The Commemoration of Revolution in the Soviet Festive Culture in the 1920s–1930s
This article considers the actualisation of the events of the Russian Revolution of 1917 in the process of public holidays between the 1920s and 1930s. The interpretation of the Revolution as a heroic event which helped pave the way to a brighter future, created the myth of revolution, which was act...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Russian |
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Ural Federal University Press
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Известия Уральского федерального университета. Серия 2: Гуманитарные науки |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.urfu.ru/index.php/Izvestia2/article/view/4101 |
| Summary: | This article considers the actualisation of the events of the Russian Revolution of 1917 in the process of public holidays between the 1920s and 1930s. The interpretation of the Revolution as a heroic event which helped pave the way to a brighter future, created the myth of revolution, which was actively presented during festive events. The course of anniversary celebrations of the October revolution faced the establishment of a new interpretation of both the revolution and the Soviet state.
As a special type of commemorative events, the revolution-related holidays not only performed a recreational task, but also played a mobilising role and constructed a memory in the minds of Soviet citizens that would respond to the tasks set by the authorities about the formation of a “new” person. Emotionally affecting society, the holidays consolidated the population and created a canonical system of symbols and rhetorical figures.
Most information and propaganda tasks were carried out, among other things, by means of changing the atmosphere of everyday life: the mass and elevated nature of the festive events helped impose new spiritual values and rules of behaviour on social mentality which were interpreted as the only true ones.
The degree of influence of the festive ritual on the participants’ consciousness was enhanced by its artistic and aesthetic presentation. They remembered the excitement experienced during demonstrations and parades for a long time and the holiday was perceived as an element of rest and recreation after hard everyday life.
In the USSR, anniversary celebrations turned into an annual formalised ritual of celebration with theatrical processions and demonstrations of working people. |
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| ISSN: | 2227-2283 2587-6929 |