What is June 12 dedicated to? Russia Day: history of the holiday. Congratulations on Russia Day

On June 12, the Russian Federation celebrates one of the youngest public holidays our country - Russia Day.

On this day in 1990, the first Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Russia, which proclaimed the primacy of the Constitution of Russia and its laws. From now on, when resolving all issues of state and public life, the RSFSR enjoyed full power. The Declaration affirmed equal legal opportunities for all citizens, political parties and public organizations; the principle of separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers; the need to significantly expand the rights of the autonomous republics, regions, districts, and territories of the RSFSR.

Important milestones in strengthening Russian statehood were the adoption of a new name for the country - Russian Federation(Russia), a new Constitution reflecting new political realities, state symbols.

On June 12, 1991, the first nationwide direct open elections President, which Boris Yeltsin won.

In 1992, the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation issued a resolution assigning the status of a holiday (non-working day) to the date of adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Federation.

By decree of the President of the Russian Federation of June 2, 1994, the Day of Adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Federation was declared a state holiday in Russia.

On June 12, 1998, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, in his address to his compatriots on central television, proposed calling the Day of Adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty Russia Day.

However, the official name “Russia Day” was assigned to the holiday only in 2002, when the new Labor Code of the Russian Federation came into force, which spelled out new holidays and weekends.

Russia Day with mass folk festivals, sporting events and concerts.

In 2003, the main celebrations dedicated to the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Russia were held for the first time on the capital's Red Square.

Another tradition of celebrating Russia Day has become the annual award ceremony of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology, literature and art, and in the field of humanitarian work, established in 1992.

In 2007, on the eve of the holiday, activists of the youth organizations "United Russia" and "Young Guard" for the first time held the all-Russian action "Russian Tricolor", during which Russians were awarded more than a million ribbons in the colors of the national flag. Since this year, the action has also become a tradition.

Surveys conducted in 2012 by the Yuri Levada Analytical Center (Levada Center) showed that 76% of the population are proud to be citizens of Russia. At the same time, Russians are primarily proud of the country’s history (39%), sporting achievements(29%), domestic art and literature (28%).

More than half of Russians (54%) believe that the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Russia benefited the development of the country.

However, only 40% of Russians know what holiday is celebrated on June 12. 36% of Russians continue to mistakenly call it Independence Day. Every tenth person found it difficult to answer.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

June 12 – Russia Day. Why did this date become the main holiday of the country? What historical events took place on this day? And why exactly these events became the basis for declaring June 12 a holiday? We will try to answer these questions in this article.

An excursion into the recent past

Yes, yes, not far. Because June 12 became a historically important date in the recent past. In 1990 (on the eve of the collapse of the USSR) the Declaration of State Sovereignty was adopted. This meant that Russian laws were more important than Union ones. The RSFSR no longer wants to submit to the all-Union authorities.

The main principles of the new (for that time) Declaration:

• The RSFSR is a sovereign state with stable territorial borders; only by the will of the people (through a referendum) can the territory of the country be changed;
• every citizen has the right to a decent life (international human rights have been recognized);
• norms of democracy were established (everyone had the right to participate in government; the national wealth of Russia belongs only to the people of Russia);
• the rights of the country's regions have been expanded (the principle of federalism);
• spheres of influence are divided between the legislative, executive and judicial powers.

The Constitution and Laws of the RSFSR became a priority. The declaration seemed to state: “This is our country. Now we will be in charge here, we will protect our territory and our citizens.”

On June 12, the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR took place. And in 1991, the first popular elections took place, as a result of which Boris Yeltsin took the post of President of the country.

As part of the USSR, Russia occupied a vast territory and represented the greatest economic and military potential. The authorities of the USSR were located in Moscow. In the same place as the governing elite of the RSFSR. But the latter was perceived as secondary. Until June 12, 1990. From this date the countdown for the Union began.

History of the holiday

Since ninety-one, June 12 has been a non-working day. In ninety-two it was declared a holiday. The officially designated name is “Day of Adoption of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation.” In the same year, the holiday was enshrined in the Labor Code (then it was the Labor Code). And since 2002, Russia Day began to be celebrated on June 12.

Attitudes towards this holiday vary. Some see June 12 as a bright moment of liberation. Finally! Gained independence! And some consider this date to be black in the history of the USSR. The adoption of the Declaration brought the collapse of the great country closer. It's a pity! In principle, such a dual attitude towards the collapse of the USSR is observed in all countries of the post-Soviet space.

An interesting fact is that more than half of Russians call June 12 “Russian Independence Day.” These are the results of a sociological survey.

The main celebrations on Russia Day take place, of course, on the main square of the country. In Moscow. In the Kremlin, the President of the Russian Federation presents State Prizes to distinguished figures from various spheres of political and public life. The celebration ends with a magnificent fireworks display on Red Square.

In several Russian cities, June 12 is a double occasion for celebration. Veliky Novgorod, Izhevsk, Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk, Ulyanovsk, Ufa, Tambov and other settlements celebrate City Day.

How is Russia Day celebrated in other parts of the world?

No way. But June 12 is celebrated in many countries. People are just talking about something else. Thus, in Brazil, lovers are celebrated on June 12; in Paraguay - Day of Peace; in the Philippine Islands - Independence Day; Stock exchange workers are congratulated in Ukraine. The Orthodox world honors the holy prophet Isaac. In Catholic tradition, June 12 is the name day of Ivan (John).

In the history of medicine, this day marked the first successful blood transfusion. America remembers this date because the first Declaration of Rights was adopted (in Virginia, 1776). For the military, June 12 also turned out to be a historically significant date: a gas mask was patented in 1849, and the famous Swiss Army knife was patented in 1897.

If you delve into history, you will definitely find information that someone famous was born, and someone discovered or learned something (for example, why silver turns black); somewhere a cathedral was illuminated or another invention was patented; a deposit of something was discovered or they went on their first flight on something.

Even those who regret the collapse of the USSR will find a reason to celebrate. By the way, in 2014 there will be as many as four! days off. There has never been such prolonged idleness in connection with the celebration of Russia Day.

Frankly speaking, I ask myself this question from time to time, because I don’t understand why this particular date is important. Why is it so good that it was declared the Day of Russia.

Formal response

I understand there is a formal answer by which one can say: “the Council of the Russian Federation adopted a resolution that June 12 became a public holiday. And so that it would be called Russia Day. Because..." And this is where the difficulties begin, because it is believed that on this day a “very important” document for Russia was signed.
Here is his text:

Not docking

After all, if you read it, you can highlight two theses:
- Firstly, we are not talking about the Russian Federation here, but about the RSFSR;
- Secondly, according to the document, Russia is part of the “renewed USSR”, and not a separate state.

And these theses essentially contradict what happened with the state of Russia in reality, from a legal point of view. After all, the Soviet Union collapsed and this document makes no sense. And even if the Union had not collapsed, what was so important in the document? He would simply confirm the “de facto” state (everything is as it is). This, too, would not betray the document at least some importance, even legal.

What do we have

From this we can conclude that those who signed thought to restore or preserve the USSR. And remake it into some kind of analogue of the Confederation, or into a “quasi-state” like the EU. This means they definitely did not plan to have a completely independent Russia. This is confirmed by behind-the-scenes rumors, according to which Yeltsin said “where do they go, we have oil and gas. In a year they will come running to us and ask to come back” (He’s talking about Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states). But this did not happen.

Best options

As for me, it is better not to celebrate Russia Day on June 12th. After all, it was possible to coincide such a holiday with something that was truly of colossal significance for the country, on a historical scale. For example, take the birthday of I, since it was he who made the Russian Empire from the Moscow Principality. Transforming a backward (in every sense) state into one of the strongest (in every sense) Empires at that time.

04.03.2015

One of the most important holiday dates in the Russian state calendar is June 12. Over the relatively short historical period of its existence, the holiday changed its name several times until it became established as “Russia Day”.

In 1990, the Declaration of National Sovereignty of the Republic was adopted. The historical document proclaimed the supremacy of Russian laws throughout the country, equal rights and freedoms for all its citizens - participation in the life of the state, political, social, religious. Subjects of the Federation received broad rights of self-government. On June 12, 1991, the first direct and open presidential elections in Russia took place, as a result of which democrat B. N. Yeltsin became the first President of the country.

In 1992, this date acquired state status at the legislative level. Since the original name of the holiday contained the word “sovereignty,” many began to call it “Independence Day.” In 1998, Boris Yeltsin spoke on Central Television and proposed calling the holiday “Russia Day,” but officially June 12 began to bear this name in 2002.

The Russian Federation is a country where representatives of more than 180 nationalities live (Russians make up 80%). According to the creators of the holiday, politicians, public figures and leaders of the country, it should be a symbol of freedom, independence, unity of all residents of different nationalities, and the triumph of democracy. Due to its youth, the holiday has not yet acquired the same weight among Russian citizens as International Labor Day on May 1, not to mention Victory Day on May 9.

But they gradually begin to get used to it. On this day, authorities at various levels strive to organize fun events that will attract both young people and the older generation. Due to the territorial extent of the country from north to south and from west to east, the celebrations are opened by residents of the Far East and Kamchatka. The center of Vladivostok is turning into a pedestrian zone, bicycle races and a yacht regatta under the slogan “Long live Russia!” are organized.

Then the holiday moves to the western borders. Characteristic feature events is that they are held in the open air, include concerts of folk groups traditional for such celebrations, and competitions for knowledge of the history of their native country. Folk celebrations are held in public gardens and parks of all settlements. The main celebrations, the report of which is broadcast throughout the country, are held in the capital of Russia - Moscow.

Here the President holds a ceremony to award laureates of State Prizes for outstanding achievements in various fields. A festive concert with the participation of popular performers is being organized on Red Square. In the evening, in Moscow, as in all major cities of the country, festive fireworks and fireworks are held. June 12 is a day off in Russia.

Until 2002, this day was called “The Day of Adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Russia.” Since then, the name has been significantly simplified, but this has not added clarity. Why don’t many people know the history of “Russia Day” on June 12? The fact is that this is one of the newest public holidays in the country, and not everyone is still used to this date.

It was on June 12, 1990 that the first Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Russia, according to which the primacy of our Constitution was proclaimed. During that period, the republics of the USSR, one after another, declared their sovereignty, and our country acquired the new name “Russian Federation” or simply “Russia”.

June 12 is also significant because on this day the first president appeared in the country. In 1991, the first popular presidential election in the history of the state took place, which was won by Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.

The holiday itself acquired state status in 1994, when, by order of Boris Yeltsin, it became a day off and became known as “The Day of Adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Russia” or briefly “Independence Day.” Population surveys showed that the majority of the country's residents do not understand the essence of the holiday. Then in 1998, Yeltsin carried out a kind of rebranding and instead of “Independence Day” he proposed celebrating “Russia Day”. The new official name came into force in 2002.

Here is what Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin said about this significant day and about the Declaration of State Sovereignty in 2001 at a speech in the Kremlin:

“With this document the countdown of our new history. The history of a democratic state based on civil liberties and the rule of law. And its main meaning is success, prosperity and well-being of citizens.”

That’s the whole story of “Russia Day,” which the country celebrates annually on June 12. This is a holiday of freedom, peace, harmony, national unity and patriotism. On this day, folk festivals are planned in every city, holiday concerts, fireworks and various entertainment activities for the whole family. Be sure to look at the poster to feel your involvement in the holiday common to the whole country!