Why November 4th is a public holiday. Day of national unity or day of consent and reconciliation
Many Russians like to spend extra non-working days on trips and other recreation. In November, the inhabitants of our country will have a long weekend of three days thanks to the national holiday - the Day of National Unity. It's amazing, but 2/3 of our country doesn't really know that we celebrate November 4th. Let's dot the "i" in our section "Question-Answer".
On November 4, Russia celebrates National Unity Day as a national holiday. It was approved in December 2004. This decision was made by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The head of state amended 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 has its roots in the distant 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 from 1584.
It began after the death of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. His heir Fyodor Ioannovich, who was far from public affairs, ascended the throne. In 1598 he died, and since he had no heirs, the royal dynasty of Rurik was cut off. This was followed by about 15 years of deep national crisis.
The turmoil was the time of the appearance of impostors, the reign of the boyars, a terrible famine and war with the Poles. Russia was in a fever from widespread robberies, robberies, theft, and general drunkenness. The united Russian state collapsed. In 1610, the 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 headed by the Ryazan governor Prokopy 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 voivode. Under the banners of Pozharsky and Minin, a huge army for that time gathered - 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 on November 4, 1612 to storm Kitai-Gorod and drive the Poles out of Moscow. The Great Zemsky Sobor 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, in honor of this great event, established a holiday that became the Orthodox-state holiday of Moscow Rus' (it was celebrated until 1917). This day entered 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.
These are completely different holidays. November 7 and 8 were non-working days in the USSR, people celebrated the Day of the October Revolution.
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 the power of the Soviets.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1996 signed a decree "On the Day of Consent and Reconciliation", while the day remained non-working, but the essence of the holiday has changed dramatically. According to the idea of the head of state, it was supposed to be a day of renunciation of confrontation, a day of reconciliation and unity of various layers of Russian society.
As we said above, in 2004, President Putin approved a new holiday by his decree - National Unity Day. November 7 holiday has been cancelled.
National Unity Day is quite a young holiday. They started talking about it in 2004, and already in 2005 they celebrated it for the first time, making it a public holiday and a non-working day. Many Russians perceive this date only as a day off, completely unaware of all its significance for the history of the Fatherland. We will tell you about the need to know the history of National Unity Day, hoping to raise this event in people's eyes, but before that, we will tell you about how many days off are expected in the Russian Federation on National Unity Day in 2017, and how many days we will rest on November 4th.
How to relax on National Unity Day in 2017
It should be noted that November 4, 2017 falls on a Saturday, which means that with a five-day working. week, this day is considered a holiday. For this reason, the celebration of National Unity Day is postponed to November 6th (Monday). This day is declared non-working. Thus, the Russians have the opportunity to celebrate this holiday with as many as three days off: from November 4 to November 6 (see), thanks to which you will have a great opportunity to participate in festive events.
history of the holiday
The beginning of the seventeenth century brought many troubles and misfortunes to the Russian land. Against the backdrop of three lean years following one after another, which caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people, more serious events appeared: the heirs of the true Russian tsar were killed, and the Polish tsar began to claim their place, whose "messenger" in the Russian lands was False Dmitry the first. For more than 13 years, the Time of Troubles took place on our land, when power passed from one to another. But while the rich shared power, ordinary people died, and their faith along with them. Russia was threatened with complete annihilation, the adoption of Catholicism and the transition under Polish leadership. 
Came to the defense of Russian lands Minin and Pozharsky who gathered the militia. Their army marched under the patronage of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God. With the help of faith in victory and fortitude, the Russians were able to drive the Polish invaders from the Russian lands.
Holiday symbol
The symbol of National Unity Day has become icon of the Kazan Mother of God. This holiday is perhaps the only one in the entire Russian calendar that combines state and religious interests.
November 4 is a public holiday in Russia
Why was it decided in Russia to make National Unity Day a public holiday? We all know how strong and unshakable the power and will of the Russian people is. Thanks to the spiritual strength, the Russian people were able to raise their beloved Fatherland from their knees. During the Time of Troubles, the most patriotic re-education of Russians took place - people realized that unity and truth could overcome everything. United, the Russians are able to get rid of any enemy, heal themselves and their land. This holiday is dedicated to this - the unification of the entire Russian state, the call to the unshakable will of our man and faith in the purity of true thoughts.
Congratulations on National Unity Day 2017 - video
On November 4, 1612, militia soldiers led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky stormed Kitay-Gorod, freeing Moscow from Polish invaders and demonstrating a model of heroism and solidarity of the whole people, regardless of origin, religion and position in society.
Reality
On December 24, 2004, the draft on amending the Labor Code of the Russian Federation on the introduction of a new holiday on November 4 was adopted in the third reading. 327 deputies voted "for", 104 deputies, ie. all communists voted "no" and two abstained. Of course, overcoming the Time of Troubles spoke of a certain consolidation of the population. However, a logical question is posed, why exactly on November 4, this particular day was chosen for the new holiday?
Troubles are usually called the historical era, which chronologically continued from the death of the last tsar from the Rurik dynasty - Fedor Ioannovich (1598) and until the election of the first sovereign from the Romanov dynasty - Mikhail Fedorovich (1613). At its core, this era was a period of economic, domestic and foreign policy, dynastic and social crises. Among modern scientists, there is an opinion that the Troubles is a distant result of politics. The turmoil manifested itself in unrest in the minds, as well as in the involvement of its northern and western neighbor (the Kingdom of Sweden, the Commonwealth) in the politics of the Muscovite state. I would like to make a reservation right away that all dates are somewhat arbitrary. It is clear that the crisis was not finally overcome at the wedding of Mikhail Fedorovich: in the south, the movement of Ivan Zarutsky (until 1614) still made itself felt, the Stolbovsky peace was concluded with the Swedish kingdom only in 1617, and a peace treaty with the Commonwealth was concluded later year - in 1618 (Deulinsky agreements).
The Time of Troubles attracted the attention of many scholars. Some were limited to retelling events with some understanding. For example, S.F. Platonov, in his monograph Time of Troubles, tries to build his own structure of this era: he divides the Troubles into three periods: The first period is the dynastic Troubles, the second period is the social struggle, the third period is the struggle for nationality. It should also be noted that social changes also appeared in the Time of Troubles. So, for example, the Cossacks strongly declared themselves. This trend is very clearly traced in his monograph by A.S. Stanislavsky "Civil War in Russia in the 17th century: Cossacks at the turning point of history". He shows that even though the term “Polish-Lithuanian intervention” was officially used, there was a minimum number of Poles themselves. The basis of any movement, its social composition was represented most of all by the Cossacks and peasants.
Troubles is a very difficult era. It was generated and began with the phenomenon of "imposture", which was caused by dynastic turmoil. Paradoxically, but the people themselves were able to complete the intervention and the external sides of the turmoil. Boris Godunov was able to establish relations with the nobles, to establish diplomatic relations, but two facts ruined him: these were crop failures in 1601-1603. and the phenomenon of Imposture (appearance of False Dmitry). False Dmitry Ι, a talented adventurer, could not find social support, flirting either with the Poles who arrived with the Mniszek cortege, or with the old aristocracy, or with ordinary Moscow people. His reign lasted a year, and was completed by the Moscow uprising. Somewhat later there was a short period of two kingdoms, when Tsar Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky ruled in Moscow, and False Dmitry ΙΙ, who unsuccessfully tried to take Moscow, ruled in Tushino. It was then that he was nicknamed the Tushinsky thief. It was a very entertaining period, when each of the rulers had their own boyar duma, and even their own patriarchs. Hermogenes - at Vasily Shuisky, and Filaret - at False Dmitry ΙΙ. This time is followed by the rule of the Seven Boyars, a short period in the history of our country, when the form of government was somewhat similar to the republican ...
As shown above, in a short review, no government, in its essence, could solve the problems, the objective problems that arose over the state during this period. Only the people could achieve some kind of shift. The people, having gathered in the militia, tried to contribute to this struggle. The first militia was able to reach and besiege Moscow, however, due to strife within the leadership of the militia (Ivan Zarutsky, Prokopy Lyapunov, Dmitry Trubetskoy), it was crushed. The second militia, convened in Nizhny Novgorod, had a much greater influence on the course of political events associated with the Time of Troubles. It was organized by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and zemstvo elder Kuzma Minin, established control over most of the territory of the Russian state.
This militia was able, having defeated the reinforcements of Khodkevich, going to Moscow to help the Poles, sealed the fate of the interventionists. However, there is an interesting point here. It is well known that at that time the Julian calendar existed in Rus', and according to the old style Kitay-Gorod was taken on October 22. According to the new style, that is, according to the Gregorian calendar, date is moved to November 1st.
It seems interesting how the contemporaries of these events themselves reacted to the capture of Kitay-gorod, the second most important fortification of the Russian capital. As V. Nazarov notes in the "New Chronicler" (he was written in the entourage of Patriarch Filaret), the story of the capture of Kitay-gorod takes only one line. For comparison: the description of the battle with Khodkevich is set out on the 71st line, and the capitulation and entry into the Kremlin - on the 17th. Avraamy Palitsyn has the same proportions in his Tale of the Troubles. The author of The Tale of the Victories of the Muscovite State does not speak at all about the capture of China City.
On October 26 (November 5, according to a new style), the command of the besieged garrison signed a surrender on the surrender of the city. Of course, it was the liberation of the Kremlin that became a landmark event, because the residence of Russian tsars was located there, the Duma met, etc. However, it is worth mentioning that the Troubles did not end there either.
Sources and literature
Platonov S.F. Time of Troubles. Essay on the history of the internal crisis and social struggle in the Muscovite state of the XVI-XVII centuries. M., 2007.
November 4 is a memorable date in Russian history. On this day 406 years ago, October 24, 1612 (Old Style), the Russian militia, led by the Nizhny Novgorod Zemstvo headman Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, after storming Kitai-Gorod, forced the Polish interventionists who locked themselves in the Moscow Kremlin to surrender.
Turning point in history
Russia met the 17th century in a difficult time for her. The war with the Commonwealth was unsuccessful, natural disasters and crop failures led to hunger and impoverishment of the peasants, the crisis of anarchy (or, rather, an uncompromising and bloody struggle for power) affected all layers of Russian society. No wonder this period in our history got its name. Taking advantage of the situation, the Polish interventionists were able to deal a heavy blow to our country.
For more than ten years, wars and conflicts within the country did not subside with the participation of foreign invaders and with constant Tatar raids on Russian lands. Only the famous Second People's Militia of Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, who gathered in Nizhny Novgorod, was able to put an end to the Polish intervention. It was truly a turning point in national history. The militia had a nationwide character, it included representatives of all classes that existed then in Russia. In honor of the victory and liberation of Moscow, the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was founded.
First day of national unity
After the liberation of Moscow, the Zemsky Sobor was convened to elect a new tsar. Peasants, nobles, and representatives of all possible classes took part in it. Representatives of all Russian cities came together. Many historians characterize the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 as a truly nationwide and reconciling event for all the inhabitants of the country. On February 7, 1613 (according to the old style), Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was elected tsar, who founded a new royal dynasty in Russia. By his decree, the day of October 22 (November 4, according to the new style) became the feast of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God and was celebrated as the day of the deliverance of Russia and Moscow from the Poles in 1612 until.
We are one!
During the Soviet period, for objective reasons, the celebration of the day of November 4 ceased. In 2005, at the initiative of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, festive events were held in honor of the Day of National Unity. This name was given to the revived holiday, designed to remind the citizens of Russia of the great deeds of their ancestors. On November 4, 2005, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky was opened in Nizhny Novgorod, exactly repeating the monument on Red Square in Moscow, opened in 1818. On November 7, 1941, soldiers of the Red Army, defending Moscow, passed by this monument. The example of Minin and Pozharsky inspired the Soviet soldiers who went to defend the capital.
Every year the celebrations are getting bigger and bigger. Under the auspices of November 4, 2016, a monument to Grand Duke Vladimir of Kyiv was unveiled on Borovitskaya Square in Moscow. The opening ceremony was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top officials of the state. And opposite the monument, on the facade of one of the buildings on Borovitskaya Square, there is a large wall graffiti dedicated to the heroes of the Second People's Militia Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, created by the RVIO. Meetings, rallies and other official festive events are held, which are not political, but exclusively public and social in nature.
Mikhail Myagkov, scientific director of the Russian Military Historical Society, notes: “I think that every year the Day of National Unity is becoming an increasingly important, significant holiday for Russians. Why is this happening? First, more and more people in our country are imbued with the consciousness that statehood, state power, a strong state, a state that cares about its citizens, is extremely necessary. The turmoil that we had at the beginning of the 17th century actually destroyed all the foundations of the state and statehood, threw the country to the brink of the abyss. On the agenda was not just the survival of the state, but the survival of the people. The forces of the people, the unity of the people, the national unity made it possible then to avoid a catastrophe and finally bring the country into the mainstream of development.
The memory of how the entire people of Russia was able to unite in order to save the Motherland, defend their freedom and independence must exist. On November 4, we celebrate the belief that we remain a single people who can overcome any difficulties and, united, go through any trials!
National Unity Day is a rather young holiday, but it is dedicated to an event that took place more than 400 years ago during the Time of Troubles. On this day in 1612, the militia, led by Kuzma Minina and Dmitry Pozharsky defeated the Polish invaders and liberated Moscow.
Historical digression: 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 in childhood. In 1598, Fyodor Ioannovich died, and the royal dynasty of Rurikovich was cut short on him.
This was followed by about 15 years of deep national crisis. The turmoil was the time of the appearance of impostors, the reign 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 tsar was elected at the Zemsky Sobor - Mikhail Romanov. This event chronologically marked the end of the state crisis and 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 militias managed to win thanks to her intercession.
The 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, November 7 was celebrated as the Day of the October Revolution. On the night of October 25-26, 1917 (November 7-8, according to a new style), during an armed uprising, the Bolsheviks captured the Winter Palace, arrested members of the Provisional Government and proclaimed the power of the Soviets.
November 7 and 8 were non-working days in the Soviet Union. 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 a decree "On the Day of Consent and Reconciliation." November 7 remained a holiday, but the essence of the holiday has 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 the year of consent and reconciliation.
In 2004 Russian President Vladimir Putin Federal Law "On Amendments to Article 112 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation" was signed. This law established a new holiday on November 4 - National Unity Day. The document entered 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 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 full of names and events that only professionals can have a clear idea of the meaning of the events of 1612. According to the results of the VTsIOM poll, the majority of Russians still do not know the name of the holiday. In 2011, these were 43% of respondents. Only 14% of Russians were aware of what exactly the holiday was dedicated to. Most of the respondents stated that they would not celebrate National Unity Day.
According to the results of a VTsIOM poll 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 sure that there is unity.
At the same time, those who believe in national unity often say that in Russia different nations coexist peacefully. Those who hold opposing views say that everyone thinks only of himself.
