Anniversaries of Pre-Petrine Rus’ in Imperial Russia

Abstract

The article examines characteristics of celebrating anniversaries of important events of the national history of pre-Petrine period in Russia in the 19th — early 20th centuries. The author analyzes features of the celebrations in Novgorod in 1862 on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of Russia; the 900th anniversary of the Christianization of Rus’ in Kiev and other cities of the Russian Empire in 1888; the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in 1913. In addition, the article discusses the details of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of annexing Siberia to Russia; anniversaries of the founding of such cities as Moscow, Omsk, Samara, Stary Oskol, Tobolsk. The paper also evaluates the role assigned to the heroes and events of the Russian medieval history (Rurik, the Christianization of Rus’, Vladimir The Great, Mikhail Fedorovich, Alexei Mikhailovich, etc.), in the framework of celebrations. The author comes to the conclusion that acting tsars (Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II) pursued quite specific goals participating in such celebrations. The main aim of such events was to demonstrate the engagement of authorities withpeople, to show continuity of power (from Rurikids to the Romanovs) and prevailing social harmony in Russia. The author comes to the conclusion that the epoch of the Russian middle ages played a significant role in the commemorative practices of the Russian state and society of the 19th — early 20th centuries, which in turn was a manifestation of not only the state but also social order.