The history of the emergence of the holiday of national unity. A brief history of the National Unity Day holiday in Russia

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 a new holiday at all, but a return to an old tradition.

Holidays, who doesn't love them? What formed the basis of the holiday? National Unity Day in Russia? The holiday of unity emphasizes: no matter how multi-ethnic (multinational) the people are, they are united by patriotism, a single country, one ideology and culture. Let's take a deeper look at what this holiday means for the population, how it is celebrated, and what national traditions there are. After all, the reason for the holiday is still very young, and many of us do not even know about the historical events preceding it, as well as the reasons for its appearance.

The main thing in the article

When is National Unity Day celebrated in Russia?

November 4- celebration in honor Day of National Unity. This day is a day off and an official holiday of national significance. It was founded in 2004, and has been officially celebrated since 2005. In 2016, this celebration will be celebrated for the 12th time. The idea to include November 4th among the red days of the calendar came to the Interreligious Council of Russia. Thanks to the support of religious traditions, this event is celebrated not only by ordinary citizens: the holiday is an interreligious celebration celebrated by all Orthodox believers.

If you look at it from a political point of view, today higher officials do not complain about the holiday of November 7 - the national holiday of the October Revolution, which took place in 1917. In 2004, during the revision of the law “On Days of Great Glory,” they decided to introduce a “newly invented celebration” - National Unity Day. Now this celebration was officially given a day off, which previously “belonged” to the October Revolution.

Celebrations of Unity Day in Russia, the CIS and the world

The whole world knows about this holiday and celebrates it with pleasure. For the CIS countries, this celebration brings about the unification of different nationalities under one flag, in one state. After all, in the former USSR we were all brothers, and after the collapse of the Great Country, people remained united, regardless of nationality.

As for foreign countries, the UN strongly supports this holiday. So far, unofficially, but deliberately, representatives of the organization believe that people should unite according to the unity of thoughts and views. After all, in all corners of the globe there are people who organize all kinds of actions, parades, performances, with which they try to call people to peace, unity, nature conservation and other large-scale ideas.

After all, if you look at it, it is the power of unity and common beliefs between people that can make coups, revolutions, and change the course of history. These are the principles that many political organizations adhere to, calling on people to defend their positions in life and their beliefs. To support the general spirit, festivals, sports tournaments and other entertainment events are organized.

Origins of the Holiday of Unity

If with historical events Unity Day someone is familiar, then where the tradition of official festivities on November 4 came from is still not known. There are several versions:

• According to one of them, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich issued a decree in 1649: in it he ordered rest on the day dedicated to Icon of the Kazan Mother of God. This day fell on October 22 (old calendar style). If you recalculate the dates to the new calendar style, then October 22nd falls on November 4th. They walked solemnly on October 22 and called it a holiday for three centuries in a row, and then they forgot about the decree.
• Before the revolution, which occurred in 1917, this date was attributed Day of the Savior of the Fatherland: the population revered Kuzma Minin and celebrated the liberation of Moscow.

History of the National Unity Day holiday in Russia

It is believed that the historical roots of the holiday date back to 1612. After all, it was the year 1612 in the chronicles that became the final year in the Time of Troubles for the Russian people.

These are the Troubled Times for Mother Russia, a dynastic crisis that began after the death of Tsar Ivan the Terrible in 1584, who left no heir. A terrible time for the state: the Rurik family was interrupted, there is an internal war for the throne. The once united state collapsed, robberies, robbery, drunkenness, thefts became more frequent, the country sank into chaos. More and more impostors claimed the throne.


The boyars seized power; the head of this board was Fyodor Mstislavsky. With his light hand, the Poles were allowed into the city in order to quietly place the prince, Catholic Vladislav of Polish origin, on the throne.

The Orthodox Church was against it and Patriarch Hermogenes turned to people for help. The Russian people rallied together and rose up to fight the Poles, the invaders of the throne.

On March 19, 1611, the Orthodox uprising under the leadership of Prokop Lyapunov failed because the boyars could not find a common language with the Cossacks.


The Orthodox Church could not stand by when a Catholic Pole was placed on the throne, and six months later a new people’s militia appeared. Its “instigator” was an ordinary merchant Kuzma Minin. Speaking in September 1611 at a gathering on the main square of Moscow, he gave a heart-warming speech in which he urged not to spare your souls and property, since “great things” were at stake. In response to his call, Moscow residents agreed to give 30% of their hard-earned earnings to support the militia. It turned out that these funds were not enough, and another 20% of income was forcibly collected from the townspeople.

With Minin’s light hand, the still young Prince Dmitry Pozharsky became the main governor, who was supposed to lead the militia. At the insistence of the people, Kuzma Minin himself was nominated as an assistant in military affairs. And so these two people became the people's representatives, in whom complete trust was placed, at the head of the uprising, which was taking place for the second time.

Under the banner of these two, a huge army at that time gathered, it included:

• many peasants who are not trained in military affairs, but have a burning heart;
• military - more than 10,000 souls;
• 3000 Cossack people;
• 1000 military-trained archers.

As described in the chronicles, in early November, holding the miraculous icon, they entered the city and drove out the Poles.

After these events, in 1613, the king was seated on the throne, who became the first of the Romanov dynasty. It was with this king that the era of crisis passed, but the unity of the people, shown in the uprising, remained.

Discussions around the celebration of National Unity Day

If we put it in chronological order, how it happened that the law on the holiday of Unity was adopted, the following picture will emerge:

• 09/29/2004 in a public statement Patriarch of Moscow Alexey supported the State Duma of the Russian Federation in holding the holiday. In his words: the events that occurred in 1612 show how true patriots of their country, regardless of religion and nation, united, did not give the country to the enemy, expelled impostors, established peace and raised the country “from its knees.” Therefore, the new generation needs to be reminded of unity, relying on the exploits of their ancestors.
• 04.10.2004 from Valeria Bogomolova, first deputy of the United Russia faction, it was publicly stated that Kuzma Minin and Prince-voivode Pozharsky were heroes of that time who managed to rally people to fight the Poles and contributed to the end of the Time of Troubles.
• Later, in October 2004, a youth rally was held in the city of Saratov, which was attended by more than 8,000 people. At it, in speeches, it was stated that such a holiday as the Unity of the People should be celebrated on November 4.
• As the logical conclusion of these discussions, on November 23, 2004, the bill was under consideration in the Duma. It canceled the November 7 holiday and “promoted” National Unity Day, which they proposed to celebrate November 4.

Photos of the National Unity Day holiday in Russia

Attitude to the holiday National Unity Day

The new festival, which replaced the usual one on November 7, received mixed reactions. And how did the public react? As for the older generation, which was brought up on communist ideas, the reaction was clearly negative and many “grandmothers” made accusations towards the government, which wants to rewrite history.

In 2009, on the eve of festivities dedicated to Unity Day, a social survey was conducted by region. Citizens of different ages, nationalities, and social status took part in it. And this is what came out of this survey:

• 33% called the 4th day the Day of Harmony and Reconciliation;
• 5% - believed that this was the Day of Liberation from the Poles;
• 8% still answered that this is Unity Day.

But when asked how they feel about the abolition of the 7th as a holiday, 63% gave a negative answer, and 10% still think that the October Revolution has been postponed to the 4th.

There were also those who expressed that November 4 was not at all connected with the historical events that unfolded in 1612. There was also a discussion about converting dates from the old calendar style to the new one.

Is National Unity Day a day off in Russia?

As mentioned earlier, the 4th is a public holiday and is considered an official holiday weekend. It is marked in red on the calendar. In cases where this day falls on a calendar day off, the holiday day off is transferred to the next working day.

Traditions of Unity Day in Russia

Although the festival is quite young, there are already certain traditions associated with it. One of the most important is the laying of flowers by the first persons of the state at the monument to Kuzma Minin and Voivode Pozharsky. In addition, it has become a tradition to hold solemn celebrations, at which the head of state and his representatives congratulate all citizens of the Russian Federation on the national holiday and traditionally present awards.

The so-called Russian marches and religious processions are very often held. It is also popular to hold concerts, festivals, sporting events, and flash mobs. Officially, 75,000 people gathered for the celebration in 2014. Based on this, we can conclude that this solemn holiday provides an opportunity to comprehend and at the same time feel oneself as one with the mighty people.

It is the Day of National Unity that makes it possible to feel within oneself a person who is involved in history and creates it, supports cultural trends and glorifies the victories of our ancestors before the Motherland.

Video from Unity Day celebrations

Today, November 4, Russia celebrates National Unity Day. But, as it turned out, many do not know why this holiday is celebrated, although they enjoy the weekend. However, the weekend does not stop social media users from making fun of the strange red date, but for now we will tell you in honor of what and how it appeared in the first place.

National Unity Day has been celebrated in Russia since 2005. It was then that it became a public holiday. According to other sources, this holiday is also called the Day of Military Glory. And they celebrate it in honor of the liberation of Moscow from Polish invaders in 1612.

Expulsion of Polish-Lithuanian interventionists from the Kremlin

How and why the Poles captured Moscow

It was a difficult year: taxes, disasters, prostitution, banditry and shortages in the army. The latter could not be tolerated, and knowledgeable people got down to business. The seven most noble boyars who took power into their own hands. That's what they were called - the seven-boyars.

They came to power when the ruler of that time, Vasily Shuisky, was overthrown in July 1610. In our opinion - impeachment. And since he had no heirs, the boyars had to rule. Although they didn't really resist.

In those troubled times, when after the death of Ivan the Terrible the Rurik family dried up and there was no one left to rule, the boyars did not come up with anything better than to put the Poles in the kingdom. Although at first Boris Godunov tried to take power into his hands.

Then other boys tried to take power, although perhaps they were not there, but in the end the boyars gave the throne to effective managers from Poland, with whom Russia had fought the day before. According to the documents, the Polish ruler Vladislav IV entered the throne, and a Polish garrison was stationed in Moscow.

However, citizens did not like the Polish government. During the two years that the intervention ruled, theft, sodomy, and in some places cannibalism, if you believe some, rampanted in the country. As a result, a militia gathered and decided to drive the new government out into the cold, and in the literal sense.

How the Poles were expelled from Moscow

The rally began in Nizhny Novgorod. It was assembled by the local headman (something like a governor) Kuzma Minin. Prince Pozharsky, who was distantly related to Ivan the Terrible and the Rurik family in general, was appointed head of the operation. And he lived nearby, 60 kilometers from Nizhny on his own estate.

Pozharsky surprisingly quickly agreed to lead the militia, and together with Minin they went to Moscow to expel the foreigners. True, this could not be done quickly. It was necessary to besiege the city and fight with Polish troops, which was even depicted on one of the bas-reliefs.

But in the end they took Moscow. In addition, the Polish troops there themselves were already weakened by hunger and cold, since there was nothing to take and, however, nothing to eat. Later, such tactics would be applied to Napoleon’s troops, but that’s another story.

But in 1612 the interventionists were finally kicked out. And to this day there is a monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow.

Why is National Unity Day celebrated?

However, let's return to the holiday. What does November 4 have to do with the extra weekend and why is it called National Unity Day? If you believe the same Wikipedia, then National Unity Day was deliberately introduced by the authorities in order to divert people's attention from another memorable date - November 7, when the old style revolution was carried out.

In general, the idea of ​​making November 4 a holiday was expressed by the interreligious council in 2004. The State Duma supported the idea. Patriarch Alexy II also put in a good word for her.

This day reminds us how in 1612 Russians of different faiths and nationalities overcame division, overcame a formidable enemy and led the country to a stable civil peace.

After this, as well as an appeal from the initiative group to State Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov, the holiday appeared in the Russian holiday calendar.

However, some unreliable elements not only do not know what the holiday is in honor of, moreover, they make fun of it.

The holiday was established by the Federal Law “On the inclusion in Article 1 of the Federal Law “On the Days of Military Glory (Victory Days) of Russia”, signed in December 2004 by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

National Unity Day was established in memory of the events of 1612, when the people's militia led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky liberated Moscow from Polish invaders. Historically, this holiday is associated with the end of the Time of Troubles in Russia in the 17th century. The Time of Troubles - the period from the death of Tsar Ivan the Terrible in 1584 until 1613, when the first of the Romanov dynasty reigned on the Russian throne - was an era of deep crisis in the Moscow state caused by the suppression of the royal Rurik dynasty. The dynastic crisis soon developed into a national-state crisis. The united Russian state collapsed, and numerous impostors appeared. Widespread robberies, robbery, theft, bribery, and widespread drunkenness struck the country.
It seemed to many contemporaries of the Time of Troubles that the final ruin of the “blessed kingdom of Moscow” had occurred. Power in Moscow was usurped by the “Seven Boyars” led by Prince Fyodor Mstislavsky, who sent Polish troops into the Kremlin with the intention of placing the Catholic prince Vladislav on the Russian throne.
In this difficult time for Russia, Patriarch Hermogenes called on the Russian people to defend Orthodoxy and expel the Polish invaders from Moscow. “It’s time to lay down your soul for the House of the Most Holy Theotokos!” - wrote the patriarch. His call was taken up by the Russian people. A broad patriotic movement began for the liberation of the capital from the Poles. The first people's (zemstvo) militia was headed by the Ryazan governor Prokopiy Lyapunov. But due to infighting between the nobles and the Cossacks, who killed the governor on false charges, the militia disintegrated. The anti-Polish uprising that began prematurely in Moscow on March 19, 1611 was defeated.
In September 1611, the “trading man”, Nizhny Novgorod zemstvo elder Kuzma Minin, appealed to the townspeople to create a people's militia. At a city meeting, he made his famous speech: “Orthodox people, we want to help the Moscow state, we will not spare our bellies, and not just our bellies - we will sell our yards, we will pawn our wives and children and we will beat our heads so that someone will become our boss. And what praise will all of us receive from the Russian land that such a great thing will happen from such a small city as ours.”
At Minin’s call, the townspeople voluntarily gave “a third of their money” to create a zemstvo militia. But voluntary contributions were not enough. Therefore, a forced collection of “fifth money” was announced: everyone had to contribute a fifth of their income to the treasury of the militia for the salaries of serving people.
At Minin’s suggestion, the 30-year-old Novgorod prince Dmitry Pozharsky was invited to the post of chief governor. Pozharsky did not immediately accept the offer; he agreed to be a governor on the condition that the townspeople themselves would choose an assistant for him who would be in charge of the treasury of the militia. And Minin became “the elected man of the whole earth.” So at the head of the second zemstvo militia were two people elected by the people and invested with their complete trust.
a huge army for that time - more than 10 thousand serving local people, up to three thousand Cossacks, more than a thousand archers and many "dacha people" from the peasants.

Representatives of all classes and all peoples that were part of the Russian state took part in the national militia, in the liberation of the Russian land from foreign invaders.

With the miraculous icon of the Kazan Mother of God, revealed in 1579, the Nizhny Novgorod zemstvo militia managed to storm Kitay-Gorod on November 4, 1612 and expel the Poles from Moscow.
This victory served as a powerful impetus for the revival of the Russian state. And the icon became the subject of special veneration.

At the end of February 1613, the Zemsky Sobor, which included representatives of all classes of the country - the nobility, boyars, clergy, Cossacks, archers, black-growing peasants and delegates from many Russian cities, elected Mikhail Romanov (son of Metropolitan Philaret), the first Russian Tsar from the dynasty, as the new Tsar Romanovs. The Zemsky Sobor of 1613 became the final victory over the Troubles, the triumph of Orthodoxy and national unity.

The confidence that it was thanks to the icon of the Kazan Mother of God that the victory was won was so deep that Prince Pozharsky, with his own money, specially built the Kazan Cathedral on the edge of Red Square. Since then, the Kazan Icon began to be revered not only as the patroness of the House of Romanov, but by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who reigned in 1645-1676, a mandatory celebration was established on November 4 as a day of gratitude to the Most Holy Theotokos for her help in liberating Russia from the Poles (celebrated before 1917). 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 a new holiday at all, but a return to an old tradition.
On National Unity Day, in different cities of our country, political parties and social movements organize rallies, processions and concerts, charity events and sporting events.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Russia greeted the 17th century at a difficult time for it. The war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was unsuccessful, natural disasters and crop failures led to hunger and impoverishment of the peasants, the crisis of anarchy (or, better said, an uncompromising and bloody struggle for power) affected all layers of Russian society. It is not for nothing that this period in our history was called the “Time of Troubles.” 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 with the participation of foreign invaders and constant Tatar raids on Russian lands did not subside. Only the famous Second People's Militia of Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, gathered in Nizhny Novgorod, was able to put an end to the Polish intervention. This was truly a turning point in Russian history. The militia was of a national character; it included representatives of all classes that existed in Russia at that time. In honor of the victory and liberation of Moscow, the temple 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 from all Russian cities came together. Many historians characterize the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 as a truly national and reconciling event for all residents of the country. On February 7, 1613 (old style), Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was elected tsar, founding a new royal dynasty of Russia. By his decree, the day of October 22 (November 4, new style) became the holiday 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 the October Revolution.

During the Soviet period, for objective reasons, the celebration of November 4th ceased. In 2005, on the initiative of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, festive events were held in honor of National Unity Day. This name was given to the revived holiday, designed to remind Russian citizens of the great exploits of their ancestors. On November 4, 2005, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky was unveiled in Nizhny Novgorod, exactly repeating the monument on Moscow’s Red Square, opened in 1818. On November 7, 1941, Red Army soldiers defending Moscow passed by this monument. The example of Minin and Pozharsky inspired Soviet soldiers who went to defend the capital.

Every year, festive events become more and more widespread. Under the auspices of the Russian Military Historical Society, on November 4, 2016, a monument to the Grand Duke of Kyiv Vladimir 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 Russian Military Society. Meetings, rallies and other official festive events are held, which are not political, but exclusively public and social in nature.

Scientific Director of the Russian Military Historical Society Mikhail Myagkov notes: “I think that every year National Unity Day is becoming an increasingly important, significant holiday for Russians. Why is this happening? Firstly, more and more people are becoming aware that statehood, state power, a strong state, a state that takes care of its citizens are extremely necessary. The turmoil that we had at the beginning of the 17th century actually destroyed all the foundations of the state and statehood and threw the country to the edge of the abyss. The agenda was not just the survival of the state, but the survival of the people. Popular forces, popular unity, national unity then made it possible to avoid catastrophe and ultimately bring the country onto the path of development.”