MOSCOW, November 4 (RIA Novosti) — Today Russia celebrates its Day of National Unity, a holiday which commemorates the liberation of Russia from Polish-Lithuanian invaders in 1612.
After nearly 80 years, this traditional Russian holiday was re-introduced in 2005 on the initiative of President Vladimir Putin, and has seen greater resonance this year among ordinary Russians than in previous years.
Speaking about the holiday last week, Putin noted that the Day of National Unity “symbolizes the solidarity and fortitude of our people, which helped us overcome all obstacles and win.”
The recognition and popularity of the event has grown measurably with each passing year. According to a poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation in late October, 63 percent of respondents believe that the holiday is necessary, compared with 57 percent a year ago. The holiday was established to replace the November 7th commemoration of the 1917 October Socialist Revolution, which had been renamed the “Day of Accord and Reconciliation” after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Despite growing acceptance, the Public Opinion Foundation poll found that only 33 percent of respondents could accurately name the new holiday, with 45 struggling to answer the question, and the rest giving erroneous answers.
Russian political and social figures have high hopes for the holiday. Mikhail Fedotov, the head of the Presidential Human Rights Council, hopes that the holiday will gradually become a real symbol of national unification, noting that “it is very important for us to preserve national unity, because we must solve the problems ahead of us.”
A public march organized by the country’s public figures has taken place today in the center of Moscow, including politicians from all four major political parties in the country’s parliament, together with cultural figures, athletes, the heads of charities, and others. The march, which was held under the banner “We Are United”, was expected to gather about 20,000 participants.
Among the organizers of the march is Leo Bokeria, the Director of the Bakulev Scientific Center of Cardiovascular Surgery, who noted that the main message of today’s holiday is to show the country’s unity. “We are one people; we want to live in our large, beautiful, free country. We want our children to grow up under a peaceful sky. We want people to look forward to feeling secure when they reach old age. We want an excellent education system, so that our scientific potential can evolve, as it had evolved in previous decades. We want our country to be strong so that no one could think that they can [write us off as peasants] and be done with it.”
Secretary of the Civil Chamber of the Russian Federation Aleksandr Brechalov noted that Russia has much to celebrate this year, from the splendor and victories of the Olympic Games in Sochi to the reunification of Crimea with Russia. Noting the present “difficult external situation,” Brechalov explained that as a result, “the demand for solidarity in Russian society has grown, which explains the growing popularity of the Day of National Unity.”
Even the country’s Communist Party, which has traditionally reserved its celebratory events for November 7, made the decision to participate in the “We are United” march. First Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee Ivan Melnikov noted that Russian communists have played a prominent role in processes related to the struggle against neo-fascism in Ukraine, and in opposing the belligerent policies of the European Union and the United States. “Therefore,” Melnikov noted,” it would not make sense [to] miss rallies held in this connection on November 4, to exclude ourselves from an agenda to which we have made important contributions.”
The leaders of the Fair Russia party and the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) also joined in the united march; the LDPR abandoned ideas of holding their own, independent rally, and participated with a banner reading “Russia without Troubles!”, referencing the Time of Troubles which immediately preceded the country’s liberation. Fair Russia Duma member Mikhail Emelyanov noted his party’s aspiration to join the events “to unite all the best aspirations of Russians to be a united, ethnically diverse country.”
Other parties and social groups are also set to join the group, with the notable exception of the liberal Yabloko party, which has decided not to participate.
About a dozen other mass political, cultural and sports events are set to be held in the capital today.
The History Behind the Holiday
The Day of National Unity holiday marks the freeing of Russia from Polish-Lithuanian invaders. In early November 1612, a militia of about 8,000 led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky liberated Moscow from the Poles and Lithuanians, who were united in a commonwealth at the time. Historically, the holiday is associated with the end of the Time of Troubles in Russia, a period of profound political, social and economic strife. The death of Tsar Feodor Ivanovich in 1598 had precipitated a dynastic succession crisis that brought about the temporary collapse of the single Russian state; these difficult years were characterized by widespread looting, robbery, and graft.
Polish-Lithuanian forces had entered Moscow in 1610, aided by boyar collaborators in Moscow; Minin and Pozharsky began planning their resistance in 1611. The first attempt to dislodge the Poles was repelled in early 1611 due to a lack of unity between the nobles and the Cossacks. A second wave of resistance grew in the spring and summer of 1612, with Minin making an appeal to Moscow residents of all classes to spare nothing in their fight to rid their city of the invaders. The pro-Russian forces stormed the city in November 1612, carrying with them the Our Lady of Kazan icon. It was after this victory that the Polish garrison in the Kremlin capitulated. The victory served as a powerful symbol of the revival of the Russian state, and Our Lady of Kazan in particular became subject to special veneration.
The events resulted in the creation of a holiday by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, which was celebrated from 1649 to 1917, before being halted by the Bolsheviks in 1918, and restored by president Putin in 2005.
