“WE’LL KILL THE CLASSES”: CELEBRATING THE ANNIVERSARIES OF THE REVOLUTIONARY OCTOBER AND LEGITIMIZING VIOLENCE DURING THE CIVIL WAR

Abstract

The problem of cultural mechanisms of legitimization of violence during the period of the Russian Civil War is central for the author. The article, based on the materials of the history of the festivals of the Day of the Proletarian Revolution, examines how the culture of revolutionary violence manifested itself in the festive culture of the Civil War period. Based on the study of festive telegrams to Soviet leaders, newspapers, visual materials, the author shows how the theme of violence was reflected in the rhetoric, symbolism, in the elements of the emerging festive ritual (first of all, in the rites of symbolic executions of the revolution enemies). It is concluded that the festival was an important tool for legitimizing revolutionary violence. The article investigates symbols, ceremonies, rituals aestheticizing the phenomenon of violence, making it visible and comprehensible for the masses of the people. It also examines how the class discourse manifested itself in the celebrations (in particular, anti-bourgeois rhetoric), analyzes the features of the romanticization and sacralization of terror, which was especially important in the situation of the discussion about the red terror and the powers of the Cheka. At the same time, it concludes that the rhetoric and elements of the festive ritual were largely inherited by the organizers of the celebrations, who were in the field of influence of the culture of violence that developed before October 1917. Further study is needed into the cultural background, specific psychological atmosphere, and political culture which made the Civil War possible and which was not always directly linked to the Bolsheviks’ actions.