A brief history of the National Unity Day holiday in Russia. A brief history of the National Unity Day holiday in Russia When the National Unity Day holiday was founded
This holiday, which was revived in the country relatively recently, still causes confusion among some people, since they do not know what the occasion is for. It was established in honor of the liberation of Moscow from Polish intervention in the 17th century. This is an official day off, replacing the seventh of November, which lost this status. It is a symbol of national unity and is celebrated by all citizens of the Russian Federation. Now he is becoming more and more popular, gradually regaining his former fame.
history of the holiday
The date is connected with distant events of the 17th century, when Moscow was annoyed by Polish invaders. One of the impetus for popular indignation was the murder by the Poles of Patriarch Hermogenes, who called for repulsing the foreigners. In 1611, headman Kuzma Minin made a call for the creation of a militia. The main governor was the Novgorod prince Dmitry Pozharsky. The threat then was serious - the Poles insisted on recognizing a sovereign of foreign origin on the Russian throne, enlisting the support of the boyars. But the militia, consisting of representatives of all classes and peoples, liberated the country, taking China Town by storm and demonstrating an example of the unity of the people.
In 1649, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich designated November 4 as the Day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, with which the liberators entered Moscow. Under the USSR, the holiday was canceled, considering it religious. It was revived only in 2004, when it was necessary to completely remove parallels with the anniversary of the October Socialist Revolution, which was celebrated on November 7. Therefore, it is difficult to call this holiday new - it was first celebrated many years ago. Moreover, the main characters were remembered for a very long time; even Peter I spoke warmly of Kuzma Minin, calling him “the savior of the Fatherland.”
In 1649, by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the obligatory celebration of November 4 was established as a day of gratitude to the Blessed Virgin Mary for her help in liberating Russia from the Poles. The holiday was celebrated in Russia until the 1917 Revolution. This day was included in the church calendar as the Celebration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in memory of the deliverance of Moscow and Russia from the Poles in 1612. Thus, National Unity Day is essentially not new holiday, but a return to the old tradition.
Many people still don’t understand what kind of holiday is celebrated in Russia on November 4th. Yes, not just a holiday, but a full day off. With such pomp, only a very important and big date has the right to exist.
What a holiday is November 4th: biography of National Unity Day in Russia
The regime has changed in Russia, but the old, favorite holidays remain, for example, November 7 - the red day of the calendar. For 70 years, Soviet people celebrated the anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
With the disappearance of the USSR and a change of course, the holiday was removed, but the reflex remained. The people needed to replace this holiday with something. Historians and politicians dug into the past and found an excellent date - November 4, 1612 - the expulsion of the Poles from Moscow. The new date fit perfectly on the old revolutionary tracing paper and since 2005, Russia again received a November holiday - National Unity Day.
What is National Unity Day: a prelude to the holiday
The holiday of national unity of Russia is associated with Minin and Pozharsky, it was under their leadership that it was possible to rid Moscow of interventionists. During the same period in the life of Russia there is an era of unrest: no spiritual bonds, no national idea - complete drunkenness, debauchery, impostors in power, and as a result - the disintegration of the country into separate principalities.
As stated in historical information At that time, the destruction of the Muscovite kingdom occurred in the country, the Seven Boyars were established, which allowed Polish interventionists to reach the Kremlin. The Poles wanted to place King Vladislav on the throne.
Minin and Pozharsky call for national unity
The majority of the inhabitants of the Moscow kingdom were not going to put up with such a fate and in 1611 staged, as they would now say, an uncoordinated meeting with riots. True, that “Moscow Maidan” was quickly extinguished. In the same year, Kuzma Minin addressed the townspeople. In his fiery speech, he called for the creation of resistance, then he said his famous: “we will not spare our bellies” and, in addition to the army, collected a decent amount of money for its maintenance.
Minin proposed appointing Novgorod Prince Pozharsky at the head of the militia. However, the prince himself did not immediately agree to lead the resistance and put forward the condition that he be given a person who would be chosen by the residents themselves as his assistant. Minin was unanimously chosen as such a person. Coincidence, subtle calculation or the only thing the right strategy? Perhaps both. But that doesn't matter at all. The main thing is the result: the Poles were expelled, the land was reclaimed.
Holiday National Unity Day: modern Russia
This political message of expelling enemies from Russia may well be adopted by some popular party, for example, the Liberal Democratic Party. Vladimir Volfovich will gather a rally of thousands somewhere in the center of Moscow and proclaim the next one - the 402nd anniversary of the expulsion of the Poles from Moscow and will be greeted with deafening applause from the patriotic masses.
When is National Unity Day in Russia?
Every year, on November 4, Russia celebrates the Great Public Holiday– National Unity Day, a tribute to the ancestors who liberated the country from Polish invaders. Unite and congratulate everyone on this great holiday! Now you will be able to answer the question “What holiday is celebrated in Russia on November 4?”, and in addition you will be able to present the true biography of National Unity Day!
National Unity Day
National Unity Day is an official public holiday in Russia. Noted fourth of november, since 2005. The last holiday (non-working) day of the year in Russia.
Official status of the holiday National Unity Day in the Russian Federation
The holiday was established by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in December 2004 on the basis of the Federal Law “On the inclusion in Article 1 of the Federal Law “On the Days of Military Glory (Victory Days) of Russia”. Accordingly, for the first time Russians celebrated the holiday on November 4, 2005.
Brief information about the history of the holiday
National Unity Day is celebrated in memory of the events when the people's militia, led by Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, liberated Moscow from Polish invaders in 1612.
History of National Unity Day
- On October 22 (November 1 according to the Gregorian calendar), 1612, militia fighters led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky took Kitay-Gorod by storm, the garrison of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth retreated to the Kremlin.
— Prince Pozharsky entered Kitai-Gorod with the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and vowed to build a temple in memory of this victory. On October 26 (November 5 according to the Gregorian calendar), the command of the interventionist garrison signed a capitulation, releasing the Moscow boyars and other nobles from the Kremlin at the same time.
— The next day (October 27) the garrison surrendered. At the end of February 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected Mikhail Romanov, the first Russian Tsar from the Romanov dynasty, as the new Tsar.
— In 1649, by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, October 22 (according to the Julian calendar), was declared a public holiday, which was celebrated for three centuries until 1917.
According to the Orthodox church calendar, this day marks the “Celebration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (in memory of the deliverance of Moscow and Russia from the Poles in 1612),” which falls on October 22 according to the Julian calendar. Due to the increase in the differences between the Julian and Gregorian calendars over the past centuries, this day has shifted to November 4th. It is this date - October 22 according to the Julian calendar, or November 4 according to the Gregorian calendar - that was chosen as the day of the public holiday.
National Unity Day- the holiday is quite new, but with long historical traditions. It appeared in Russia in 2005, actually replacing the main Soviet holiday - November 7, which today is a working day.
National Unity Day: how we relax in November 2018 in Russia
In 2018, the last public holiday remained in Russia - National Unity Day. In the first week of November, in connection with this holiday, Russians will have a three-day weekend, followed by a shortened working week.
Let us remind you that according to production calendar, in November 2018 in Russia there are nine days off and 21 working days.
What date is National Unity Day?
National Unity Day - a day off or a working day?
This is a public holiday and is a day off. This year the holiday falls on Sunday, so the day off will be postponed and Russians will be able to relax from 3 to 5 November.
Saturday, November 3rd,- day off. Sunday, November 4,- National Unity Day, according to Article 112 Labor Code Russian Federation, official non-working holiday. Monday, November 5th- a holiday day off, which appeared as a result of the postponement of the day off from the fourth day.
From the history of the holiday National Unity Day
If we briefly tell the history of this holiday, then it all began with the Time of Troubles, which, according to historians, was in Russia from 1598 to 1613. This period, which coincided with the change of centuries from the 16th to the 17th, was accompanied by natural disasters, riots, civil war, Polish intervention and other troubles. The result of this was a severe state-political and socio-economic crisis that almost destroyed Russia.
It is believed that the problems began when, after the death of the king, IvanaIV (Grozny) his son ascended to the Russian throne Feodor I Ioannovich. He ruled for quite a long time - 14 years, but was not a strong ruler and did not leave descendants. After his death the dynasty Rurikovich stopped.
In 1598 he ascended the Russian throne Boris Godunov, a representative of a noble and influential boyar family. But he was unlucky. Not only did natural disasters and crop failure hit Russia during Godunov’s reign, he was (most likely unfairly) considered responsible for the death of Ivan the Terrible’s youngest son, Tsarevich Dmitry, who died in Uglich under mysterious circumstances.
Soon they began to say that perhaps Dmitry was alive and was about to return to take the throne that rightfully belonged to him. As a result of these rumors, confusion arose, which was taken advantage of by various rogues who declared themselves to be a miraculously escaped prince. In Russian history, these impostors are usually called “False Dmitrys.”
A real leapfrog began on the Russian throne. Following the Godunovs they came False Dmitry I And Vasily Shuisky, then seized power Seven Boyars, then there was a Polish prince Vladislav, and then two more False Dmitry. At this time, the Polish invaders were already in full control of Moscow.
The life of Russians at this time was so difficult that many lands were depopulated and fell into desolation, people fled to the forests, awaiting the Last Judgment and general destruction.
Then the patriarch Hermogenes called on the people to defend the Fatherland and the Orthodox faith and expel the occupiers. This mission was entrusted to the Nizhny Novgorod zemstvo elder Kuzma Minin and the prince Dmitry Pozharsky. They gathered a huge militia, which included representatives of all classes and peoples who then lived on the territory of Russia.
Taking as a symbol the considered miraculous icon of the Kazan Mother of God, Nizhny Novgorod militia October 22 (November 4, New Style) 1612 took Moscow's Kitay-Gorod by storm and expelled the Polish interventionists from Moscow.
This victory was the first step towards the revival of the Russian state, and the icon of the Kazan Mother of God became a subject of special veneration.
In February 1613, the Zemsky Sobor, which included representatives of all peoples and classes of Russia, as well as many Russian cities, elected 16-year-old as the new king Mikhail Romanov. Mikhail became the first autocrat of the Romanov dynasty, which ruled Russia for three hundred years.
The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 is considered a symbol of the final victory over the Time of Troubles, the triumph of Orthodoxy and national unity.
As for the Kazan Icon, it began to be revered not only as the patroness of the Romanov dynasty - a special church holiday was established for this shrine.
Son of Mikhail Romanov - Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich, who reigned in 1645–1676, ordered November 4 to be celebrated as a day of gratitude to the Most Holy Theotokos for her help in the liberation of Russia. This holiday was celebrated before the revolution of 1917 and was preserved in the church calendar as the Day of Celebration in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in memory of the deliverance of Moscow and Russia from the Poles in 1612.
Thus, the current Day of National Unity, established in 2005, is the legitimate “heir” of the old Russian tradition.
History of the holiday
In the early 2000s, the Russian government planned to cancel the official celebration November 7, which, despite all the renaming and attempts to “upgrade”, remained in the popular consciousness associated with the anniversary October revolution 1917.
The holiday needed a worthy replacement. Moreover, at the beginning of November in Russia there are school holidays, when it is desirable to provide parents with more opportunity to spend time with their schoolchildren.
The idea to make it festive National Unity Day November 4 was proposed by the Interreligious Council of Russia in September 2004. The initiative was supported by the State Duma Committee on Labor and Social Policy. On December 27, 2004, the bill was adopted in the third reading, and since 2005 a new holiday has appeared in Russia.
Holiday traditions
On National Unity Day, rallies and processions of various political parties and public associations are held in different cities of our country. The center of the holiday is traditionally Red Square, where the country's leaders lay flowers at the monument to Minin and Pozharsky, and then a grandiose festive concert takes place. This year, the Moscow government approved nine applications for events, dedicated to the Day national unity on November 4.
On this day, festive festivities and dozens of events take place in the capital and other cities. various events patriotic orientation. On the eve of the holiday in schools and nurseries preschool institutions Festive concerts are held so that not a single child is left uninvolved in patriotic themes. Children's creative groups actively participate in the festival.
In St. Petersburg, on National Unity Day, the now traditional Festival of Light is held, accompanied by a light show and video installations. This year the festival will be held at the Petersburg Sports and Concert Complex and in Moscow's Victory Park.
A special place of the holiday - Nizhny Novgorod - homeland Kuzma Minin. The main festive events take place on National Unity Square, where, like in Moscow, there is a monument to Minin and Pozharsky. A rally-concert takes place there, traditionally ending with festive fireworks.
National Unity Day: congratulations in verse
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Happy National Unity Day
Congratulations sound
In peace, friendship and harmony
All peoples want to live.
We wish all of Russia
Live as one family
Let him not know war and troubles,
May peace reign over the country!
***
Happy National Unity Day!
Happy November!
Let it be in our lives
Place for the holidays, friends.
Congratulations! Let it be
Joy in the world and goodness,
And in our hearts and souls -
It will be sunny and warm!
Happiness to all Russian families,
And health and good luck.
May it be on a beautiful autumn day
Songs of joy sound!
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 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.”
How is National Unity Day celebrated?
