November 4 is a Russian holiday called the Day of National Unity and replaced the former Day of the October Revolution. The latter was previously celebrated on 7 November. November 4 is a fairly young holiday, which is dedicated to the events that took place in Russia four centuries ago, in the so-called Time of Troubles.
When they began to celebrate November 4 in Russia
This holiday was enshrined at the legislative level in 2004, and the Russians were able to celebrate National Unity Day in 2005, when the federal law "On Amendments to Article 112 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation" came into force. It was signed by President Vladimir Putin.
The autumn holiday was preceded by two more. So, in 1996, the first President of the "new" Russia - Boris Yeltsin - signed a decree enacting the law "On the Day of Accord and Reconciliation", which was celebrated in the country on November 7 and was considered an "improved" version of an earlier celebration, the essence of which changed slightly … As planned by the authorities, November 7 was supposed to be the day of abandoning confrontations and coming to reconciliation and unity of all strata of Russian society. Thus, Russians began to celebrate the Day of Accord and Reconciliation instead of the previously celebrated Day of the October Revolution.
The latter was celebrated in the USSR and was timed to coincide with the night from October 25 to 26 according to the old style and from November 7 to 8 in the new, when the armed Bolsheviks seized the Winter Palace and arrested members of the Provisional Government, proclaiming the power of the Soviets throughout the territory of the former empire.
However, the idea of the country's authorities was not entirely successful. According to the results of a poll by VTsIOM in 2011, 43% of Russians could not say exactly what kind of holiday is celebrated in Russia on November 4, another 43% did not know at all that this date is a day off, and only 14% were "aware" of the event. Moreover, about 80% of Russians also said that they would not celebrate November 4, either at work or in the family circle.
Already in 2012, the same VTsIOM conducted another poll, in which the residents of Russia were asked the question "Is there national unity in the country?" 56% of the respondents said that he was not there, 23% - answered in the affirmative and the remaining 21% found it difficult to answer.
A small historical excursion
November 4 is timed to coincide with the events of the so-called Time of Troubles, when in 1612 the people's militia led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky was able to oust the Polish invaders from Moscow, thus freeing the capital and the whole country from foreign invaders.
After the death of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible in 1584, his son, Fyodor Ioannovich, ascended the throne, showing quite little interest and ability to govern the state. He died in 1598, leaving no heirs, and Fyodor's younger brother, Tsarevich Dmitry, died in Uglich as a result of either an accident or a rigged attempt on his life.
After the death of Fyodor Ioannovich, the Rurik dynasty was interrupted, and the country fell into a political crisis that lasted almost 15 years. At this time, many impostors appeared, the boyars fought for power, and the Polish army came to the country.
On November 4, 1612, the people's militia was able to free Moscow from the Poles, after which, in 1613, the Zemsky Sobor elected a new tsar - Mikhail Romanov, whose dynasty ruled the country for another three centuries.
