Men’s Day — Defenders of the Fatherland
Defender of the Fatherland Day is a holiday observed in Russia and many former Soviet republics on 23 February.
The holiday marks the date in 1918 during the Russian Civil War when the first mass draft into the Red Army occurred in Petrograd (St Petersburg) and Moscow. At first the day was known as Red Army Day an after the 1940′s was renamed as Soviet Army and Navy Day.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 the holiday was changed to “Defenders of the Fatherland Day.” The holiday celebrates the soldiers of the Russian military, but it has also more recently come to include the celebration of men as a whole, and to act as a counterpart of International Women’s Day on March 8.
The holiday is celebrated with parades and processions in honor of veterans, and women also give small gifts to the Russian men in their lives, especially a boyfriend or husband. In local terms the day is often referred to as Men’s Day.
[...] This is odd, given the clatter of saber rattling that frequently wafts over from Moscow. Levinson explains that, on this question, Russians seem to buck their government’s often belligerent stance, perhaps because of their traditional –and traditionally paradoxical — self-image. “Most Russians consider that a love of peace is one of their main characteristics, but at the same time they view themselves in the epic role of a people victorious,” he writes. “The idea that Russia has always defended itself from aggressors, but has never attacked anyone, is a critical part of the Russian self-image. It is not for nothing that the day when men are congratulated for their potential future role as soldiers is called the Day of Defenders of the Fatherland.” [...]
Russians: a peaceful people victorious? - Julia Ioffe - The Moscow Diaries - True/Slant said this on 15/04/2010 at 6:42 AM |