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Discover the deep tradition behind Russia's state symbols, including the historical and symbolic meanings of the state emblem and flag. Learn about the evolution of the Russian anthem and its connection to the country's history and traditions.
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National holidays And State symbols
Contemporary State Emblem of Russia is a new emblem, but the parts of it are deeply traditional. The state emblem of Russia has the drawing of a gold two-headed eagle on the red field. This drawing of the eagle goes back to the images on the monuments of the Peter the Great epoch.
There are three historical crowns of Peter the Great above the two-headed eagle (they are symbols of the sovereignty both in Russia as a whole and in its parts). The eagle holds in claws sceptre and orb as embodiment of State power and united state. Some Russian explained this drawing in the following way: two heads mean the President (Medvedev) and Prime Minister (Putin) and three crowns symbolize the executive, legislative and judicial powers of Russia.
On its chest there is a horseman – Russian St. George – who is killing an evil snake with his spear. That is one of the oldest symbols of victory of Russia against all its enemies, symbol of the struggle of good against evil, light against gloom. The final restoration of this symbol took place in 1993, when President Boris Yeltsin approved it as a national coat-of-arms.
The current Russian flag was adopted on August 21, 1991 just before the country became an independent state. Most historians trace the origin of Russia’s flag to Peter the Great. In 1699, out of hundreds of different flags, Peter selected the flag similar to the flag of the Netherlands - white, blue and red flag. His design was used as a Russian maritime flag for merchant ships and then it was adopted as the civil flag of Russia in 1883. At that time, this flag symbolized goodwill, neighbourliness and peace.
There is no official meaning of to the Russian flag but Russian people create their own variants. Some Russians believe that white color symbolizes generosity and frankness; blue stands for loyalty, honesty and wisdom; red means courage, magnanimity and love. The other people think that red represents Russian people, blue - the Ukrainians, and white - the Belarusians. There is one more version: white is seen to be the color of moral purity, the Christian faith and eternity. Blue is the color of truth and the Mother of God, the protector of Russia, the Virgin. Red is the color of strength and life. Taken together, the flag represents the eternal Virgin and the Giver of Life.
For a long time Russia had no anthem. The various church hymns and military marches were used to honour the Russia up to 1816, when the “Молитварусских“ ("Prayer of the Russians") by Russian poet V. Zhukovskii was chosen as the national anthem. The second official anthem “Боже, царяхрани“ was presented in 1833, on December 25th , when the nation celebrated the expulsion of the French from Russia. That anthem existed until the October revolution of 1917 and was replaced to the new anthem of the victorious proletarian revolution - "International" - in 1918.
In 1944, people heard a new official Soviet anthem “Союзнерушимыйреспубликсвободных“ ("The Unbreakable Union of Freeborn Republics") on the radio. It was written by the composer A. Alexandrov and poets Sergei Mikhalkov and Garold El-Registan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1993, a government commission and President Yeltsin offered a new national anthem “Патриотическаяпесня“ ("Patriotic Song") by M. Glinka. However this anthem was unpopular and didn’t inspire Russians. People preferred the old Soviet anthem instead of it.
On December, 2000, President Vladimir Putin approved therestoration of the music by A. Alexandrov and new variant of lyric by S. Mikhalkov, which evoked and eulogized the history and traditions of Russia.
1st stanza: Russia, our holy country! Russia, our beloved country! A mighty will, a great glory, Are your inheritance for all time! Refrain: Be glorious, our free Fatherland! Eternal union of fraternal peoples, Common wisdom given by our forebears, Be glorious, our country! We are proud of you! 2nd stanza: From the southern seas to the polar region Spread our forests and fields. You are unique in the world, inimitable, Native land protected by God! 3rd stanza: Wide spaces for dreams and for living Are opened for us by the coming years Faithfulness to our country gives us strength Thus it was, so it is and always will be! 1 куплет: Россия - священная наша держава! Россия - любимая наша страна! Могучая воля, великая слава - Твое достоянье на все времена. Припев: Славься, Отечество наше свободное - Братских народов союз вековой. Предками данная мудрость народная, Славься, страна! Мы гордимся тобой! 2 куплет: От южных морей до полярного края Раскинулись наши леса и поля. Одна ты на свете! Одна ты такая! Хранимая Богом родная земля. 3 куплет: Широкий простор для мечты и для жизни, Грядущие нам открывают года. Нам силу дает наша верность Отчизне. Так было, так есть и так будет всегда!
Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin. June 12, 1990 the first Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR accepted the "Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation from the USSR”
Holiday took a roots slowly. Surveys confirmed - people do not understand the holiday, think it ‘s another weekend, furthermore, many people simply forget about it and come to work!
When people’s dislike to this day became obvious, B.N. Yeltsin offered to celebrate “the Day of Russia” on June 12. And in the February 1, 2002 holiday officially got a new name.
June 12 - Russia Day • Celebrates annually since 1992 (day off since 1991) on the day of accepting the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR - June 12.
October 22 (November 1 in the Gregorian calendar) in 1612 soldiers militia led by KuzmaMinin and Dmitry Pozharsky stormed China Town, bringing the garrison Rzeczpospolita (Polish invaders) retreated to the Kremlin. Prince Pozharsky entered into China Town to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and vowed to build a temple to commemorate this victory.
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy publicly supported the initiative to establish the celebration of November 4. "This day reminds us how in 1612 the Russians of different faiths, nationalities and origin overcame separation, defeated the enemy and brought the country to civil peace," - said the Patriarch.
November 23, 2004 a bill was introduced to the Duma, involving amendments to the Labor Code: abolition of celebration of November 7 - the anniversary of the October Revolution and 12 December - Constitution Day and the introduction of a new holiday on November 4.
At the same time, in many cities of Russia holiday was invariably take place during the rallies and marches various patriotic and nationalist movements, causing a negative attitude of the liberal media and politicians.
New Yearand Christmas • 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 January - New Year holidays • January 7 - Christmas
23 February • Russia inherited several public holidays from the era of the Soviet Union. For example, Defender of the Fatherland Day (originally known as Red Army Day) is celebrated on February 23rd.
23 February • In a broad sense, this holiday celebrates people who are serving or were serving the Russian Armed Forces. Due to a common Russian stereotype that the role of the defender is reserved for males, the holiday has more recently come to celebrate Russia's men as a whole.
March 8th International Women's Day—which is celebrated in the first month of spring on March 8th. One might compare March 8th in Russia with Mother's Day in the West, although the Russian holiday celebrates all women, including mothers, grandmothers, daughters, and girlfriends.
The International Women's Day. This holiday emerged as a political celebration to symbolize the fight of women from all over the world for their rights, full equality with men, democracy and peace. As the time passed, the political motives of the holiday moved to the background and March 8th simply became a women's holiday in Russia and other republics of the former USSR.
Task: - Find the symbols of The International Women's Day in Russia (http://masterrussian.com/russianculture/womens_day_march8.htm and othersources) - Compare the March 8th with similar holiday in your country
May 1 - May DayInternational Workers' Day • After the October Revolution of 1917 became an official holiday:at this day conducted demonstrations of workers and military parades (First Day parade was held in 1918
May 1 - May DayInternational Workers' Day • In 1992, the holiday was renamed in “Spring and LabourDay". Labour Day is celebrated as a state, is commonly used for political campaigns.
One of the biggest Russian holidays, Victory Day, marks Germany’s surrender to the Soviet Union in 1945, ending one of the bloodiest wars in Russia’s history.
On this day, TV networks broadcast World War II-inspired films, younger generations honor veterans, and the festivities culminate in a military parade atMoscow’sRed Square.
Many people attend a local military parade and watch the fireworks at night on Victory Day. The biggest parade is in Moscow’s Red Square. Most veterans wear their medals as they head to the parade or an event organized by a local veteran organization.
Another tradition is to give flowers, usually red carnations, to veterans in the street and to lay wreaths at the war memorial sites. Neighborhood schools may host a program prepared by the students, featuring wartime songs and poetry. • At home, families gather around a festive table to honor surviving witnesses of World War II and remember those who passed away. They may also watch a favorite Soviet film based on the events of World War II, which is also known as the Great Patriotic War. These films are repeated each year but the audience seems to never grow tired of them.
St. George ribbon Victory Banner Symbols of the Victory Day Red carnations eternal Flame
Background Victory Day marksGermany’s surrender to theSoviet Unionin 1945. It became the end of the Great Patriotic War for theUSSR, which lost about 25 million citizens in the four years of fighting. Interestingly, until its 20th anniversary (May 9, 1965), Victory Day was not a major holiday, unlike, for instance, May 1, and was considered a work day. Apart from the anniversaries in 1965 and 1985, Victory Day celebrations in the Soviet Uniondid not feature a military parade. This tradition started in 1995.
Memorial day on June 22 • Celebrates annually in Russia on June 22; such anniversaries are also celebrate in Belarus and Ukraine. June 22, 1941 the German army entered the territory of the USSR, and the Great Patriotic War, which killed more than 26 million Soviet people, began.
