Communist Holiday Greetings as the Soviet Press Ritual in the 1960s – 1980s (On the Example of “Nauka v Sibiri” Newspaper)

Abstract

The article examines the late-Soviet phenomenon of the official Communist holiday greetings on the pages of the newspaper “Nauka v Sibiri” (‘Science in Siberia’). In the 1960s – 1980s, the main public holidays in the Soviet Union were November 7th, May Day, and the day of the Soviet Constitution. Victory Day was a memorial day for a long time in this span of time. Printed congratulations on the anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution and May Day were heavily ritualized, while a text of the printed address contained the realities of the current socio-economic policy of the CPSU. Constitution Day, until the mid-1980s, was holiday number three according to newspaper editorial policy. The greetings dedicated to this public holiday usually emphasized the importance of socio-economic goods and social benefits for the Soviet people guaranteed by the Constitution. Perestroika in the USSR drastically changed the editorial policy of “Nauka v Sibiri”. The well-established tradition of holiday greetings was revisited in 1986– 1988. In 1988–1989 “Nauka v Sibiri” ceased to print ritual congratulations on Soviet holidays, following the general political sentiments in the USSR at the age of Gorbachev.