate 60 km away several times - but the prince, according to the etiquette of those times, invariably refused and agreed only when Archimandrite Theodosius came to him. There was only one condition - Pozharsky was ready to cooperate only with Kuzma Minin, whom he trusted unconditionally in economic matters.
Pozharsky arrived in Nizhny Novgorod at the end of October 1611. Quite quickly, he managed to increase the number of militias from 750 to 3,000 people - the ranks of the liberators were supplemented by servicemen from Smolensk, Vyazma and Dorogobuzh. They immediately began to be paid a salary - from 30 to 50 rubles a year. Having learned about this, Ryazan, Kolomna, Cossacks and archers from outlying cities began to join the militia.
Good organization of work (both with money and with people) quickly led to the fact that the Second Militia - more precisely, the Council of the Whole Land created by it - became a “center of power” along with the Moscow “Seven Boyars” and the Cossack freemen of Zarutsky and Trubetskoy. At the same time, the new leaders - unlike the leaders of the First Militia - clearly knew what they wanted from the very beginning. In a December letter addressed to the population of Vologda, they wrote that they wanted to end civil strife, cleanse the Moscow state of enemies and not commit arbitrariness.
The militia left Nizhny Novgorod at the end of February 1612. Having reached Reshma, Pozharsky learned that Pskov, Trubetskoy and Zarutsky had sworn allegiance to False Dmitry III (the fugitive monk Isidore was hiding under his name). As a result, it was decided to temporarily stop in Yaroslavl. The ancient city became the capital of the militia.
Here the militia stayed until July 1612. In Yaroslavl, the Council of the Whole Land was finally formed, it included representatives of noble families - the Dolgorukies, Kurakins, Buturlins, Sheremetevs, but it was still headed by Pozharsky and Minin. Kuzma was illiterate, so the prince “had a hand” in his behalf. To issue Council documents—letters—the signatures of all its members were required. It is characteristic that, due to the custom of localism that existed at that time, Pozharsky’s signature was only the 10th, and Minin’s was the 15th.
From Yaroslavl, the militia carried out military operations (against Polish-Lithuanian detachments and the Cossack freemen of Zarutsky, cutting off the latter from communications), and diplomatic negotiations - they decided to pacify the Swedes by cunning, offering the king’s brother the Russian throne, and asked the Holy Roman Empire for help in exchange for throne for the emperor's protege. Subsequently, both the Swede Karl Philip and the German Prince Maximilian were refused. At the same time, work was carried out to restore order in the controlled territory and recruit new militias. As a result, the number of the Second Militia grew to 10,000 well-armed, trained warriors.
The time to act has come in September (new style). The 12,000-strong detachment of the Polish hetman Chodkiewicz tried to release the Polish garrison locked in the Kremlin. On September 2, the first battle of the Moscow Battle took place: from 13 to 20 pm the cavalry detachments of Pozharsky and Khodkevich fought. Prince Trubetskoy, who seemed to support the Second Militia, behaved strangely: having asked Pozharskaya for 500 cavalry, he did not allow them to take part in the battle and support the militia. As a result, the hundreds of cavalry attached to the prince left him without permission and, together with part of Trubetskoy’s Cossacks, helped Pozharsky first push the Poles back to their original positions, and then push them back to the Donskoy Monastery.
On September 3, a new battle took place. Prince Trubetskoy again chose not to intervene in the battle, as a result of which the Poles occupied an important fortified point and captured a garrison of Cossacks. The intervention of the cellarer of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, Abraham Palitsyn, saved the militia from defeat - he promised Trubetskoy’s Cossacks that they would be paid a salary from the monastery treasury, and after that they nevertheless joined the militia.
The decisive battle took place on September 4. The militia fought with the Poles for 14 hours. During the battle, Kuzma Minin distinguished himself - his small cavalry detachment made a daring foray and sowed panic in Khodkevich’s camp. The scales tipped on the side of Pozharsky’s army - together with Trubetskoy’s Cossacks, he put the Poles to flight. The very next day, the hetman left Moscow with the remnants of his army.
The Polish garrison remained - two detachments of colonels Strus and Budyla, defending the Kitay-Gorod area and the Kremlin. Both the traitor boyars and the future Tsar Mikhail Romanov were in the citadel. After a month-long siege, Pozharsky invited his opponents to surrender and in return promised to save their lives, but the arrogant Poles responded with a categorical refusal. On November 4, according to the new style, the militia stormed Kitay-Gorod (we celebrate this date as National Unity Day), but the Kremlin remained under the control of the occupiers. Hunger reigned in the Polish camp - according to eyewitnesses, the interventionists descended to cannibalism. On November 5, they finally surrendered. Budila's troops were captured by Pozharsky, and the prince, as promised, spared their lives. Strus's detachment was captured by the Cossacks - and every last one of the Poles was slaughtered. On November 6, 1612, after a solemn prayer service, the troops of Prince Pozharsky entered the city to the ringing of bells with banners and banners. Moscow was liberated.
In January 1613, the first all-class Zemsky Sobor in history was held in Moscow - it was attended by representatives of all classes, including the peasantry. The candidacies of foreign contenders for the Russian throne - Polish Prince Vladislav, Swede Karl Philip and others - were rejected. The delegates were also not interested in the “crow” - the son of Marina Mnishek and False Dmitry II, Ivan. But none of the eight “Russian” candidates, including Pozharsky himself, found full support. As a result, those gathered voted for a “compromise” option - the son of the influential Patriarch Filaret, Mikhail Romanov. The election that marked the beginning of the new dynasty took place on February 7, 1613.
The Time of Troubles in Russia, however, is not over yet. The new tsar had to deal with the rebellious ataman Zarutsky, the Swedes and a 20,000-strong detachment of Poles who, together with the Zaporozhye Cossacks, besieged Moscow in 1618.
Until 1640, the hero of the Time of Troubles, Prince Pozharsky, faithfully served the Romanovs - Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich trusted him with the most important matters.
The results of the Troubles were difficult. The Moscow state lost access to the Baltic for more than 100 years, and the strategic fortress of Smolensk for several decades. The amount of plowed land decreased by 20 times, and the number of peasants capable of working on it decreased by 4 times. Many cities - for example, Veliky Novgorod - were completely destroyed. But the most important result was still a “plus” - Rus', in conditions of external aggression and internal turmoil, retained its independence.
Monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow from grateful descendants He elected Mikhail Romanov, the first Russian Tsar from the Romanov dynasty, as the new Tsar.
On November 4, 1612, soldiers of the people's militia under the leadership of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky took Kitay-Gorod by storm, liberating Moscow from Polish invaders and demonstrating an example of heroism and unity of the entire people, regardless of origin, religion and position in society
However, opinions were expressed that the November 4 holiday has no historical connection with the events described above, and discussions were made about the way of dating old holidays in a new style. All these opinions boil down to one thing: in order to abolish the Soviet holiday of the Great October Socialist Revolution, as well as to complete the work on the bill ahead of schedule, the date of November 4 was chosen.
It was also noted that National Unity Day is a resurrected public holiday established in 1649 by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. According to this decree, the church holiday of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God acquires state status. With the advent of Soviet power, the tradition of celebrating the liberation of Moscow was interrupted.
Some political scientists and politicians also spoke out about the holiday. Their opinions on this issue differ. There were words that the new holiday would not take root in Russia, and that National Unity Day has good prospects in the future.
History of the holiday
The immediate reason for the introduction of the new holiday was the government's planned cancellation of the celebration of November 7, which in people's minds is associated with the anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917.
The idea to make November 4th a holiday National Unity Day was expressed by the Interreligious Council of Russia in September 2004.
It was supported by the Duma Committee on Labor and Social Policy and thus acquired the status of a Duma initiative.
On the same day, members of the Presidium of the Interreligious Council of Russia appealed to the Chairman of the State Duma, Boris Gryzlov, with a request to consider the Council’s statement on establishing the date November 4 as a holiday. The Council supported the initiative to introduce a new holiday. The corresponding appeal, along with the text of the statement, was distributed in the Duma in connection with the consideration in the first reading of amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation related to the revision of holiday dates.
On the eve of the first celebration of National Unity Day, a sociological survey was conducted in 46 regions of the country. 33% of respondents believed that on November 4 in Russia the Day of Accord and Reconciliation is celebrated, 8% were going to celebrate the Day of National Unity, and 5% - “Day of Liberation from the Polish-Lithuanian Interventionists.” The same poll showed that the majority of Russians (63%) had a negative attitude towards the cancellation on November 7.
Even more interesting are the results of the 2009 survey. The question was formulated as follows: “What kind of holiday is celebrated in Russia on November 4?” More than 30% of respondents found it difficult to answer. 45% responded that they would celebrate National Unity Day, and 6% said that November 4 is the day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Just over 10% of the population believes that in November the country celebrates the anniversary of the October Revolution.
The holiday was also actively celebrated in Moscow (where two religious processions and a “Russian March” took place; the president of the country laid flowers at the Moscow monument to Kozma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky), Samara, Volgograd, Vladimir, Kostroma, Petrozavodsk, St. Petersburg and other cities.
2011
Holiday celebrations are taking place all over the country. Dmitry Medvedev laid flowers at the monument to Minin and Pozharsky and organized a reception at the Grand Kremlin Palace. In parallel with the nationalist “Russian March,” a demonstration under the same name “Russian March” took place in Moscow, for which the “Nashi” movement has been gathering representatives of various nationalities for three years in a row.
year 2012
Traditionally, the center of the festive events will be the city of Nizhny Novgorod. The regional government allocated 15 million 200 thousand rubles for organizing the holiday. In addition, by November 4, a sand sculpture about 30 meters long and about 5 meters high will be erected in Nizhny Novgorod. There is information that the sculpture will be thematic, that is, depicting Kozma Minin’s appeal. The full program of festive events in Nizhny Novgorod became known a week and a half before the start of the celebrations.
Notes
see also
Links
- Federal Law of December 29 No. 201-FZ
- Echo of Moscow. What will be celebrated in Russia on November 4, 2005? About the Time of Troubles, chronology of events, confusion with calendars.
- News. Holidays. How they appear and who installs them. Interview with Andrei Nikolaevich Sakharov, director of the Russian Academy of Sciences. A detailed discussion of the problems associated with the date of the holiday and its history.
- BBC Russia. Heroes who were not given their due during their lifetime.
- RIA News. Russian Unity Day. Reference
- V. E. Shmatov. Prince Pozharsky is a man of high faith, honor and duty
- Vladislav Nazarov. What will be celebrated in Russia on November 4, 2005?
- Smirnov I.V. Politics vs science. Biography of National Unity Day published
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
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- Chalcedon Cathedral
See what “National Unity Day” is in other dictionaries:
National Unity Day- On November 4, Russia celebrates National Unity Day. The holiday was established by the Federal Law on Amendments to Article 1 of the Federal Law on the Days of Military Glory (Victory Days) of Russia dated December 24, 2004. For the first time in Russia this new... ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers
DAY OF NATIONAL UNITY is a national holiday in Russia celebrated on November 4th. The first time in the modern history of Russia was celebrated in 2005, which was preceded by a number of important events. In September 2004, the Interreligious Council of Russia, consisting of leaders of traditional... ... Large current political encyclopedia
DAY OF NATIONAL UNITY- Public Holiday. Non-working day. Celebrated on November 4th. The holiday was introduced in 2005 in memory of November 4, 1612, when soldiers of the people’s militia led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky stormed Kitay City, liberating... ... Linguistic and regional dictionary
National Unity Day in Russia- On November 4, Russia celebrates National Unity Day. The holiday was established by the Federal Law on Amendments to Article 1 of the Federal Law on the Days of Military Glory (Victory Days) of Russia dated December 24, 2004. (After making changes from... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers
National Unity Day in Russia: history of the holiday- On November 4, Russia celebrates National Unity Day. The holiday was established by the Federal Law On the Amendment to Article 1 of the Federal Law on the Days of Military Glory (Victory Days) of Russia, signed in December 2004 by Russian President Vladimir... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers
National Unity Day: history of the holiday- National Unity Day was established in memory of the events of 1612, when the people's militia led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky liberated Moscow from Polish invaders. Historically, this holiday is associated with the end... ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers
Russia celebrates National Unity Day for the first time- This year, for the first time, Russia celebrates a new state holiday, National Unity Day. On December 16, 2004, the State Duma adopted amendments to the federal law “On Days of Military Glory” (Victory Days of Russia) in three readings at once.” The law, in ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers
November 4 - National Unity Day in Russia- In December 2004, Russian President V.V. Putin signed the Federal Law “On the inclusion of Article 1 of the Federal Law “On the Days of Military Glory (Victory Days) of Russia”, in which November 4 was declared National Unity Day. For the first time in… … Encyclopedia of Newsmakers
October Revolution Day 1917- On November 7, Russia celebrates the memorable date of the October Revolution Day of 1917. On November 7 (October 25, old style), 1917, an armed uprising took place in Petrograd, ending with the capture of the Winter Palace, the arrest of members of the Provisional... ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers
Day of consent and reconciliation- the official name of the holiday, previously celebrated in Russia on November 7. In the USSR, November 7 and 8 were celebrated as the anniversary of the October Revolution. The celebration of November 7 as one of the most important public holidays remained in Russia until... ... Wikipedia, Valery Shambarov. At the beginning of the 17th century, Russia was dying. Troubles, a mess of civil wars, the entire system of state power collapsed, cities and regions were divided among themselves by the interventionists. Not only the military saved the country...
On November 4, all of Russia will celebrate the Day of National Unity. Despite the fact that this is a relatively young holiday, its roots go back to the 17th century. Together we will figure out what kind of day this is and why it is confused with November 7th.
What happened on this day?
It was on November 4 (October 22, old style) 1612 that the people's militia, led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, stormed Kitay-Gorod, thereby freeing Moscow from Polish invaders.
The expulsion of the Poles from Moscow ended the long period of the Time of Troubles in Russia. After the expulsion of the Poles from Moscow, a new tsar was elected in Russia - a representative of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich.
It is customary to refer to the events from the death of Tsar Ivan the Terrible (1584) to the election of the first sovereign from the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich (1613), as the Time of Troubles. After the death of Ivan the Terrible, his son Fyodor I Ioannovich ascended the throne. However, he had no descendants, and the Rurik dynasty came to an end. However, everyone remembered about the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry, who died under mysterious circumstances during Fyodor’s lifetime. People began to say that perhaps he was alive. It was from this moment that the Time of Troubles began in Russia, impostors of False Dmitry began to lay claim to the throne.
When did National Unity Day become a holiday?
In 1613, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich established a holiday - the day of the cleansing of Moscow from Polish invaders. It was celebrated on November 4th.
In 1649, this day was declared an Orthodox state holiday of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. According to legend, the icon was sent from Kazan to Dmitry Pozharsky. With her, the militia entered Moscow. Many believe that it was thanks to the icon that the Poles were driven out.
After the 1917 revolution, the tradition of celebrating the liberation of Moscow from Polish invaders ceased.
In September 2004, the Interreligious Council of Russia proposed making November 4 a holiday and celebrating it as National Unity Day. The initiative was supported in the State Duma, and this day became a day off instead of November 7.
Why was the holiday called National Unity Day?
The explanatory note to the draft law on the introduction of a new holiday states the following:
“On November 4, 1612, the war of the people’s militia led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharvsky took China Town by storm, liberating Moscow from Polish invaders and demonstrating an example of heroism and unity of the entire people, regardless of origin, religion and position in society.”
How is National Unity Day celebrated?
National Unity Day is one of the youngest holidays in the country. However, many Russians still do not know what important historical event it is connected with, what does the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God have to do with it, and why this day is celebrated on November 4th.
What happened on this day?
National Unity Day is associated with an event in 1612. It was on November 4 (October 22, old style) that the people's militia, led by the zemstvo elder Kuzma Minin and the Novgorod prince Dmitry Pozharsky, expelled the Polish invaders from the Russian capital. More than 10 thousand people from all classes of Russia united and fought back the enemy.
This event is of great importance for the country. Firstly, with the expulsion of the Poles, the Time of Troubles, which began in 1598 after the death of the last king from the Rurik dynasty, who did not leave an heir, ended. It was a time of robberies, robberies, famine; impostors replaced the throne one after another, posing as the son of Ivan the Terrible. Secondly, the country elected a new tsar - Mikhail Fedorovich from the Romanov dynasty.
How did the National Unity Day holiday come about?
The Interreligious Council of Russia proposed celebrating National Unity Day on November 4. Their initiative was supported by the Duma Committee on Labor and Social Policy, as well as Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Rus'.
In November 2004, a bill on amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation was submitted to the State Duma. The document, in particular, discussed the cancellation of the celebration of November 7 (the anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution) and the introduction of a new holiday date - November 4. In December 2004, President Vladimir Putin signed this bill and amendments to the federal law “On Days of Military Glory and Memorable Dates of Russia.”
The country first celebrated a new national holiday in 2005.
Is it true that this holiday already existed?
The fact is that in 1613, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich established a holiday - the Day of the Cleansing of Moscow from Polish invaders, which was celebrated on November 4.
In 1649, this day was declared a church and state holiday of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. She is considered the patroness of the people's militia. According to legend, it was with this icon that the army entered Moscow.
However, after the revolution of 1917, they stopped celebrating the liberation of the capital from Polish interventionists. Until the advent of National Unity Day.
Why is the holiday called that?
It is not known exactly. This is probably due to the description contained in the explanatory note to the draft law on the introduction of a new holiday. It says:
“On November 4, 1612, soldiers of the people’s militia under the leadership of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky took Kitay-Gorod by storm, liberating Moscow from Polish invaders and demonstrating an example of heroism and unity of the entire people, regardless of origin, religion and position in society.”
National Unity Day
Every year on November 4, Russians celebrate National Unity Day. This holiday is relatively young. It was established in December 2004 on the initiative of the Interreligious Council of Russia and the Committee on Labor and Social Policy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
Excursion into history
The history of the holiday dates back to the Time of Troubles in Rus' in the 16th-17th centuries. When the Rurik dynasty ended its existence in defeated Moscow, and Polish interventionists tried to seize power in the country with the connivance of the traitorous boyars, who recognized the Polish prince Vladislav as the Russian Tsar. Soldiers of the Polish-Lithuanian army ruled in Russian cities, towns and villages. The robberies and violence they committed drove the civilians of Rus' to despair and inspired them to create a national liberation movement - the people's militia.
The first militia of 1611 was led by the Ryazan nobleman Prokopiy Lyapunov. He was supported by princes Dmitry Trubetskoy, Grigory Shakhovskoy, Massalsky, Cherkasy and a number of other noble Russian families. However, due to infighting, Prokopiy Lyapunov was killed and the goals were not achieved.
In 1612, Nizhny Novgorod zemstvo elder Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky became leaders of the second militia. Having gathered an army, they moved towards Moscow. On August 22, 1612 (according to the Julian calendar), a battle began near the walls of the Novodevichy Convent, which became decisive in the history of the liberation of Rus' from the Polish occupiers. Russian soldiers went into battle with the image of the Kazan Mother of God. On October 22, militia troops stormed Kitay-Gorod and forced the Polish garrison to retreat behind the walls of the Moscow Kremlin. And a few days later, on October 24, the Poles surrendered. This victory was one of the most significant in Russian history. The Kazan icon was placed in the Church of the Presentation on Lubyanka - the parish church of the Pozharskys. In Moscow, on the initiative of the prince, a local celebration of the icon was established on October 22 (November 4 according to the currently valid Gregorian calendar). In 1649, by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the holiday was declared a state holiday.
New Russia - a new holiday
With the advent of Soviet power in October-November 1917, this great day was “forgotten.” New holiday dates have appeared in the new country. For the peoples of the Soviet Union, the red day of the calendar was November 7 (October 25 according to the Julian calendar) - the date of the October Revolution.
In New Russia at the turn of the 20th-21st centuries, the Soviet holiday became irrelevant, and on December 27, 2004, National Unity Day was established, which began to be celebrated on November 4 - in honor of the liberation of Moscow from the Polish invaders. The symbol and idea of the holiday was the unity of the people in the struggle for freedom and independence.
Moscow and St. Petersburg celebrate this date on a grand scale every year. The northern capital will host the festival of autumn colors “Festival of Lights”. For Muscovites, the festival, which bears the same name as the holiday itself – “National Unity Day” – is an opportunity to get acquainted with the culture and traditions of the peoples of Russia. Traditionally, the center of festive events is Nizhny Novgorod - the birthplace of Kuzma Minin, a city famous not only for its historical and cultural, but also for its trade and business traditions. This year the emphasis is on friendship and harmony between peoples. In Nizhny Novgorod, the following are dedicated to this: the exhibition “Craft Fair”, the festival of national cuisine “Nizhny Novgorod Pies”, the festival of national cultures “Friendship of Peoples” and the flash mob “Round Dance of Friendship”.
Every city, town, village, village celebrates this big and joyful holiday in its own way. Its importance is difficult to overestimate. The feeling that every Russian experiences on this day is akin to the sunshine settling in the soul. The light of freedom, courage and perseverance, the light of goodness.
“The spirit of unity and creation runs through all of Russian history. This power created and united a great power. Enemies, internal strife and civil strife retreated before this power, attempts to conquer and bring our country to its knees collapsed. The twists and turns of history have tested Russia's strength more than once, but the unity of the people, based on love for their native land and responsibility for its fate, has always prevailed. This unity has been and, I am sure, will always be a reliable support for our state.” (President of Russia V.V. Putin, from a speech at a reception on the occasion of National Unity Day, Moscow, Kremlin, 2012.)
Tatiana Guryshkina
