Abstract

Based on a wide range of synchronous sources, the article describes various types of holding new Soviet celebrations in Minsk in the period from 1919 to 1925. If in the early 1930s since the «canon of celebrations» was finally formed, according to which Soviet holidays were held, in the early period of the existence of the Soviet state there was an active search for new forms and directions for organizing and holding the main memorable dates, both national and local national scale. In the BSSR, attempts were made to find an alternative to a mass demonstration and a military parade as the main dominant of the holiday. The authorities paid great attention to the holidays, since they performed an important propaganda function, clearly showed the masses the correctness of the chosen political course, and were a means of mobilizing citizens. To hold the holiday in the urban environment, special commissions were organized, which determined the route of movement of the demonstrators around the city, the places of celebration, the means and duration of the celebration. Among the forms of celebration during this period, one can single out traveling concerts, memorial evenings, the opening of monuments and monuments, military parades, mass artistic performances with the involvement of the audience in the performance, children's parties, torchlight processions and parades of airplanes. By 1925, in addition to the main demonstration and military parade, a political carnival began to play an important role in the celebration – a procession of madeup artists who played the role of living symbols and satirical images, which ended with a big performance.