Russia Day, a holiday important to every citizen in our country, is celebrated on June 12th. Every year, people celebrate and honour it as a memory of how the history of our state began. Professor of the Department of Russian and International History and senior research fellow of the Research and Innovation Services Evgeniy Volkov spoke about how this holiday appeared and why it is significant for the Russians.
– Could you please tell us how did the name of the holiday change?
– A mistaken opinion formed in our society that this holiday is called the Independence Day of Russia. In fact, this is not the correct name. Initially, it used to be The Day of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The name to the now familiar version of Russia Day changed in 2002, and this is the right and official name of the holiday.
– Please tell us about the history of appearance of Russia Day.
– On June 12, 1990, at the First Congress of People’s Deputies, which became one of the main government authorities during the perestroika years, the Declaration on the State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was adopted. This happened because some countries, primarily the Baltic and Transcaucasian ones, started to declare their sovereignty and a gradual process of withdrawal of these republics from the USSR began. Therefore, the leadership of the Russian Federation decided to take their place in that trend. In this regard, a declaration at the Congress of Deputies was signed and state sovereignty was proclaimed, that is, the independence of Russia from any other powers. The national flag of the Russian Federation, which appeared during those years, became the main symbol of this holiday.
– How did these events influence our country?
– We can say that there was, on the one hand, a positive trend because democratic principles were proclaimed, and Russia became independent as a state. But, on the other hand, it was a process of secession from the Soviet Union, in which the Russian leadership, as a result, acquired some of the power and authority, and this was in conflict with the allied leadership. Then there was no post of the President of the Russian Federation, only the post of the Chairman of the Supreme Council, to which Boris Yeltsin was elected. And then Mikhail Gorbachev was the President and the Head of the Soviet Union, that is, there is already a certain trend associated with the clash of two powers. But, we can talk about the positive aspects, such as that the Russian Federation acquired its state sovereignty, its powers and started to develop in a modern political direction. The Declaration of Sovereignty was based on democratic foundations, and the Constitution is the main document by which all citizens of our country live.
– What do you think is the role of this holiday in the modern world?
– Today, in my opinion, this holiday is extremely important. We know that on this day state awards are given, demonstrations, meetings and various festive events are held. I think that this holiday appeared, of course, due to the fact that citizens and the political leadership knew that that was a new stage in the development of our country. It was necessary to break the period associated with the communist past and build a new state, with new holidays, with a new history. This holiday is a symbol associated with a new stage in our history.