National Unity Day splits residents of Southern Russia

Amid the events organized by the authorities on the National Unity Day, many residents of the southern regions of Russia said they did not understand the meaning of the holiday. Some of them recalled with nostalgia the celebration of November 7, and residents of Ingushetia considered it more appropriate to pay tribute to the memory of victims of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that starting from November 4, 2005, Russia celebrates the day of November 4 as the National Unity Day. The authorities timed the holiday to the date of the liberation of Moscow from Polish invaders in 1612. Together with the appointment of the National Unity Day, the day off on November 7, which was on the anniversary of the 1917 revolution, was cancelled.

In his post in the "Volgograd" public account, user Stepan Golich described the National Unity Day as a "holiday at the state level." "However, I've got no feeling that this is our holiday. They took away the people's holiday of November 7, the Day of the Socialist Revolution, and came up with something new in contrast," the user complained.

In their turn, social network users from Ingushetia have explained that they consider the celebration inappropriate in connection with the anniversary of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict.

"In the Republic of Ingushetia, we have the mourning for the autumn of 1992," wrote user visingiri1971. "In 1992, a [conflict] took place in the period from October 31 to November 7. I don't understand what holiday may be on this date, since this is the date of mourning," agreed user artskhanov.

Residents of the southern regions of Russia interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" expressed different opinions about the holiday on November 4.

"Like probably the majority of the older generation people, I do not quite understand and accept this new holiday. My childhood and youth passed in those years when the country celebrated November 7 as the day of the Great October Revolution. This holiday is still dear to me, and it was more popular than the one celebrated on November 4," said Sultan, a resident of Grozny.

Nafisat, a driver of a trolleybus, has admitted that she celebrates only four holidays: New Year, March 8, May 9, and Eid al-Fitr. "I don't even know the rest of the holidays that arose after the collapse of the USSR. I don't know what kind of holiday is today, but it's good that it is, and people will have a rest at least," said the resident of Makhachkala.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 4, 2019 at 04:02 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.