The history of the Day of Concord and Reconciliation is rooted almost a century ago. Until recently, it bore a completely different name, reflecting its essence: "Day of the Great October Socialist Revolution." Since then, times have changed, and the state in which it all began has long ceased to exist, but this date is still important for several generations of our citizens.
How it all began?
It was 1917. Russia was going through hard times: the First World War ended very recently, which brought our citizens a lot of troubles, and the political situation in the country left much to be desired. All this led to the fact that in October, the 25th (on the previous calendar, in our calculation - November 7), a revolution called the Great October Revolution took place.
The events of this day had a major impact on how life has developed in our country. From this date the history of the holiday "Day of Concord and Reconciliation" begins. After the victory of the revolutionaries, the entire social system in Russia radically changed, and the country began to be called in a different way - the Soviet Union.
The next day, October 26 (again according to the pre-revolutionary calendar, nowadays - November 8), 1917, several decrees were adopted (on land and peace) and laws, according to which the people should live. The working day began to be 8 hours, and the workers themselves were able to control the production and distribution of food. All peoples living in the country were equalized in rights.
Holiday in Soviet times
Despite the new name - “Day of consent and reconciliation” - the history of the celebration of November 7 began in the Soviet period. Until 1991, this holiday was called "Day of the Great October Socialist Revolution." It was widely celebrated at the state level and was one of the main "red days of the calendar" in the country.
In all the cities of the then Soviet Union, on this day off, mass festivities and, without fail, demonstrations took place, in which all workers and pioneers took part. Politicians and just people holding important posts congratulated Soviet citizens on the holiday from the stands. In honor of this day, rallies were held to glorify the working people and the revolution.
This continued until the collapse of the USSR. In the 90s, they tried to minimize the value of November 7 and erase it from the memory of the people, but to no avail.
The new face of the old holiday
In 1996, thanks to a decree signed by Boris Yeltsin, the then president of Russia, the official history of the Day of Concord and Reconciliation began. This name was not chosen by chance, but in accordance with the situation in the country at that time.
The fact is that in the 90s, as before the beginning of the October Revolution, class stratification in society became too significant. Because of this, the unrest of the people and the intolerance of the suddenly impoverished citizens towards those who managed to get rich quickly by taking advantage of the situation were becoming more and more noticeable.
In order to prevent new tragic events, it was necessary to reconcile among themselves the people divided on the basis of financial prosperity. That is why, without deleting the usual memorable date from the history of Russia, they began talking about the Day of Reconciliation and Consent on November 7.
Celebration Wrap
Since the 5th year of the 21st century, the history of the holiday “Day of Concord and Reconciliation” has received new development. If until now November 7 was officially considered a public holiday, now this rule has been abolished by a government decree. Instead, a new day off appeared on the Russian calendar - November 4 (the official name is “Day of National Unity”).
In the pre-Soviet era, from October 1649, there was the Day of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (in today's calendar - November 4). To this day, it was decided to coincide with a new memorable date, designed to unite the people.
November 4 is a very significant date for Russian history. On this day, back in 1612, Moscow was liberated from the invading Poles, thanks to the rallying of the people under the leadership of Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and the merchant Kuzma Minin. At the end of 2004, the new Russian government decided that such a momentous moment could well come in order to unite the Russians even now.
