Good afternoon, dear readers. Today I would like to congratulate everyone on the holiday, today is the Day of National Unity of Russia. Previously, I didn’t quite understand what kind of holiday this was, why it was needed, well, they give you a day off, and that’s fine.
But working in culture (and apparently growing up), I began to look at holidays differently. Or rather, studying in more depth the very essence of the Russian people, I am increasingly proud that I live in Russia and that I am Russian. Let's figure out why National Unity Day is celebrated on November 4 and why it is so important.
Liberation of Moscow from Polish invaders
The liberation of Moscow from Polish invaders in 1612 is a key event in the history of the Time of Troubles in Russia (1598-1613). In 1598, Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, the last autocrat of the Rurik dynasty, died without leaving an heir. Earlier, in 1591, under unclear circumstances, the youngest son of Ivan IV the Terrible, Dmitry, died. As a result, the throne was taken by the boyar Boris Godunov, who had actually led the Russian government since the mid-1580s. He became the first tsar in Russia to be elected by the Zemsky Sobor. However, Godunov’s rights to supreme power in the country for the nobility were not legitimate and were disputed by representatives of the boyar families.
In 1604, an army of interventionists led by False Dmitry I invaded Russia from the territory of Poland, posing as the escaped Tsarevich Dmitry. In 1605, after the death of Boris Godunov, False Dmitry I seized power in the country. A year later, he was killed as a result of a conspiracy led by Prince Vasily Shuisky, who subsequently took the royal throne. In 1607, the army of a new impostor, False Dmitry II, invaded Russia from Poland. And in 1609, the Polish king Sigismund III began direct military intervention against Russia. A significant part of the Russian state came under the control of Polish-Lithuanian troops. In 1610, power in the country passed to the council of boyars led by Prince Fyodor Mstislavsky (this period in Russian history is known as the “Seven Boyars”), who swore allegiance to the Polish prince Vladislav. Moscow was occupied by Polish troops under the leadership of Hetman Stanislav Zolkiewski. That same year, northern Russia (including Novgorod) was captured by the Swedes.
The Russian national liberation movement was led by residents of the cities of the Volga region and the north of the European part of the country. The Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Hermogenes made a call to resist foreign invaders. In October 1611, a people's militia was created in Nizhny Novgorod, led by the zemstvo elder Kuzma Minin and the governor Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. In August 1612, militia defeated Polish troops under the walls of Moscow, and on November 4 (October 22, old style) they liberated Kitay-Gorod from the Poles. The remnants of the Polish troops surrendered in the Kremlin on November 6. In 1613, at the Zemsky Sobor in the Moscow Kremlin, a new Russian Tsar, Mikhail Fedorovich, was elected, the first of the representatives of the Romanov dynasty. By 1618, the last troops of the Polish and Swedish invaders were expelled from Russia.
history of the holiday
In 1613, in memory of the liberation of Moscow from the Poles, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich established a church and state holiday in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God on October 22, according to the old style (the militia fought with this image under the walls of the Novodevichy Convent, and then liberated the Kremlin). In 1649, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich confirmed the high status of the holiday, decreeing “to celebrate the Most Pure Mother of God, the appearance of the miraculous icon of Kazan, in all cities, throughout the years.” In 1818, by decree of Emperor Alexander I, a monument to “Citizen Minin and Prince Pozharsky” by sculptor Ivan Martos was erected on Red Square. In Russia, the date of the liberation of Moscow from the interventionists was officially celebrated before the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917. Later, until 2005, the day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was an exclusively Orthodox church holiday.
National Unity Day. What are we celebrating? Who's celebrating?
In 2009, on the eve of National Unity Day in 46 regions of Russia, sociologists conducted a survey: “What kind of holiday is celebrated in Russia on November 4?” Three years ago, more than 30% of respondents found it difficult to answer. 45% answered 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. Three years later, the situation has changed, but not much.
Thus, there is no unity among the people in their understanding of the holiday itself.
Maybe it's the name? After all, the very meaning of the word “unity” is not obvious to many. What kind of unity are we talking about? What are the characteristics of true unity? What can be the basis for real cultural, national and spiritual, and not formal administrative unity of Russian citizens? We asked our interlocutors to express their opinion on this matter. Bishop of Yakutsk and Lensk Roman:
– I believe that the Day of National Unity is
This is a holiday with the deepest spiritual basis and great ideological integrity.
In fact, for a church person, his attachment to the glorification of the Kazan image of the Mother of God, to the admirer of this shrine -
the holy martyr Hermogenes, is obvious.
For a non-church, but sensible consciousness, this new holiday is an appeal to the great victory of our people over the confusion of souls and confusion of minds.
I have no doubt that Unity Day will enter into wide public use.
It takes time. And also our help, everyone who considers their roots to be the fatherly faith, Holy Rus'. Hegumen Nektary (Morozov), rector of the church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Quench my sorrows”, Saratov:
– It seems to me that the stumbling block here is the very concept of national unity. The idea of the holiday, at first glance, is good, but, unfortunately, in the conditions in which we live today, it is not filled with real content. The participation and good will of the Church here, alas, is not enough; the same participation and the same will of the authorities are necessary. Meanwhile, as regrettable as it may be, there are no visible signs of efforts to unite the people on the part of the authorities. On the contrary, we see how the stratification of society is deepening along many lines -
on social, political, national...
Does this mean that the holiday is unnecessary?
I personally don't think so. The whole question is, again, what content it will be filled with and in what tone it will be carried out. Major ones are hardly appropriate. But the day of national unity can and should become a reason for a serious conversation about how to overcome the divisions that exist today, how not to lose our national identity. As well as the reason for the congregational prayer - so that the Lord would put into our hearts the desire to hold on to each other as tightly as possible, put not only the understanding that it is necessary to be together, but also the very need for this. Priest Andrei Lorgus, to the lyricist of the Church of St.
Nicholas on Three Mountains (Moscow), rector of the Institute of Christian Psychology: – A holiday called “National Unity Day” –
a public holiday, that is, established from above by the government. This means that we must comprehend it after his appointment: we and “National Unity Day” are only now becoming friends.
Alas, there is little unity now. On the contrary, there is confusion and vacillation. Therefore, one of the most important historical examples of unity –
the popular movement for the liberation and restoration of the Russian state in 1613
-
can become a historical memory of UNITY. This was the very unity that we now so lack.
Of course, what needs to be celebrated here is not just a day of remembrance of the event –
the liberation of the Kremlin from foreign troops and foreign boyars
-
but the happiest moment of unity.
After all, this is a moment experienced as power, thanks to unity. Never can an individual person, even a great hero, be so powerful as in unity with like-minded people. There is joy, delight, and great success. This, it seems to me, is the main meaning of the holiday -
power in unity, joy from power.
It is also important that such unity was spiritual, not blood, not national, not only religious –
but spiritual. This means that a person has ascended to the spiritual heights of life. From such a height it is easier to see the big and great.
People often confuse nationality, –
that is, the projection of blood unity
-
with spiritual, supranational unity.
The Day of National Unity is
a spiritual holiday, its pathos
is
spiritual unity, in which
there is neither Greek nor Jew
.
Hieromonk Macarius Markish, teacher at Ivanovo-Voznesensk Theological Seminary (Ivanovo-Voznesensk):
– That there is no unity among the people in understanding the holiday –
as in many other things, it should neither surprise us nor discourage us.
Life –
it is not a state, but a process, a constant movement, be it the life of an individual, family, community, nation or humanity as a whole.
I hope everyone remembers the diagram of Abba Dorotheus: God is like the sun, and people striving towards Him along radii-rays. The closer they are to the center, the closer they are to each other, the more tangible and real their unity. And our common task is
to open the way to life-giving rays, destroy barriers between us and the Source of Light, support and strengthen each other along the way.
This path is long and uneven, people walk along it with great difficulty, overcoming the resistance of hostile forces. The establishment of a state holiday on the day of remembrance of the Kazan Icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, giving it the meaning of National Unity Day, was a huge victory in bringing light to darkness. It is not surprising that the enemy is trying to at least partially deprive us of the fruits of this victory, convincing the unsure and wavering that, they say, no unity can be achieved anyway and there is no point in looking for it...
Archpriest Alexy Zaitsev,
cleric of the Holy Trinity Church (Chelyabinsk), member of the Writers' Union of Russia, member of the International Club of Orthodox Writers "Omilia":
- The establishment of National Unity Day as a state holiday would be fair to call a very gratifying event, turning people's gaze to great history of his Fatherland. It should not be surprising that the true meaning of the holiday and the reason for its establishment remain obscure, if not completely unknown, for many. Unfortunately, our compatriots have very vague ideas about much of what a person who considers himself a citizen of Russia, a part of his Motherland, should know. This is where the Church finds fertile ground for educational activities, because talking about National Unity Day is a good reason to talk about Orthodoxy and its role in the fate of the Fatherland.
That great historical deed of our people, which culminated in the events of January 4, 1612, reveals many historical lessons. One of the main ones, in my opinion, is that the unity of the people in the name of saving their Fatherland can be completely successful even without support from the highest state authorities (both material and legislative). The revival of the Fatherland can begin not only with the coming to power of wise and pious rulers, but also with the awakening of national self-awareness, the appeal of ordinary people to true ideals and values. And today, in order to save the country from spiritual decay, one should not seek salvation in the relevant government decrees; one should not inactively wait for handouts from the state authorities to support the highest cultural and spiritual values. It is necessary today to unite around the Church in order to prevent a catastrophe, and this unity will undoubtedly bring good fruits that history will not forget.
As for the very concept of “unity,” it is obvious to an Orthodox person: the basis of true unity can be based not on earthly, but only on spiritual values.
After all, a person who strives to enrich himself with earthly goods inevitably does this at the expense of others, reducing their level of well-being; and a person who strives to enrich himself with spiritual benefits inevitably enriches with them not only himself, but also the people around him. Over its centuries-old history, our Fatherland knows one source of true unity - based on Orthodoxy and its worldview. Attempts to unite our people based on different priorities and values have more than once become the cause of severe national tragedies. And this is not a simple reasoning, but a historical fact. Archpriest Andrei Rakhnovsky, cleric of the Church of St.
Seraphim of Sarov in Raev (Moscow), teacher at Sretensky Theological Seminary: Spiritual life is not a ghetto where a person returns, having “repaid his debt” to worldly life. For Christians, internal division is unacceptable when faith lives in isolation from the rest of human activity. On the contrary, faith gives meaning to everything and inspires a person in any kind of activity. Therefore, spiritual life is inextricably linked with the life of the country, the state, and I would even venture to say, with politics. But this connection is of a special kind - I say this on purpose so as not to cause misunderstandings. Any human action must have an evangelical moral assessment. Therefore, when rulers or government bodies carry out some actions, we, Christians, cannot remain outside of politics - because we must evaluate everything that happens, including in the public sphere, not only from the point of view of whether it is beneficial or not is it beneficial for us personally or for the state, and is this consistent with the Gospel, commandments and conscience?
What is this reasoning for? The fact is that the spiritual dimension of this holiday and the state dimension do not contradict each other, because this holiday is associated with the fact that the Russian people have emerged from a difficult not only political, but also spiritual state. Moreover: this state crisis was precisely provoked by a difficult spiritual state. Including the fact that for several decades the state power, on the one hand, supported the Church, and on the other - I mean Ivan the Terrible - committed crimes, including against the Church. And it is obvious that in the popular consciousness this could not but produce some kind of revolution, could not but cause a shock. The people saw, on the one hand, a confession of faith (Tsar John participated in confessional disputes, wrote liturgical texts, and composed church music), and on the other, murders and executions, once justified (from a state point of view, but not a Christian one), and once then no. “If the king does this, what should we do? Where is she, really? - this is the state the people were in. This, of course, is not the only reason for the state crisis, but for some reason it was after the harsh rule of Ivan the Terrible that such decomposition soon began in our country. And it is very important that the people, having turned to the Orthodox faith, were able not only to defend the freedom of the state, but also to emerge from a difficult spiritual state - that is, to stop this terrible internal strife, anarchy. The people still legally chose state power. He did not put his leaders at the head of the state - for example, Minin and Pozharsky. No, the Local Council met and legally elected the Romanov dynasty to rule. This means that we can not only destroy, but also create, and it is very important to remind us of this in our time.
It turns out that our people were capable not only of a “senseless and merciless” rebellion and of this terrible time of troubles, but they were also capable of organizing themselves with the help of the Church and their faith and electing legitimate power! This is a very important point.
And although they say that Moscow was not liberated by November 4, but only some part of it, this argument has no significance, since everyone understands that Victory Day is a conditional date: World War II did not end on May 8 or 9 . Nobody says that on the fourth, on the day of remembrance of the Kazan Mother of God, everything became fine in one day, no. But this was a very important moment: we know that the militia of Minin and Pozharsky prayed in front of this icon and that the Mother of God not only helped to win, but helped, having won, to gain human form and return to normal life. That is why we make November 4, the day of celebration in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the center of remembrance of those events.
I dare to suggest that in the militia of Minin and Pozharsky there were not only Russian people... This is relevant in our time: people unite with each other without regard to nationality, but out of goodwill and the desire for the good of their Fatherland.
Therefore, we, Orthodox people, on this day celebrate the memory of the miraculous image of the Mother of God.
We thank the Lord that He helped us gain freedom, which our ancestors used not for evil, but for good, since they were able to come to an agreement with each other and restore the normal course of life in the country. Judge for yourself whether we need this day or not. Alexey Konstantinovich Svetozarsky, head of the department of church history at the Moscow Academy of Arts, teacher at Sretensky Theological Seminary:
- Of course, first of all, this is the day of overcoming the Troubles. This is one of the most striking eras, which we, unfortunately, do not know so well, but nevertheless, we still have a certain image of which from our school years. A most interesting era, very difficult and very instructive.
We celebrate the spiritual victory over division, over the Troubles - not only the glorious military victory, which undoubtedly took place, but also the coming moment of some kind of national primacy. This old “dispute between the Slavs among themselves,” as Pushkin said, is coming to an end - after a time of troubles, the pendulum has swung in our direction. This is completely obvious.
A new era is coming in relations with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and, most importantly, a new era in relations with those lands with an Orthodox population who called themselves Russian, which, within the framework of this state, were under the authority of this crown.
And then, this is the starting point for completely different events.
This is the annexation of Little Russia, White Rus' - these lands are part of the Russian state after a very long struggle, which in the history of Little Rus' is called a ruin - the era of ruins. This is a mirror reflection of the Russian Troubles, but on Little Russian soil, with a slightly different nature. Archpriest Alexander Zadornov, teacher at the MDA and Sretensky Theological Seminary:
– If we talk about the state level, then Unity Day is a holiday that is important for us as citizens, a civil holiday.
However, for some of our citizens, this day means the celebration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God - and naturally, for them this is more important, because participation in the liturgy in no sense can be compared with any public holiday.
Well, those for whom this is simply a memory of historical events that are of great value to them already represent the third level of the holiday - but I think such citizens are still a minority.
Hieromonk Simeon (Tomachinsky), resident of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery, head of the publishing house of the Sretensky Monastery :
- We had one hundred percent unanimity only under Soviet rule, under the wise leadership of the General Secretary and the Communist Party. It is clear what kind of unity this was. So the diversity of opinions regarding an official holiday, especially such a young one, is a completely normal and understandable thing.
But this holiday seems to me very necessary and in demand. Firstly, it was necessary to find a replacement for the truly “red” day of the October Revolution - simply canceling November 7 was problematic. Secondly, November 4 is truly a historical day of salvation of the Fatherland from internal turmoil and external enemies, and salvation through unity, through overcoming all centrifugal tendencies, through a truly popular choice, that is, if you like, through the triumph of civil society. After all, the unification of the nation “above barriers” around Minin and Pozharsky was not brought down from above, was not cultivated in the laboratories of political strategists, and was not formed as a party platform. This was a real national revival.
Finally, last but not least, this is the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. Orthodox or not, believers or atheists, everyone understands that for Russia Kazan is the most important symbol. Not an abstract “Russian cultural matrix”, but a key link in national identity.
In general, the holiday system is of enormous importance for any country. These are identification flags of a people in time and history.
Establishment of a holiday in Russia
In the modern history of Russia, National Unity Day was established as an alternative to the Day of Reconciliation and Accord on November 7 (until 1996 it was celebrated as the Day of the Great October Socialist Revolution).
In September 2004, the Interreligious Council of Russia proposed making November 4 a holiday and celebrating it as National Unity Day. This initiative was supported by the Duma Committee on Labor and Social Policy. On November 23 of the same year, a bill on amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation was submitted to the State Duma (authors Valery Bogomolov and Oleg Eremeev from United Russia, Vladimir Zhirinovsky from the Liberal Democratic Party). The document provided, in particular, for the abolition of the November 7 holiday and the introduction of a new date - November 4.
On December 24, 2004, the bill was adopted in the third reading. 327 deputies voted in favor, including members of the United Russia, LDPR and Rodina factions; against - 104, including the entire faction of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation; two abstained.
A bill to amend Art. 112 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and amendments to the federal law “On days of military glory and memorable dates of Russia” were signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 29, 2004. According to documents, November 4 became the Day of National Unity. On November 7, the federal law of July 21, 2005 received the status of a memorable date - the Day of the October Revolution of 1917.
Celebration
Traditionally, on National Unity Day in the Kremlin, the President of the Russian Federation presents state awards to outstanding figures of science and art, as well as foreign citizens for their great contribution to strengthening friendship and developing cultural ties with Russia. The head of state also lays flowers at the monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow.
In Russian cities there are processions and rallies organized by political parties and social movements, concerts, fairs, historical reconstructions, and so on. The first large-scale procession in Moscow took place in 2014: a column of 75 thousand people marched from Pushkinskaya to Theater Square, where a festive concert took place. In 2015, 85 thousand people took part in the “We are together!” event in the capital, organized by the Public Chamber of Russia. Demonstrators marched along Tverskaya Street to Teatralny Proezd. The rally began with a minute of silence in memory of the 224 victims of the October 31 plane crash, when a Russian Airbus A321 passenger plane en route from Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) to St. Petersburg crashed over the Sinai Peninsula as a result of a terrorist attack.
On November 4, 2021, a procession and rally-concert “We are United!” took place in Moscow. On Borovitskaya Square, on National Unity Day, a monument to Prince Vladimir the Saint was unveiled, during whose reign Rus' adopted Christianity in 988.
In 2021, 3.2 million people across the country took part in the celebrations dedicated to National Unity Day (according to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs). In total, about 2 thousand festive rallies and demonstrations, concerts, historical reconstructions and theatrical performances took place in Russia. In Moscow, about 775 thousand people attended holiday festivals and fairs.
Russians don't give up!
No matter how pathetic it may sound, Russians are characterized by heroism like no other people, and this goes back centuries. In conditions when our vast territory was endlessly subjected to all kinds of invasions, the main task of the Russian people was to unite and repel the enemy. Hence our unusually developed collectivism, and the desire to inflict such damage on the offender as to forever discourage him from testing our strength. “Russians don’t give up” - this expression has long been a saying. The Russians fight to the last, and at the cost of the heroic death of an individual soldier or an individual garrison, everyone else is saved... This is the collective mechanism of self-preservation of the people.
Collectivism, community, conciliarity—these are all epithets of our unity. It is no coincidence that Western values of individualism do not take root well on Russian soil. Hospitality, kindness, the desire to help one's neighbor, the willingness to give the last shirt to someone in need - all this is inherent in Russians like no other people. So it was and so it will be, no matter what hardships we may experience.
Who are we and where are we going? What national idea does Russia need? Read more
What divides us?
Russians are becoming disunited, people are becoming strangers to each other. Today everyone survives alone...
