The Russian Embassy in South Ossetia has informed citizens that in connection with the celebration of National Unity Day, the consular section will not receive visitors from November 4 to 7.
On November 4, Russia celebrates National Unity Day. The holiday was established in 2005 and from that moment it is a day off. What happened on this day and what exactly Russians celebrate, when and why November 4 became a holiday, what story is hidden behind this date and why such a name was chosen for it.
What happened that day?
On November 4 (October 22, old style), 1612, the home guard led by the zemstvo headman Kuzma Minin and prince Dmitry Pozharsky liberated Moscow from the Polish invaders.
Why is this date so important?
With the expulsion of the Poles from the Kremlin, the long period of the Time of Troubles in Russia ended. A few months after the liberation of Moscow, the Zemsky Sobor, which included representatives of all estates of the country: nobility, boyars, clergy, Cossacks, archers, peasants and delegates from Russian cities, elected a new tsar - a representative of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich.
How did the Poles end up in Moscow?
After the death in 1598 of the last tsar from the Rurik dynasty, Fyodor Ioannovich and his younger brother Dmitry, the throne was taken by the boyar Boris Godunov. However, for the nobility, his rights to supreme power were illegitimate. This was used by impostors posing as the deceased Tsarevich Dmitry. A political crisis began in the country, called the Time of Troubles.
In 1609, the Polish king Sigismund III launched a military intervention against Russia. A significant part of the country came under the control of the Polish-Lithuanian detachments.
Power passed to the council of boyars (Seven Boyars), which swore allegiance to the Polish prince, the son of Sigismund. And Moscow was occupied by Polish troops.
In 1612, the people's home guard, created in Nizhny Novgorod to liberate the Russian lands from foreign invaders, took Kitay-Gorod by storm and expelled the Polish troops.
Who are Minin and Pozharsky?
The Nizhny Novgorod zemstvo headman Kuzma Minin played an important role in the creation of the people's home guard, appealing to the townspeople to repulse the enemy. A huge army at that time gathered - more than 10 thousand local servicemen, peasants, Cossacks, archers and nobles. Along with the Russians, the Mari, Chuvash, Komi and other peoples of the Volga region and the North entered the home guard. The Novgorod prince Dmitry Pozharsky was elected governor, and Minin became his assistant and treasurer.
In 1818, by the decree of Emperor Alexander I, a monument to "Citizen Minin and Prince Pozharsky" by sculptor Ivan Martos was erected on Red Square - the first monument in the history of Russia not to a tsar or commander, but to the national heroes.
When did November 4 become a holiday?
In 1613, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich established the Day of the Cleansing of Moscow from Polish invaders.
In 1649, by the decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the date was declared a church-state holiday. On this day, the Russian Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God "for the deliverance of Moscow and Russia from the invasion of the Poles in 1612".
How did the icon turn out to be connected with the history of the liberation of Moscow?
According to the legend, the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was sent from Kazan to Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and became the patroness of the people's home guard. With her, the army entered Moscow.
Today, on Red Square, there is the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, consecrated in 1637 in memory of the heroes who liberated the capital.
If the holiday had been existed, why was it reintroduced in 2005?
In the Soviet years, November 4 was not celebrated and was not a day off. November 7, the Day of the Great October Socialist Revolution, was considered a festive day. In 1996, the holiday was renamed the Day of Reconciliation and Accord.
In September 2004, the Interreligious Council of Russia proposed making November 4 a holiday and celebrating it as the Day of National Unity. The State Duma supported the initiative. This day became a day off instead of November 7, which received the status of a memorable date - the Day of the October Revolution of 1917.
Why is the holiday called National Unity Day?
One of the explanations for why such a name was chosen may be an explanatory note to the draft law on the introduction of a new holiday: "On November 4, 1612, the soldiers of the people's militia ... demonstrated an example of heroism and solidarity of the whole people, regardless of origin, religion and position in society." ...
