"Skoro will come to Uncle Maxim to praise Christ"

Christmas in the USSR in Russian diaries of different years

In today's Russia, Christmas is a public holiday , it is a day off throughout the country, and through federal channels every year show how first persons stand in the church at a solemn worship. The official celebration of Christmas began in 1991, under Gorbachev. Medusa and the project “Zhaw” are offered to recall how this day was celebrated in the Soviet and first post -Soviet years.

Nikita Okunev, an employee, about 46 years old

January 9, 1919

Still, it was allowed not to engage in the Christmas Eve and two Christmas holidays and even without the deductions of earnings (it was supposed to subtract for the celebration of Christian holidays as for absenteeism). Two days before Christmas, that is, on Sunday and Christmas Eve, however, many had to work with shovels and with a sleigh: they cleaned excess snow from the streets in the yards. “Everyone who is not too lazy” worked and who “with conscience”. I also worked, although by decree, for age, I was released from such work. It was necessary to replace the absent ones. Soviet troops entered Riga. The weather was significantly warming: from uneven cleaning and clearing snow, with warming the street again became dangerous for driving and walking. Exactly in the spring, after a multi -minute winter: bumps, recovery, stupe, in general, a mess.

Alexander Zhirkevich, writer, public figure, 63 years old

January 7, 1920

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According to the old style today, December 25, that is, the holiday of the Nativity of Christ. How many memories! And how many afterlife shadows went into our apartment yesterday and today in order to help us, despite all sorts of trials and hardships, to celebrate this marvelous holiday in a Christian coming into the world of the Savior. The wretched was our meal yesterday. But under the tablecloth, according to the old custom, there was hay, and, eating a heated lean soup and a tasteless vinaigrette, we were happy in our own way, thanked God for the happiness of the past, for giving us the opportunity to once again, peacefully spiritually united with Christ. "The world is on Earth, and in the humanity of goodwill." There is no world. But goodwill, despite everything, is breaking through even from fragile, brutalized people. The Semenovs that sealing us all day on the eve of the Christmas Eve spent in quarrels and a crush. And yesterday, thanks to Christmas Eve, peace and silence reign in their lair. My Katyusha went to the early lunch, without falling asleep all night, taking something in the kitchen. Her holy prayers are enough for all of us, many -sided. Behind yesterday’s lunch, photos of expensive dead people stood on our table: for sure, as “during it”, they were with us. Tamarochka decorated the room with twigs of Christmas trees. The poor child will not see the Christmas tree, will not experience anything like the old Christmas joys. Her sisters too.

Ivan Shitz, historian, 56 years old

January 8, 1930

Christmas Bolsheviks managed to disrupt completely, at least outwardly. The destruction of churches, their occupation under potatoes, turning into clubs, removal of bells, exile from apartments of priests, deprivation of their opportunity to buy bread even at high prices, pressure on employees (“subscription” about the closure of churches), involvement of children (children were invited in questionnaires to indicate whether they go to the church, and if they go, they were voluntarily or “to force” their parents; children were invited to bring to the children; The school of the icon for public burning, etc.) - all these techniques ended with the introduction of “continuity” and “five -day”, which is shot down by the very concept of the holiday and destroyed the possibility of communicating people.

Finally, by ignorance, seeing the religious institute in the Christmas tree, they banned the sale and structure of the Christmas trees, and by the way, because the trade was almost forcibly concentrated in Soviet cooperation, they arranged so that the shops were empty for the holidays, it was impossible to get gingerbread, no sweets, no snacks, no wine.

And so, it was necessary to see the Russian crowd of people who went shopping and sometimes quite openly indignant at the intentional ignoring of the interests of citizens. It was then that it became clear that only violence would do nothing. The external triumph is complete - well, but inside? For a great triumph yesterday, on Christmas Day, in the morning one could see how some remnants of the church appearance of the bell tower were chopped in a passionate monastery with a hammer; Today, a huge lattice was pulled there, probably for any mischievous inscriptions or advertising.

The province is also given the slogan. From everywhere they telegraph about friendly decrees to close the churches, remove bells, burn icons, etc.

Ivan Popov, Electrotechnical Engineer, 33 years old

January 7, 1931

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Christmas, but the holiday is not felt how it was felt in every little thing in the old years. The festive chime of bells died forever. The red hand of Bolshevism strangled the copper voices of the forty forty. And there is also the arrogance of making excuses to abroad and say that there is no violence over the religious conscience of the peoples. There is violence and continues to be, and grows to the size that world history has not yet known.

In the service of our work room, a Komsomol member came with paper for recording on a subbotnik for snow cleaning on the railway. Under various pretexts, all employees refused. Blinding from embarrassment and failure, she left.

Nestor Belous, peasant, 43 years old

January 7, 1932

Christmas on this holiday was prepared by the villagers of good dinners, cold hot white pies from rice and filling beer vodka. It was in a word to prepare from the chivo because ¾ the village was cutting pigs for the holiday. And this year, in all, even borsch was lean, with the exception of those, Kovo Konin was eating meat, although horseback. And I also had a lean borsch.

Elena Bulgakova, wife of writer Mikhail Bulgakov, 41 years old

December 24, 1934

The Christmas tree was. First, M. A. and I removed the Christmas tree, laid out gifts under it. Then they put out the electricity, lit candles on the Christmas tree, M. A. began to play the march, and the guys flew into the room. Then - according to the program - a performance. M. A. wrote two scenes (by Dead Souls). One - in Sobakevich. The other is from Sergey Shilovsky. Chichikov - me. Sobakevich - M. A. Then - Zhenichka - I, Sergey - M. A.

M. A. traffic jam, lipstick and powder made me up.

The curtain is a blanket on the door from the office to the middle room. The scene is in the office. M.A., for the role of Sergei, put on his underpants, on top of Sergeyevo coat, which he barely reached the waist, and the sailor on his head. He smeared his mouth with lipstick.

Spectators: Olga, Susanna and boys. Success.

Then Rozhdestvensky dinner - dumplings and a lot of sweets.

Evdokim Nikolaev, worker, senior mechanic of telegraph, 63 years old

January 6, 1936

Today is a Christmas Christmas Eve. No matter how much this great holiday is strangled, no matter how it is turned into “everyday life”, nobody, as well as the Christmas of Christ, no matter how much every non-income on this great Christian holiday is being seen, but the people celebrate their pennies to the bazaar and buy something for the holiday. Tomorrow everyone will hurry to work. These days, i.e., big holidays, in particular, non -reporting work is being persecuted, and is severely persecuted. You will not get off with one reprimand, but can be expelled with a “wolf passport”. <.> Night under the Christmas of Christ! How much arises in the head of memories of the distant beautiful past, and how to gratifying to remember this far past past, which sank into eternity. It was good and comfortable in the native poor peasant house, washed a clean floor, a row lit by lamps in the corner of icons, solemnly quietly and warmly in the hut. A quiet twilight is spilled from the lamps illuminating the hut, the snowdrifts are snow, the windows of the windows are covered with patterns, heat on a large stove, where rye was usually poured for drying. It’s good to look from her at the angle lit from a number of flashing lamps. Everything is quiet around. Tomorrow the great holiday of the Nativity of Christ, Uncle Maxim will come to praise Christ soon, and mine will become next to Him and will sing him to him. And two hoarse voices will buzz: “Your Christmas is our God”, etc., then the usual congratulations and wish, get the bribe and the departure of Uncle Maxim in the following huts. All this is solemn, simple and beautiful. 55 years have passed since then, and I see all this as now.

Alexander Nikolaevich Boldyrev, Orientalist, Blocad, 32 years old

December 25, 1941

Christmas. Evening. A day of shocks. In the morning, an unexpected increase in bread is 350 and 200. In 5 hours. The rally is unexpected: the brilliant promotion of the breakthrough of the blockade. In the coming days, the food river is more than other cities. Zhdanov said so. The next days. Add on the sidelines: back in December, they will give wine, chocolate, cereal. Bread will increase from January, it will be white. And then the crown is the Moscow rations: 800 and 600. So it will be, right? Everything inside is tense in anticipation. Who will live to live! And Sasha? Will he die without reaching a little? Now Galya called - he is very bad. In unconsciousness. Do the nail - Ultima Ratio. Marianne there and mom. They will remain at night. Sasha. Sasha…

Viktor Dolzenok, pharmacist, witness of the German occupation of Yeysk, 30 years old

January 6, 1943

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Winter is very warm. Similar to the fall. The day before yesterday it rained all night and all day. Tomorrow Christmas. The old women are heading to church, I met children with knots along the streets, who carried grandparents Kutu, I was evening. How everything changes quickly. Maybe they did all this before, but then it was not the main thing, no one paid attention to him and all these rituals were somehow not noticed. And now this is all in the foreground and itself climbs into the eyes. Even young people are going to celebrate parties. Maybe this is simply explained to have free time and use any case to take a walk. I don’t know if the Germans will celebrate old Christmas, but many institutions worked on Sunday in such a way as to have a free day for Christmas. They say that in the church they collected donations for prisoners in the Rostov camps.

Victor Starkov, poet, journalist, 32 years old

January 5, 1964

Last Saturday I was in Moscow ... I’m tormented - Kureva is a shortage: I hardly found a pack of Prima cigarettes. If this is not there, then what is still in the capital ... The very center of Gorky Street, in Old Moscow, is Tver: I stand with my back to the former house of the governor, and on the contrary through the street, the modern monument to Yuri Dolgoruky-by execution, is not near the monument to Peter I Falcone, or with the equestrian statues of Donatello. And you can understand why this is not a sculptural masterpiece.

Two long queues. One next to the monument, to the confectionery store-behind the gingerbread (in the centuries there are a queue for gingerbread). Another - to the literature store of the countries of folk democracy - behind the album of the field of Cezanne (German edition). Both queues are indicative for our material and spiritual culture. “Things in the country are going well” ... If this is good, then what is bad? And the day after tomorrow is Christmas. A holiday of all holidays for the people.

Mikhail Groman, poet, artist, 27 years old

January 7, 1966

He got out of bed OK. 2 hours, because it is cold and uncomfortable. Edik Kurochkin arrived, drank tea, he read “satirical tales”, I cleaned in my room, watched the drawings, him and Pyatnitsky, in my meeting. Soon Luda Savelyeva arrived. Edik and I went to the stop to meet Nina Kozinova, she was not met, but met Irka, bought vodka half a liter, brisket, herring. We met Christmas, drank vodka. I danced a twist. They remembered a former life, my arrival from Tajikistan, Stollar, Yakovlev, etc. I spent Luda and Edik and put on a trolleybus.

Dmitry Karalis, writer, 36 years old

January 7, 1985

I will be on duty in the garage. Seven in the morning, Kolonny Lesha Tumanov came, and we are talking a little about work, about the upcoming day. Then I go to the repair box, I wash, put a kettle on the tile. The first drivers come, and I find out that the temperature is -30.

In the cold, cars are not starting. Drivers go with torches from Vetoshi, impregnated with diesel fuel, put them under the cabs - they warm up the thickened lubricant in the engines, and the site looks like an ancient military camp. Smoke, steam, darkness, flame refinements on cars and red physiognomy. The water in the box is almost boiling, you don’t really wash it off.

Today, it turns out, Christmas. And one guy of those who live in villages around Gatchina congratulated me on the holiday. I am him too.

Full moon. Astrology claims that in the full moon the men become the most aggressive. Confirmation of this is three broken physiognomy in our garage.

Someone left the bank of salty cucumbers in our booth, and I have a little bit. There are lard with pepper, sausage, garlic, tea, sugar, iris. Wonderful! What else is needed? Clean paper.

Time has passed unnoticed. I go to bed.

Anatoly Chernyaev, Assistant Mikhail Gorbachev, 70 years old

January 7, 1991

The first official Christmas is at the direction of Yeltsin and Silaev, throughout Russia. But they worked in the Central Committee. And M. S. defiantly arrived at work. And I had to. He spent the whole day in the service. Boredom. A feeling of powerlessness and meaninglessness. Even the external affairs, which under Shevardnadze went thanks to us, now begin to go around us. We find ourselves more and more on the sidelines, in Offsade, in the mythology of a great power. M. S. is already thinking about foreign policy. Employed by “structures” and “small crafts”-conversations with one or the other who will be imposed: either Bronofman will accept, then Japanese parliamentarians, then someone else. It is not prepared for nothing. Says the same thing for the tenth time. <...>

Oleg Borisov, actor, 62 years old

January 7, 1992

The year began on a high note. Our friend Serge. Bor. Stankevich invited to the Christmas service in the Elokhov Cathedral. The places were taken at 2300. In a special place for honorary guests. Nearby, shoulder to shoulder, - Nikita Mikhalkov. Telecams are directed at us: it turns out that we pray to the whole country. The service ended at 4 in the morning. Yura stood behind and supported our backs several times. After that-a meal in the Danilov Monastery, which was once masculine.

When they said goodbye, Nikita sighed: “Wouldn't we cross? ..” Who knows ... I have been happy to recently revised his Oblomova. A wonderful, clean film. Nature and actors affect me, taking to the world of childhood, to our roots. The film is perceived modernly: Oblomov is an non -Soviet person, does not tolerate any violence over himself, I would have such an estate and such a servant, I would not differ much from him.