The Presidential Library marking Defender of the Fatherland Day

On February 23 our country celebrates Defender of the Fatherland Day - a holiday that has existed for 101 years, but acquired such a name only in 2006. It was officially established in 1922 and was originally called Red Army Day. The materials of the electronic collection of the Presidential Library Workers' and Peasants' Red Army spotlight the history of the holiday: the creation of the Red Army, its participation in hostilities, as well as its cultural and educational role in the history of our people.

Defender of the Fatherland Day was traditionally associated in Soviet literature with the battles of the Red Army against the Germans near Pskov and Narva on February 23, 1918, but today, according to the annotation to the collection, the accuracy of these data is disputed.

Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA) is the official name of the Russian armed forces from 1918 to 1946. Materials from the Presidential Library’s collections illustrate its appearance. The portal features a digital copy of the decree of January 15 (28), 1918 On the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Later, on February 22, the Council of People's Commissars issued an appeal signed by Chairman V. I. Ulyanov (Lenin) The socialist fatherland is in danger! and join the ranks of the Red Army. In 1919, it was decided to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the Red Army, connecting this holiday with the Red Gift Day (on this day, fundraising events were held to raise funds for gifts to the Red Army and the needs of the Red Army). Sunday, February 23, closest to the anniversary of the decree, became the new date for the celebration.

The main task of the Red Army was to ensure the independence and freedom of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from all attempts and to protect peaceful working life and socialist construction. However, the army created in the country performed not only a military function, it became important in the education, upbringing and support of the population. We find confirmation of this in rare publications published on the Presidential Library’s portal, dedicated to the anniversaries of the formation of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army

The collection 5 Years of the Red Army: (1918–1923) states that it is important not only to train a Red Army soldier in “every military” matter, but also not to forget that a Red Army soldier is a citizen of his country and “defender of the working masses not only from counter-revolution but also from hunger, cold, age-old ignorance”.

Service in the Red Army was remembered with gratitude. “You won’t look back, the term of service will pass and, having served it, it turns out that he immediately graduated from a large school of various knowledge, received a great upbringing, which can be called a school of citizenship. To whom will he take it? To the village”, - concludes the author of the memoirs.

“Have you noticed that in the old days, and even now in the capitalist countries, the people are afraid of the army, that there is a barrier between the people and the army?...Well, in our country it is the opposite, the people and the army are one whole, one family, ”the words of Joseph Stalin are cited in the collection XV Years of the Red Army. He emphasizes that “we love the army, respect it, take care of it...And what does the love of the people for their army mean? This means that such an army will have the strongest rear, that such an army is invincible. What is an army without a strong rear? Nothing".   

“The first and main feature of our Red Army is that...the Soviet people and the army are one indivisible whole, that the Red Army is supported by the rear - workers, peasants, Soviet intelligentsia”, - says a leaflet from the Great Patriotic War, released on the occasion of 26th anniversary of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army on February 23, 1944 - Our army is brought up in the spirit of respect for the workers of all countries, in the spirit of establishing peace between countries”.

In 1946, the Red Army was renamed the Soviet Army, the holiday became known as the Day of the Soviet Army, and since 1949 - the Day of the Soviet Army and Navy. In the early 1990s, this day was the Day of the Russian Army, since 2006 it has been called the Defender of the Fatherland Day. Whatever the name of the holiday, the principles laid down during the creation of the Red Army are preserved to this day - just like the attitude of our people towards the army of their country. Prayers for soldiers are regularly offered in Orthodox churches, and volunteers all over the world collect humanitarian aid in support of military servicemen during a special military operation.