Day national unity- This is a fairly young holiday, but it is dedicated to an event that occurred more than 400 years ago during the Time of Troubles. On this day in 1612, the militia led by Kuzma Minin And Dmitry Pozharsky defeated the Polish interventionists and liberated Moscow.
Historical excursion: what is the Time of Troubles?
Chronologically, this period can be designated as 1584-1613. After death Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible in 1584 his heir ascended the throne Fedor Ioannovich, who showed little interest in government affairs. Tsar Fedor had no heirs, and his only successor, Tsarevich Dmitry, died in Uglich as a child. In 1598, Fyodor Ioannovich died, and the royal Rurik dynasty ended with him.
This was followed by about 15 years of deep national crisis. The Time of Troubles was the time of the appearance of impostors, the rule of the boyars, a terrible famine and war with the Poles.
On November 4, 1612, the militia led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky managed to liberate Moscow from the Polish invaders. In 1613, a new king was elected at the Zemsky Sobor - Mikhail Romanov. This event chronologically marked the end of the state crisis and the Time of Troubles. In honor of the victory over the Poles, November 4 became the Day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. According to legend, the militia managed to win thanks to her intercession.
Victory of the people's militia over the Poles. High relief from the monument to Minin and Pozharsky. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
November holidays: from the 7th to the 4th
In the USSR, the holiday was celebrated on November 7 - October Revolution Day. On the night of October 25-26, 1917 (November 7-8, new style), during an armed uprising, the Bolsheviks captured the Winter Palace, arrested members of the Provisional Government and proclaimed Soviet power.
In the Soviet Union, November 7 and 8 were non-working days. On November 7, military parades were held on Red Square, and festive demonstrations were organized throughout the country.
In 1996 Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the decree “On the Day of Harmony and Reconciliation.” November 7 remained a holiday, but the essence of the holiday changed radically. This holiday was supposed to be a day of renunciation of confrontation, a day of reconciliation and unity of various layers of Russian society. 1997, the year of the 80th anniversary of the revolution, was declared a year of harmony and reconciliation.
In 2004 Russian President Vladimir Putin The federal law “On Amendments to Article 112” was signed Labor Code Russian Federation" This law established new holiday November 4 is National Unity Day. The document came into force in 2005.
Is there unity?
National Unity Day is a young holiday, and the culture of its celebration has not yet developed.
The historical side of the holiday is little known to many people and looks faded against the backdrop of the Battle of Kulikovo or the Battle of Borodino. In addition, the very historical fabric of those times is so complex and filled with names and events that only professionals can have a clear idea of the meaning of the events of 1612. According to the results of a survey by VTsIOM, the majority of Russians still do not know the name of the holiday. In 2011, this was 43% of respondents. Only 14% of Russians were aware of what exactly the holiday was dedicated to. Most of those surveyed stated that they would not celebrate National Unity Day.
According to the results of a VTsIOM survey conducted in 2012, the majority of Russians believe that there is no national unity in Russia. There were 56% of them. Only 23% of respondents are confident that there is unity.
At the same time, those who believe in national unity more often say that in Russia different nations coexist peacefully. Those who hold opposing views say that everyone thinks only of themselves.
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 one remained in Russia Public Holiday - 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 the 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 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, is an 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 National Unity Day holiday
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 the miraculously saved 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 renamings 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 break, 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 in different cities Our country hosts rallies and processions of both various political parties and public associations. 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 National Unity Day on November 4.
On this day, festive festivities and dozens of different patriotic events take place in the capital and other cities. On the eve of the holiday, holiday concerts are held in schools and preschool institutions 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
***
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, starting in 2005, a holiday appeared on our calendars, called - National Unity Day. This day was dedicated to the events of 1612, when Moscow was liberated from enemy Polish troops by Russian troops led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky. At that time, Russia was in a difficult situation; this period in history from 1584 to 1613 was called the Time of Troubles.
Initially, during the USSR, November 7th celebrated the day of the October Revolution. However, after the collapse of the Union, people, out of habit, continued to celebrate this event for another 14 years. But then, until 2004, the date was marked as a day of agreement and reconciliation. Then in December 2004, the State Duma of the Russian Federation introduced amendments to the federal law “On Military Glory”. One of these amendments was the replacement of the name with a new one – National Unity Day. And so that this event would not remind of the October Revolution of 1917, it was decided to move it from November 7 to November 4 and make it a day off in Russia.
After the renaming in 2005, Russian citizens celebrated a new holiday for the first time.
Society's opinion
There are many conflicting opinions about renaming and moving the day off.
The people believed that the new holiday would not catch on, but this date became official holiday in Russia and has been celebrated for 11 years.
Regarding the introduction of a new holiday date in different years sociological surveys were conducted, which showed citizens' attitude towards innovations.
Results of sociological surveys in different years:
Religious holiday
The 4th of November was also timed Orthodox holiday in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which appeared in the 17th century during the Time of Troubles and is still celebrated by Orthodox believers. This church date was established as gratitude for the deliverance of the entire country from the invasion of Polish troops.
Patriarch Hermogenes in 1612 asked the Orthodox people to pray for liberation and stand up with all their might to defend the Russian land from invaders. From Kazan, the patriarch sent a miraculous image of the Ever-Virgin Mary to the militia led by Dmitry Pozharsky. All the people turned with faith to the image of the Ever-Virgin Mary with a request for victory over the enemy invaders, and she heard their prayers and requests for help.
In August 1612, the first detachment of militia headed to Moscow and defeated the enemy troops of Hetman Khodkevich. On October 22 of the same year, the second detachment of militia went on the attack and captured Kitay-Gorod. Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, entering Kitay-Gorod with a detachment, carried the sent icon in his arms. Since then there has been an opinion that The Mother of God saved the country from enemies, and the fourth day of November became the day when they celebrate the Orthodox holiday dedicated to this saving icon. In honor of this significant event in 1630, a cathedral of the same name.
A holiday dedicated to the saving icon, elevated to the rank of state in 1649 by order of the king, and they began to celebrate it twice in the summer season and in the fall on November 4. During the times of church persecution, the Kazan Cathedral was destroyed by order of the USSR authorities. Since then, the tradition of celebrating the holiday has been broken. Currently Orthodox the cathedral has been completely restored.
Many Russians like to spend extra non-working days on travel and other recreation. In November, residents of our country will have a long weekend of three days thanks to the national holiday - National Unity Day. It's amazing, but 2/3 of our country doesn't actually know that we celebrate November 4th. Let’s dot the i’s in our “Question and Answer” section.
Russia celebrates the national holiday Day of National Unity on November 4. It was approved in December 2004. This decision was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The head of state made changes to the federal law“On the days of military glory (victorious days) of Russia,” in which November 4 was declared the Day of National Unity. The country celebrated the new holiday for the first time on November 4, 2005.
What is it dedicated to?
The National Unity Day holiday dates back to the distant year 1612. On November 4, according to the new style, the militia led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky expelled the Polish invaders from the Russian capital. Historically, this holiday is associated with the end of the Time of Troubles in Russia, which lasted since 1584.
It began after the death of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. His heir Fyodor Ioannovich, who was far from state affairs, ascended the throne. In 1598 he died, and since he had no heirs, the royal Rurik dynasty ended. This was followed by about 15 years of deep national crisis.
The Time of Troubles was the time of the appearance of impostors, the rule of the boyars, a terrible famine and war with the Poles. Russia was in a fever from widespread robberies, robberies, theft, and widespread drunkenness. The united Russian state collapsed. In 1610, Russian boyars, led by Prince Fyodor Mstislavsky, allowed Polish troops into the Kremlin with the intention of placing the Catholic prince Vladislav on the Russian throne.
The first people's militia to liberate the capital from the Poles was led by the Ryazan governor Prokopiy Lyapunov. But this anti-Polish uprising was defeated. In September 1611, the Nizhny Novgorod zemstvo elder Kuzma Minin called on the people to create a people's militia. A nationwide collection of money began to carry out the plan. Novgorod Prince Dmitry Pozharsky was invited to the post of chief governor. A huge army for that time gathered under the banners of Pozharsky and Minin - more than 10 thousand serving local people, up to three thousand Cossacks, more than a thousand archers and many peasants. With the miraculous icon of the Kazan Mother of God, revealed in 1579, the Nizhny Novgorod zemstvo militia managed to take Kitay-Gorod by storm on November 4, 1612 and expel the Poles from Moscow. The Great Zemsky Council of 1613 was the final victory over the Troubles, the triumph of Orthodoxy and national unity. In the same year, the first of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, reigned on the Russian throne.
Later, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich established a holiday in honor of this great event, which became the Orthodox state holiday of Moscow Rus' (celebrated until 1917). IN church calendar This day became known 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.
These are completely different holidays. November 7 and 8 were non-working days in the USSR; people celebrated October Revolution Day.
On the night of October 25-26 (old style), 1917, thanks to an armed uprising, the Bolsheviks captured the Winter Palace, arrested members of the Provisional Government and proclaimed Soviet power.
In 1996, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree “On the Day of Harmony and Reconciliation”, while the day remained non-working, but the essence of the holiday changed radically. According to the head of state, it was supposed to be a day of renunciation of confrontation, a day of reconciliation and unity of various strata of Russian society.
As we described above, in 2004, President Putin, by decree, approved a new holiday - National Unity Day. The November 7 holiday was cancelled.
National Unity Day and Military Glory Day in Russia
Since 2005, the Day of National Unity has been celebrated on the Orthodox holiday of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. This holiday was established in honor of the liberation of Moscow in 1612 from Polish invaders. In 1649, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich declared the day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God a state holiday. Due to the revolution of 1917 and the events that followed it, this tradition of celebrating the liberation of Moscow from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders ceased.
On December 16, 2004, the State Duma of the Russian Federation introduced a new holiday - the Day of National Unity (Day of Harmony and Reconciliation), and on November 7, instead of the October Revolution Day, today Russia celebrates the Day of Military Glory of Russia. On this day, a military parade is held in Moscow on Red Square.
In the explanatory note to the draft law proposed for discussion, it was noted that it was on November 4, 1612 that Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky led an army that showed its heroism and the unity of the Russian people, which took China Town by storm and liberated Moscow from Polish invaders.
Railwayman's Day in Ukraine
This date, as a professional holiday, began to be celebrated on November 4 at the initiative of workers of the Lviv Railway and by Decree of the President of Ukraine dated July 15, 1993. On November 4, 1861, during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the first train called “Yaroslav” arrived in Lviv. This train was an international train connecting Lviv, Vienna, Przemysl and Krakow.
Ukrainian railways today unite 6 railways: Donetsk, Lviv, Odessa, Southern, Southwestern and Pridneprovskaya, uniting all regions of Ukraine.
30,300 km of railway tracks and more than 1.5 thousand stations are served by more than 375 thousand employees. Every year, more than 500 million passengers travel by rail in Ukraine, and about 300 million tons of cargo are transported using about 175 thousand freight cars.
The first professional holiday for railway workers was established in Russia in the 19th century on the birthday of Emperor Nicholas I, who initiated the construction of railways. It was celebrated annually on June 25 until 1917, then the holiday was forgotten for 20 years. The tradition of celebrating Railway Workers' Day continued in the USSR in 1936. This holiday began to be celebrated every first Sunday in August.
In 2004, on February 26 in Kyiv, at the 1st Conference of Trade Unions of Railway Workers and Transport Builders, it was decided to hold the Day of Railway Workers and Transport Builders of Ukraine every first Sunday in August. In fact, Ukrainian railway workers now have 2 professional holiday: in the fall - Railway Worker's Day and in the summer - Railway Workers' Trade Union Day.
Social Worker Day in Armenia
This holiday was declared by the Armenian government in early 2009. On November 4, 1918, the coalition government of the First Republic formed the Ministry of Public Guardianship - the basis of the policy of social protection of the population of Armenia. The social sphere during the Sovietization of Armenia and to this day has remained one of the main directions of the policy of this state.
Unusual holidays
— Housewife's Day
— National Family Literacy Day
- Gentle Ear Bite Day
- The day when it's time to start all over again
- National Pet Cooking Day
Church holiday November 4
Day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
On this autumn day, all Orthodox Christians commemorate the day of the liberation of Moscow from the Poles in 1612 and celebrate the day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
In Rus', this day was celebrated for a long time as a public holiday. Russia glorified the Kazan image of the Mother of God, who showed her intercession for Rus' during the Time of Troubles.
The Kazan icon was taken with them into the militia when Russian troops liberated the Kremlin and Moscow from the enemy, Kuzma Minin and Prince Dimitry Pozharsky.
The revered image of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was transferred to the Church of the Nativity in 1737 Holy Mother of God to St. Petersburg, where the Kazan Cathedral was built in the 1810s, which in our time was restored and reopened on November 4, 1993.
Name day November 4 from: Alexander, Vasily, Vladimir, German, Gregory, Denis, Ivan, Irakli, Konstantin, Maxim, Nikolai, Fedor, Anna, Elizabeth.
