Residents of a huge country have been deprived of a day off for many years
The “best” of all our civil holidays, May 9, was by no means always a “red day of the calendar.” Moreover, in the original version it was intended as... a “minor” Victory Day.
This day became special on May 8, 1945, when the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On declaring May 9 as Victory Day” was signed in the Kremlin. Its text read: “In commemoration of the victorious completion of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders and the historical victories of the Red Army, ... to establish that May 9 is a day of national celebration - the VICTORY HOLIDAY. May 9 is considered a non-working day.”
However, after several months, on September 2, 1945, the same Presidium of the Armed Forces legalized the “more important” holiday: Victory Day in World War II. It was timed to coincide with September 3, the day of victory over Japan. And, to the delight of citizens, they were also declared non-working.
However, they did not rejoice for long. The existence of this new “red date” in the calendar turned out to be very short-lived.
Victory Day No. 2 in the Country of Soviets was celebrated “in full” only once – in September 1946. And then it turned out that for the overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of the USSR, the victory over Nazi Germany was much more important than the final victory in World War II. As a result, the idea of a “Japanese” Victory Day was quietly put on hold. In the years following 1946, the authorities did not announce any celebrations, much less a holiday on September 3. Although formally this was a violation of the law: after all, the September decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Court was never officially canceled.
But with Victory Day No. 1, not everything went smoothly either. Citizens of the USSR had a chance to walk in honor of the recent “victory” over the Nazis only in May 1945, 1946 and 1947. And then “at the top” for some reason they reconsidered their attitude towards this holiday and decided that it should not be celebrated on such a large scale. (It has been suggested that such “obstruction” was perpetrated by Stalin himself, imbued with jealousy of Marshal Zhukov, who at that time had become the “main winner of Germany” for the residents of the country.) Be that as it may, on December 24, 1947, a new document prepared by Presidium of the Supreme Council: “In amendment to the Decree of May 8, 1945, May 9, the Victory Day over Germany, is considered a working day.”
As a result, starting from 1948, our grandparents and fathers and mothers celebrated Victory Day with hard work in workshops, construction sites, in the fields, studying in schools and institutes... Of course, on this day, protocol “meetings of activists with invitations” were held everywhere participants in the hostilities,” newspapers printed solemn editorials, but in fact the only truly festive attribute of this day during the times of Stalin and Khrushchev remained gun salutes fired on the evening of May 9 in several large cities. Even the anniversary holidays in 1950, 1955, and 1960 were no exception.
Only on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Victory, May 9 was again included in the list of main (and non-working!) holidays. Then, in 1965, Victory Day was celebrated on a grand scale. It was precisely this anniversary that awarded the Soviet capital with the honorary title “Hero City”. On the 9th, a military parade was held on Red Square and the Victory Banner was carried in front of the troops (previously, parade units marched through the capital only on May 1 and November 7).
Since then, Victory Day has always been celebrated very solemnly. Streets and squares were decorated with flags and banners. At 7 pm a minute of silence was declared in memory of the victims. Mass meetings of veterans in the center of Moscow have become traditional.
When the sad period of the collapse of the USSR began, the holiday, so revered by the people in most union republics, for some time lost some of its former scale. On May 9, 1990, the last military parade in Soviet history on the occasion of Victory Day took place near the walls of the Kremlin. This tradition was resumed in the new Russia only five years later.
There is a common misconception that Victory Day on May 9 became a day off only under Brezhnev. This is not true - from 1945 to 1947 this day was also a day off. Inside the posting are scans (published in the poltora-bobra LiveJournal) from newspapers with the corresponding decrees.
The act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed on May 8 at 22:43 Central European time (that is, May 9 at 0:43 Moscow time) and came into force from 24:00 Moscow time. It is because of this natural time difference that Victory Day is celebrated on May 8th all over the world, and on the 9th in the Soviet Union. The day before, on May 8, 1945, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a Decree declaring May 9 as Victory Day over Nazi Germany: “To commemorate the victorious completion of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders and the historical victories of the Red Army, which culminated in complete defeat Hitler’s Germany, which declared unconditional surrender, establish that May 9 is a day of national celebration - Victory Day.”
On December 23, 1947, in the USSR, Victory Day on May 9 was declared a regular working day. At the same time, January 1 was declared a day off - before that, from 1930 to 1947, the New Year was celebrated in the USSR, of course, but January 1 was a working day. Because The New Year is largely a children's holiday, so we can say that in this way adults gave Victory Day to children. In the conditions of devastation, it was not possible to take another day off.
Scan from the newspaper "Izvestia" No. 302 dated December 24, 1947. 
There is a version that Stalin made May 9 a working day, because... I was afraid of veterans and did not want to glorify their merits.
“They,” writes front-line soldier Anatoly Chernyaev, who later became assistant to Secretary General Gorbachev, “have seen the West. They've seen everything. They acquired new human dignity... Stalin was right to fear this generation.”
To assess the validity of this statement, you need to look at what Soviet newspapers wrote on Victory Day after 1947.
Literary newspaper, May 8, 1948
Trud, May 8, 1948
"Soviet Art", May 7, 1949
"Soviet Art", May 9, 1949
As we can see, tribute was paid to the victorious front-line soldiers in newspaper articles. Victory Day was celebrated at the state level, this event was covered in the press, festive concerts were organized for the people, it was just a working day. Thus, the thesis that Stalin was “afraid of front-line soldiers” is not confirmed in practice.
In the year of the twentieth anniversary of the Victory, by Decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 25, 1965, May 9 was declared a non-working day and a national holiday. By this time, the country had already recovered from the ruins, so the introduction of an additional day off was not critical for the economy.
May 9 is not just a holiday, it is one of the great days, revered not only in Russia, but also in many other countries of the world that suffered from the invaders. Victory Day is a holiday important for every family and every citizen. It is difficult to find a person who was not in any way affected by the terrible war, which claimed the lives of millions of soldiers and civilians. This date will never be erased from history, it will remain forever in the calendar, and will always remind of those terrible events and the great defeat of the fascist troops, which stopped the hell.
History of May 9 in the USSR
The first Victory Day in history was celebrated in 1945. Exactly at 6 a.m., the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR designating May 9 as Victory Day and assigning it the status of a day off was solemnly read out over all loudspeakers in the country.
That evening, the Victory Salute was given in Moscow - a grandiose spectacle at that time - thousands of anti-aircraft guns fired 30 victorious salvos. On the day the war ended, the city streets were filled with jubilant people. They had fun, sang songs, hugged each other, kissed and cried with happiness and pain for those who did not live to see this long-awaited event.
The first Victory Day passed without a military parade; for the first time this solemn procession took place on Red Square only on June 24. They prepared for it carefully and for a long time - for a month and a half. The following year, the parade became an integral attribute of the celebration.
However, the magnificent celebration of Victory Day lasted only for three years. Beginning in 1948, in a country destroyed by Nazi troops, the authorities considered it necessary to prioritize the restoration of cities, factories, roads, educational institutions and agriculture. They refused to allocate considerable funds from the budget for the magnificent celebration of the most important historical event and to provide an additional day off for workers.
L. I. Brezhnev made his contribution to the return of Victory Day - in 1965, on the twentieth anniversary of the Great Victory, May 9 was again colored red in the USSR calendar. This important memorable day was declared a holiday. Military parades and fireworks have resumed in all hero cities. Veterans, those who forged victory on the battlefield and behind enemy lines, enjoyed special honor and respect on the holiday. Participants in the war were invited to schools and higher educational institutions, meetings were organized with them in factories and they were warmly congratulated on the streets with words, flowers and warm hugs.
Victory Day in modern Russia
In the new Russia, Victory Day remained a Great holiday. On this day, citizens of all ages, without coercion, go in an endless stream to monuments and memorials, laying flowers and wreaths at them. Performances by famous and amateur artists take place in squares and concert venues; mass celebrations last from morning until late at night.
By tradition, military parades are held in hero cities. And in the evenings the sky lights up with festive fireworks and modern fireworks. A new attribute of May 9 was the St. George's ribbon - a symbol of heroism, courage and bravery. The ribbons were first distributed in 2005. Since then, on the eve of the holiday, they have been distributed free of charge in public places, shops, and educational institutions. Each participant proudly wears a striped ribbon on his chest, paying tribute to those who died for the Victory and peace on earth.
Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War is celebrated in Russia on May 9 as a national holiday dedicated to the struggle of the Soviet people for the freedom and independence of their Motherland against Nazi Germany and its allies.
The Great Patriotic War: the beginning
The most important and decisive part of the Second World War is the Great Patriotic War. The treacherous attack of Nazi Germany began at dawn on June 22, 1941. Violating Soviet-German treaties, Hitler's troops invaded the territory of the Soviet Union.
Romania and Italy took the side of Germany, and were later joined by Slovakia, Finland, Hungary and Norway.
The war lasted almost four years and became the largest armed conflict in human history. On the front, stretching from the Barents to the Black Sea, from 8 million to 13 million people fought simultaneously on both sides in different periods, from 6 thousand to 20 thousand tanks and assault guns, from 85 thousand to 165 thousand guns and mortars, from 7 thousand to 19 thousand aircraft.
© Sputnik / Yakov Ryumkin
Already at the very beginning, the plan for a lightning war, during which the German command planned to capture the entire Soviet Union in a few months, failed. The persistent defense of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Kyiv, Odessa, Sevastopol, and the Battle of Smolensk contributed to the disruption of Hitler’s plan for a lightning war.
The Great Break
The country survived, the course of events turned. Soviet soldiers defeated fascist troops near Moscow, Stalingrad (now Volgograd) and Leningrad, in the Caucasus, and inflicted crushing blows on the enemy in the Kursk Bulge, Right Bank Ukraine and Belarus, in the Iasi-Kishinev, Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations.
Over the course of almost four years of war, the Armed Forces of the USSR defeated 607 divisions of the fascist bloc. On the Eastern Front, German troops and their allies lost more than 8.6 million people. More than 75% of all enemy weapons and military equipment were captured and destroyed.
© Sputnik / Georgy Petrusov
The Patriotic War, which was a tragedy in almost every Soviet family, ended in victory for the USSR. The act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed in the suburbs of Berlin on May 8, 1945 at 22.43 Central European time (Moscow time on May 9 at 0.43). It is because of this time difference that the Day of the end of World War II in Europe is celebrated on May 8, and in the USSR and then in Russia - on May 9.
9th May
In the USSR, May 9 was declared Victory Day over Nazi Germany by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the day of surrender. The document declared May 9 a non-working day.
On May 9, folk festivals and crowded rallies took place everywhere. Amateur groups, popular theater and film artists, and orchestras performed in the squares and parks of cities and villages. At 21:00, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Joseph Stalin addressed the Soviet people. At 22:00 a salute was fired with 30 artillery salvoes from 1,000 guns. After the fireworks, dozens of planes dropped garlands of multi-colored rockets over Moscow, and numerous sparklers flashed in the squares.
© Sputnik / David Sholomovich
During the Soviet period, parades on Red Square in Moscow occurred only three times.
On May 9, 1995, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow, an anniversary parade of war participants and wartime home front workers with units of the Moscow garrison was held on Red Square, which, according to its organizers, reproduced the first historical parade. The Victory Banner was carried across the square.
Since then, parades on Red Square have been held annually, so far without military equipment, then it appeared.
© Sputnik / Ilya Pitalev
According to the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, on May 9, when laying wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, holding ceremonial meetings, military parades and processions of Great Patriotic War veterans on Red Square in Moscow, along with the State Flag of the Russian Federation, the Victory Banner hoisted above the Reichstag is carried out.
St. George Ribbon
Since 2005, a few days before May 9, the patriotic event “St. George’s Ribbon” starts. For millions of people not only in Russia, but also abroad, the St. George ribbon is a symbol of memory, connection between generations and military glory. A decade later, the action became the largest in the entire history of the project. It united 85 regions of the Russian Federation and 76 countries. In addition to the CIS countries, Germany, Great Britain, France, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Czech Republic, Spain, Finland and other European countries, the USA, Canada, Argentina, China, Israel, and Vietnam are taking part in the event. African countries also joined the action: Morocco, Congo, South Africa, Tanzania and others. © Sputnik / Vladimir Vyatkin
Procession of the Regional Patriotic Public Organization "Immortal Regiment Moscow" along Red Square
In 2018, to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, military parades will be held in dozens of cities in Russia and other countries of the world.
On May 9, a public event in memory of the “Immortal Regiment” will also take place, which is a march during which people carry photographs of their relatives who participated in the Great Patriotic War.
Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 is celebrated not only in Russia, but also in the former Soviet republics and many European countries.
2014 marks 69 years since the Soviet army defeated Germany in this long and bloody war.
Victory Day - the history of the holiday
The final stage of the war was the Berlin operation, in which more than two and a half million Soviet soldiers took part, seven and a half thousand aircraft, more than six thousand tanks and self-propelled guns were involved. It is difficult to imagine what sacrifices this victory cost our country. According to some reports, during the operation the Red Army lost more than fifteen thousand soldiers every day. While fulfilling their duty, a total of 352 thousand people died during the Berlin operation.
Tanks were brought into the city, but there were so many of them that wide maneuvers were impossible - this made Soviet equipment vulnerable to German anti-tank weapons. Tanks became easy targets. In two weeks of the operation, a third of tanks and self-propelled guns (almost two thousand units of equipment), more than two thousand mortars and guns were lost. However, the Berlin operation brought victory to the Red Army. Soviet troops defeated seventy enemy infantry, twelve tank and eleven motorized divisions. About four hundred eighty thousand opponents were captured.
So, on the evening of May 8, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed. This happened at 22:43 Central European time and at 00:43 Moscow time. The act came into force at 1:00 Moscow time. Therefore, in European countries Victory Day is celebrated on May 8, and in Russia on the 9th. It is interesting that, although the act of surrender was adopted, the Soviet Union continued to officially remain at war with Germany until 1955, when the corresponding decision was made by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
On May 9, a plane landed at the Frunze Central Airfield in Moscow, bringing the act of German surrender to the capital. The Victory Parade took place on Red Square on June 24. The parade was hosted by Marshal Georgy Zhukov, and Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky commanded the parade. The combined regiments of the fronts marched through the square in a solemn march. The commanders of armies and fronts walked ahead, Heroes of the Soviet Union carried banners.
In 1945, Stalin signed a decree making May 9 a public holiday and a day off. However, already in 1948, Victory Day became a working day. Parades and celebrations resumed only in 1965. At this time, the holiday of May 9 finally became a day off again.
Victory Day - holiday traditions
The first Victory Day was celebrated like never before in history. On the streets people hugged and kissed each other. Many were crying. On the evening of May 9, a Victory salute was given in Moscow, the largest in the entire history of the USSR: thirty salvos from a thousand guns. Since then, Victory Day has been and remains one of the most important and revered holidays in Russia and the CIS.
According to tradition, on this day volunteers hand out St. George ribbons on the streets - a symbol of the holiday. Veterans and young people tie them as a sign of memory of the war and the connection between generations. Victory Day, as a rule, begins with a parade and the laying of flowers and centuries at the monuments of the Great Patriotic War. On this day, veterans are honored, festive concerts are organized for them, and gifts are given to them. Educational institutions conduct lessons on courage and remember the war and its heroes.