Russian citizens are celebrating on Saturday, February 23, the Defender of the Fatherland Day
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2019) Russian citizens are celebrating on Saturday, February 23, the Defender of the Fatherland Day.
The holiday was born in the Soviet Union and was originally celebrated as the Red Army and Navy Day.
A document that would establish February 23 as an official Soviet holiday never existed. Soviet historiography associated the emergence of the holiday honoring the military with the events of 1918. On January 28, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom), adopted a decree on the establishment of the Red Army. On February 22, Sovnarkom issued a decree declaring that the country was in danger, which was followed by mass rallies in Moscow, St. Petersburg (called Petrograd at the time) and other cities across Russia on February 23. On the same day, volunteers flocked to the Red Army and the formation of its troops and units began.
On January 10, 1919, the chairman of the Supreme Military Inspectorate of the Red Army, Nikolai Podvoisky, sent a proposal to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Soviets (VTsIK), suggesting to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the Red Army on the first Sunday before or after January 28. However, since the proposal to mark this anniversary was sent too late, the decision was not made.
Then the Moscow City Hall took the initiative to celebrate the anniversary of the Red Army. On January 24, 1919, its presidium, headed by Lev Kamenev, decided to time these celebrations to the Red Gift Day, which was held to collect material resources and money for the Red Army.
A Central Committee under VTsIK was established to organize the celebration of the anniversary of the Red Army and the Red Gift Day. The committee chose February 23 as a day for celebration. On February 5, 1919, Pravda and other newspapers published an announcement that the Red Gift Day throughout Russia was postponed to February 23 and the celebration of the Red Army's creation will also be organized on this day in cities and on the front.
On February 23, 1919, the citizens of Russia celebrated the anniversary of the creation of the Red Army for the first time. This day, however, was not celebrated in 1920 or 1921.
Ahead of the fourth anniversary of the Red Army on January 27, 1922, the presidium of the Central Executive Committee of Soviets published a decree stating that "in accordance with the decision of the 9th All-Russian Congress of Soviets on the Red Army, the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee draws the attention of the executive committees to the upcoming anniversary of the creation of the Red Army (February 23)."
On February 23, 1922, a military parade was held on Red Square in Moscow. It was hosted by the chairman of the Military Revolutionary Committee, Leon Trotsky.
On January 18, 1923, before the five-year anniversary of the Red Army, the presidium of the Central Executive Committee adopted a resolution, which said "On February 23, 1923, the Red Army will celebrate the 5th anniversary of its existence. On this day five years ago, the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of January 28 of the same year was published, marking the beginning of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, the stronghold of the proletarian dictatorship."
The 10th anniversary of the Red Army in 1928, as well as all the previous ones, was celebrated as the anniversary of the decree on the establishment of the Red Army of January 28, 1918, but the very date of the document's publication was tied directly to February 23.
In 1938, a fundamentally new interpretation of the holiday's date, not related to the decree, was presented in a textbook named The History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The book stated that in 1918, "at Narva and Pskov the German invaders faced a resolute repulse. Their advance on Petrograd was stopped. February 23, the day when the forces of German imperialism were repulsed, is regarded as the birthday of the Red Army."
Later, an order of the people's commissar of defense of February 23, 1942, gave a slightly changed wording: "Young detachments of the Red Army, which entered war for the first time, routed the German invaders at Pskov and Narva on February 23, 1918. For this very reason February 23, 1918, was proclaimed the day of the birth of the Red Army."
Another version of the origin of the holiday appeared in 1951. It was stated in The History of the Civil War in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) that in 1919, the first anniversary of the Red Army was celebrated "on a memorable day of the mobilization of workers to defend the socialist Fatherland, the mass entry of workers into the Red Army, the broad formation of the first divisions and units of the new army."
The name of the holiday also changed. Since 1922, the holiday, celebrated on February 23, was traditionally called the Red Army Day, in 1946 it became the Soviet Army Day, and in 1949 it was renamed the Soviet Army and Navy Day.
In a Federal law of March 13, 1995 "On Russian Military Glory Days," the day of February 23 was officially called "the Day of the Victory of the Red Army over the Kaiser's troops of Germany - Defenders of Fatherland Day."
In accordance with the amendments to the federal law "On Russian Military Glory Days" of April 15, 2006, the holiday was renamed the Defender of Fatherland Day.
In December 2001, the State Duma supported the proposal to make February 23 a non-working day.
The day of February 23, by virtue of established traditions, became a state national holiday dedicated to all generations of the Fatherland's defenders. Throughout centuries-old history, the Russians fought selflessly to defend the country's sovereignty and independence, and sometimes even the Russian state's right to existence in numerous wars.
Improving their combat skills and mastering modern weapons and equipment, the Russian armed forces have been reliably protecting the country's national interests and successfully fighting international terrorism.
On the Defender of the Fatherland Day, Russian citizens honor not only those who served or serve now in the country's armed forces, but also all men. This day is often referred to as Men's Day and is considered an informal national holiday of all men. Women who are veterans of the Great Patriotic War or female soldiers are also congratulated on this day. In Moscow, a solemn wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin walls is traditionally held on this day.
The celebrations of the Defender of Fatherland Day usually end with festive fireworks in WWII hero cities of Kerch, Moscow, Murmansk, Novorossiysk, Sevastopol, Smolensk, St. Petersburg, Tula, and Volgograd as well as in the cities where the headquarters of the military districts and fleets are situated.
