Subbotniks, Lenin and the log. Peace, Labor, May or as it was (5 photos)

Subbotnik

Subbotnik (Sunday)- conscious, organized free work for the benefit of society in free time from work, on weekends (where the name comes from)

The first communist subbotniks

The first communist subbotnik at the Moscow-Sortirovochnaya depot of the Moscow-Kazan Railway on April 12, 1919.

The initiators of the first subbotnik were the communists of the Moscow-Sortirovochnaya depot of the Moscow-Kazan Railway.

On the night of Saturday (hence the name) April 12, 1919, at the Moscow-Sortirovochnaya depot, a group of 15 workers returned to the workshop after a working day to repair steam locomotives. The minutes of the event organizer, chairman of the depot cell I. E. Burakov noted:

They worked continuously until 6 o'clock in the morning (ten hours) and repaired three steam locomotives under current repair, No. 358, 4 and 7024. The work proceeded amicably and was argued as never before. At 6 o'clock in the morning we gathered in the service car, where, after resting and drinking tea, we began to discuss the current situation and decided to continue our night work - from Saturday to Sunday - "until the complete victory over Kolchak." Then they sang “Internationale” and began to disperse...

Communist subbotniks in Moscow and the Moscow province in 1919-1920.

15 people took part in the first communist subbotnik. Of these, 13 were communists (E. Apukhtin - mechanic, I. E. Burakov - mechanic, Ya. F. Gorlupin - mechanic, M. A. Kabanov - mechanic, P. S. Kabanov - mechanic, A. V. Karakcheev - mechanic , Y. M. Kondratyev - machinist, V. I. Naperstkov - mechanic, F. I. Pavlov - boiler operator, P. S. Petrov - mechanic, A. A. Slivkov - machinist, A. I. Usachev - mechanic, P . I. Shatkov - mechanic) and two sympathizers (A. V. Kabanova - unskilled worker, V. M. Sidelnikov - mechanic).

On May 10, 1919, the first mass (205 people) communist subbotnik took place on the Moscow-Kazan Railway, which became the occasion for V. I. Lenin’s article “The Great Initiative (On the heroism of workers in the rear. Regarding the “communist subbotniks”),” first published as a separate pamphlet in July 1919. Lenin called the initiative of the Moscow railway workers, taken up at industrial enterprises, a manifestation of the heroism of the working masses who began the practical construction of socialism. In an environment of economic ruin, hunger, and a drop in labor productivity, subbotniks were perceived by him as an expression of a new, communist attitude towards labor.

The movement reached its greatest extent in 1920. In January, during “Front Week,” thousands of workers worked on cleanup days to help the front. By decision of the 9th Congress of the RCP (b), an All-Russian subbotnik was held on May 1. In the Kremlin, the head of the Soviet state, V. I. Lenin, took part in the work on this subbotnik. Subsequently, this fact was actively used in communist propaganda.

It was about such communist subbotniks that Vladimir Mayakovsky wrote in.

Subbotniks became widespread in the 1930s - at the same time they temporarily turned from voluntary to forced-voluntary.

The tradition of holding subbotniks was preserved until the fall of the socialist system in the late 1980s - early 1990s. Subbotniks were usually held at the place of work, and then during the subbotnik people did their usual, everyday work. But sometimes subbotniks were held at their place of residence, on the initiative of local authorities, and then people worked to improve their native area, performing various construction works: building and painting fences, repairing buildings, plastering, decorating premises, planting lawns, creating and arranging flower beds, parks , children's playgrounds. Such “construction subbotniks,” however, could also be organized at the place of work if, for example, the institution moved to another building. It also happened that schools called parents of students to similar cleanup days (for the purpose of repairing the school).

The frequency of subbotniks was inconsistent. Sometimes subbotniks could be held every week, sometimes only a few times a year. All-Union Lenin communist subbotniks, dedicated to the birthday of V.I. Lenin (April 22), were held annually. They seemed to mark the final arrival of spring and were used to prepare for the celebration of May Day.

Subbotniks today

The very concept of “subbotnik” was widespread only in the Soviet Union and is now known only in the countries that arose after its collapse.

Notes

Links

Museum "Great Initiative" of the locomotive depot "Moscow-Sortirovochnaya"

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Synonyms:

Mountain
Text

See what “Subbotnik” is in other dictionaries:

subbotnik- voluntary janitor's day, work, communist subbotnik, red Saturday, sectarian, labor holiday, whore fucker Dictionary of Russian synonyms. subbotnik noun, number of synonyms: 6 ... Synonym dictionary

SUBBOTTON- [subbotnik], subbotnik, husband. 1. Voluntary and free collective performance of a socially useful labor task overtime, which occurred initially. on Saturdays (neol.). “Communist subbotniks are incredibly valuable, as... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

SUBBOTTON- SATURDAY, ah, husband. Voluntary collective work, free of charge for each individual participant, on one of the Saturdays or during other non-working hours. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

subbotnik- , a, m. Voluntary collective performance of what l. socially useful work (originally carried out on Saturdays). MAS, vol. 4, 298. ◘ In the spring of 1920, subbotniks were held to clean the Kremlin. Moscow, 1968, No. 1, 194. In 1920, thousands... ... Explanatory dictionary of the language of the Council of Deputies

SUBBOTTON- Voluntary collective work, free of charge for each individual participant, on one of the Saturdays or during other non-working hours. The first subbotnik took place in 1919 on the initiative of the communists of the Moscow Sorting Depot of the Moscow-Kazan... ... Linguistic and regional dictionary

On the night of Saturday, April 12, 1919, at the Moscow-Sorting depot, a group of workers after a hard day returned to the workshop to repair steam locomotives.

The minutes of the event organizer, chairman of the depot party cell I. E. Burakov, noted:

“We worked continuously until 6 o’clock in the morning (ten hours) and repaired three steam locomotives under current repair, No. 358, 4 and 7024. The work proceeded amicably and was argued as never before. At 6 o'clock in the morning we gathered in the service car, where, after resting and drinking tea, we began to discuss the current situation and decided to continue our night work - from Saturday to Sunday - weekly - “until the complete victory over Kolchak.” Then they sang “Internationale” and began to disperse..."

15 people took part in the first communist subbotnik. Of these, 13 are communists and two sympathizers. History has preserved their names - here they are: E. Apukhtin - mechanic, I. E. Burakov - mechanic, Ya. F. Gorlupin - mechanic, M. A. Kabanov - mechanic, P. S. Kabanov - mechanic, A. V. Karakcheev - mechanic, Ya. M. Kondratiev - machinist, V. I. Naperstkov - mechanic, F. I. Pavlov - boilermaker, P. S. Petrov - mechanic, A. A. Slivkov - machinist, A. I. Usachev - mechanic, P.I. Shatkov - mechanic, A.V. Kabanova - unskilled worker, V.M. Sidelnikov - mechanic.

Soon the initiative was taken up by other workers - on May 10, 1919, the first mass (205 people) communist subbotnik took place on the Moscow-Kazan Railway. It was this event that became the reason for V.I. Lenin’s article “The Great Initiative (On the heroism of workers in the rear. Regarding the “communist subbotniks”),” first published as a separate brochure in July 1919. Lenin called the initiative of the Moscow railway workers, taken up at industrial enterprises, a manifestation of the heroism of the working masses who began the practical construction of socialism. In an environment of economic ruin, hunger, and a drop in labor productivity, subbotniks were perceived by him as an expression of a new, communist attitude towards work.

The movement reached its greatest extent in 1920. In January, during “Front Week,” thousands of workers worked on cleanup days to help the front. By decision of the 9th Congress of the RCP (b), an All-Russian subbotnik was held on May 1, 1920. In the Kremlin, the head of the Soviet state, V. I. Lenin, took part in the work on this subbotnik. Subsequently, this fact was actively used in communist propaganda. It was precisely these communist subbotniks that Vladimir Mayakovsky wrote about in his poem “Good!”

Subbotniks became widespread in the 1930s - it was during this period that they gradually turned from voluntary to voluntary-compulsory.

Pavel Zhukov tells the story of the phenomenon of the holiday of free labor in the “Consulting Dictionary” section

Contrary to popular belief, the idea of holding a subbotnik did not belong to Lenin, but to ordinary workers who decided to take the initiative and repair steam locomotives during non-working hours. The “initiative from below” found a response in the hearts of the citizens of the young Soviet state. And only after that did Vladimir Ilyich pay attention to the subbotnik.

From fifteen workers to millions

USSR propaganda poster

So, before touching on the history of subbotniks in our country, it is worth saying what it is. It is generally accepted that subbotnik is conscious, organized and (what is important) free work in free time from work (on days off) for the benefit of society. That is, this event fit perfectly within the framework of the Soviet Union. It is interesting that in the USSR, especially at the beginning of the country’s existence, the term “Leninist communist subbotnik” was in use. The fact is that work for the benefit of society was quickly timed to coincide with Vladimir Ilyich’s birthday - April 22. But this was, so to speak, the most important cleanup day. And during the calendar year, similar events of a smaller and more modest rank were held. Actually, it was the phrase “Lenin’s Subbotnik” that was responsible for the fact that it was Vladimir Ilyich who at one time came up with this action, calling it “the holiday of liberated labor.” During the late USSR, this myth only took root, and after the collapse of the state, it was generally believed that subbotniks had become a part of the life of citizens of the USSR since Lenin touched the log.

And it was decided that such labor feats would become permanent.

No, Vladimir Ilyich, of course, was involved in promoting this event to the masses, but the idea of the subbotniks did not belong to him. Here is how it was. In the spring of 1919, 15 workers at the Moscow-Sortirovochnaya depot of the Moscow-Kazan Railway decided to take the initiative and work for the benefit of the state. At that time there were battles with the whites, the situation in the country was difficult. And one of the main problems of the Bolsheviks was the poor performance of the railways. To be more precise, the Reds were sorely short of steam locomotives. This is the problem that caring workers tried to deal with. After consulting, they decided to work extra hours after finishing their already tiring workday. Moreover, they did not expect any material reward for their efforts. And on the night of April 12, 1919, concerned citizens began to work, having previously spent ten hours shifting. By morning they managed to revive as many as three locomotives! The people appreciated the impulse of their comrades. And it was decided that such labor feats would become permanent.

The first subbotnik on the Moscow-Kazan Railway

The “initiative from below” found support. And on May 10, more than 200 people came to the event! Naturally, this did not go unnoticed. Journalists covered the cleanup, and political figures paid attention to it. Especially Lenin. He wrote “The Great Initiative” - a creation that became the ideological justification for a new movement for the country. This article, of course, played a big role in popularizing subbotniks. And in 1920, a fateful decision was made at the top to hold the 1st All-Union Community Cleanup Day. And it was scheduled for May 1 - International Workers' Day.

The more years passed since that May Day, the more it became overgrown with various myths

This event was destined to become legendary. And the more years passed since that May Day, the more it became overgrown with various myths. But at first, as they say, there were no signs of trouble. On May 1, 1920, state leaders came out to clean up along with the people. Personal example was necessary to support the new tradition. They worked on the territory of the Kremlin, which had not been put in order for several years - in fact, since the events of the October Revolution. Therefore, a huge amount of a wide variety of garbage has accumulated near the Kremlin. In particular, there were a lot of logs left over from the barricades and rubble. It was them that the party leadership decided to eliminate. Naturally, they alone were unable to cope with the task, so cadets of the First Kremlin Machine Gun Courses came to the rescue. Work was in full swing. Vladimir Ilyich worked equally with everyone else. It must be said that the logs scattered near the Kremlin were very heavy. Six or even eight people could have dragged them, making a joint effort. From that subbotnik to this day, a photograph has been preserved that depicts Lenin in the company of people who were just moving one of the logs.

Since then, subbotniks have become part of the Soviet state. As the years passed, Lenin's role in this event changed. And if in the 20s his contribution was assessed seriously and adequately, then in the post-war period Vladimir Ilyich gradually began to turn into an epic hero who possessed amazing physical strength. There was even an opinion that he alone carried so much wood that it would be enough for a full-fledged oak grove. Naturally, there was some irony. Over time, a joke even appeared that Vladimir Ilyich demonstrated miracles of physical capabilities with an inflatable log. True, where this could have come from in Moscow in 1920 was not specified. It was the almost complete absence of archival photographs that provided food for the creativity of numerous Soviet artists. It’s difficult to count how many paintings they created on the theme “Lenin and the Log.” And each of them played out the plot according to their capabilities and flights of fancy.

Fading

Gradually the situation with subbotniks began to change. The process of changing the status of the event began around the 60s. Then subbotniks began to turn from voluntary into voluntary-compulsory. But the tradition of organizing events in April has been preserved. After all, Lenin was born in this month, and the first subbotnik in history took place at the same time. The common people of the Soviet Union, of course, took part in the actions, but not a trace remained of their former enthusiasm. True, there was no outright negativity observed either.

People perceived them not as a holiday of “liberated labor”, but as an opportunity to communicate with colleagues in an informal setting

A powerful impetus for the reboot of subbotniks occurred in 1970, that is, in the year of the 100th anniversary of Vladimir Ilyich. Almost 120 million people came to the solemn event, that is, approximately half of the population of the USSR! But the fuse did not last long. By the end of the 70s, the attitude towards subbotniks became frivolous and even ironic. People perceived them not as a holiday of “liberated labor,” but as an opportunity to communicate with colleagues in an informal setting. Of course, soon the attitude towards subbotniks was reflected in popular culture. Perhaps the crowning glory of humor on the topic of labor can be considered an interlude by Yuri Nikulin and Mikhail Shuidin called “The Log.” Its plot is precisely tied to the subbotnik with the participation of Lenin. Yuri Nikulin was even given a proper cap so that the image could be guessed unmistakably.

Then a great many jokes appeared, ridiculing various situations during subbotniks. Vladimir Vysotsky did not ignore this fertile topic. His song “Comrade Scientists, Associate Professors with Candidates” quickly became popular. And the people had this joke: “The log is the same, but Ilyich is no longer the same.”

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, subbotniks were forgotten for some period. True, they soon remembered the practice of free labor in their free time. She was comfortable and necessary. In addition, it allowed me to play on the feeling of nostalgia for the old days. But Lenin himself and communist ideology were left in the past. The emphasis was on the good and old tradition of uniting the people for a great cause. And although free labor did not particularly fit into the new capitalist realities, most people did not pay attention to it.

There are more and more pure people. Without reference to the past or ideology, they try to make the world a cleaner place.

Nowadays, the attitude towards subbotniks is twofold. Some believe that they are an archaic product of the Soviet era, which needs to remain in the past. But there are many who have the opposite opinion. A striking example of this is the Chistomen movement. People dressed in green suits voluntarily clean the banks of lakes and rivers, parks and forests from garbage. And these are not isolated cases. There are more and more pure people. Without being tied to the past or ideology, they try to make the world a cleaner place. So the “initiative from below,” which is 100 years old, is still alive.

Chelyabinsk blogger Chistomen

By the way, on April 12 at 19:00 at the Art Center “Artist’s Shop”, located at the address: St. Petersburg, Nevsky Prospekt, building 8, a discussion will take place as part of the series “Centenary Anniversaries: Historical Conversations”.

It will be attended by Vyacheslav Dolinin, Chairman of the Council of the NTS, former political prisoner and member of the St. Petersburg Memorial, Vladimir Grechits, Deputy Head of the Zanevsky urban settlement for housing and communal services, coordinator of the Tom Sawyer Fest project in St. Petersburg, Margarita Kaurova, as well as Anna Tretyakova, a volunteer of the Perspektivy charity organization and a participant in the Happy Sunday project. The discussion participants will remember the history and evolution of subbotniks in the Soviet Union, discuss the effectiveness of these events, and also discuss other issues related to voluntary labor.

As for the organizers, they were the St. Philaret Orthodox Christian Institute, the Pokrovsky Island Cultural and Educational Center and the Artist’s Bench Art Center.

The word “subbotnik” entered the Russian language 95 years ago after the communists of one of the Moscow depots voluntarily and free of charge went to work on Saturday.

Subbotniks could not change the difficult economic situation in Russia in 1919, but they became part of an active propaganda campaign. However, already in the 1930s they ceased to be voluntary, becoming in late socialism an object of irritation and ridicule.

April 1919 was not the best time for Soviet Russia. The Civil War was in full swing: in the north the army of General Yudenich was advancing on red Petrograd, in the south the positions of Denikin’s Volunteer Army were strong. The main thing these days, however, was the Eastern Front - in March 1919, Admiral Kolchak’s troops went on the offensive and broke through to the Volga.

The years of war (first World War I, and then the Civil War) destroyed the country's economy. Production ties were disrupted, workers left factories - some went to the armies, some fled from hunger and urban devastation to the countryside, some made a career in the party (if we were talking about Soviet Russia). In these conditions, it was extremely difficult for the new state to survive.

In April 1919 in Moscow, a member of a working-class family received an average of 214 grams of bread per day, that is, only 80 grams more than the Leningrad blockade ration.

In conditions of economic collapse, strikes and labor protests begin. The strike in Tula, for example, happened in early April, and Lenin was asked a question about it at the plenum of the All-Russian Central Union of Trade Unions (AUCCTU), which took place on April 11.

But, despite the fact that the life of the era of the revolution can well be described as “life in a catastrophe” (this is the title of the monograph by historian I.V. Narsky, dedicated to the everyday life of the Urals in 1917-1921),

many workers sincerely believed in the triumph of a new world and a new order.

Therefore, a group of railway workers who worked at the Moscow-Sortirovochnaya depot (Kazan Railway) went out on Saturday evening, April 12, to repair steam locomotives. According to the cell protocol,

“The work started at 8 pm and finished at 6 am.

Worked on cold locomotives that needed to be washed<...>. When the repairs were completed and the locomotives were flooded, all the party members who worked voluntarily went into the carriage, where they drank tea, discussed the current situation on the Eastern Front, sang “The Internationale” and began to go to their apartments.” Subsequently, this document was transferred to the district party committee.

After the Sortirovochnaya depot, subbotniks began to take place in many other cities of Russia.

The first mass cleanup took place on the same Moscow-Kazan railway on May 10, with 205 people attending.

Thus, the movement became massive and spread throughout the country. However, almost immediately they tried to regulate it - on May 15, the Zheleznodorozhny District Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) (RCP(b)) obliged people to work at least 6 hours on Saturdays - under the threat of expulsion from the party.

However, it is unlikely that these measures alone can explain the fact that in May-June 1919, 30 subbotniks were held in Moscow alone, in which more than 1,500 communists took part.

“If coercion occurred, it was on the conscience of individual commanders. There was no upsurge of the masses in the depressive years of 1919-1921, it was about the initiative of the communists from below, which was picked up for the purpose of political mobilization and propaganda on a nationwide scale,” says a researcher at the Center for Comparative Historical and Political Science Research (CSIPI) of the Perm State National Research Institute University (PGNIU).

The authorities responded to this initiative with great enthusiasm. In July 1919, Vladimir Lenin wrote an article “The Great Initiative,” which was then published as a separate brochure.

In it, the leader of the Soviet state wrote that communist subbotniks are “a victory over one’s own inertia, licentiousness, petty-bourgeois egoism, over all the habits that damned capitalism has left as a legacy to the worker and peasant.”

In this article, the leader of the world proletariat expressed the idea that additional unpaid labor has become part of a new labor discipline, different from the “discipline of the stick” or the “discipline of hunger” under capitalism.

In 1920, Lenin himself took part in the subbotnik dedicated to May 1. Then he went out to clean the Kremlin and allegedly took part in carrying logs. This episode was actively used in propaganda. If you believe the memories, then the log raised by Ilyich must have been almost a kilometer long - so many people claimed that they were the ones who carried it along with the leader of the party and government. This episode was also played out in unofficial culture, including in jokes.

The main proletarian poet V.V. also wrote enthusiastically about the subbotniks. Mayakovsky. Part 8 of the poem “Good!” is devoted to the description of the subbotnik:

The work is hard
Job
it's tormenting,
For her
No pennies
But we
We are working
As if we
Let's do
The greatest epic.

However, one should not exaggerate the non-propaganda significance of subbotniks for the economy and public life.

“The subbotniks could not radically change the situation simply because they were initially considered a manifestation of the “heroism” of the workers, and heroism in the rear could not be widespread,” notes Reznik.

According to him, there were few communist workers who initiated everything, and many of those who returned from the front either went up the career ladder or became demoralized and joined the mass of non-party people.

In addition, already in 1921, the transition to the New Economic Policy (NEP) began in the Soviet Union, within the framework of which private entrepreneurship was again allowed in certain sectors of the national economy.

“At this time, the contradictions between the social and political campaigns of the communists and the actual practice of labor relations became even more acute,” notes Reznik.

Already in the 1930s, participation in subbotniks became mandatory not only for communists.

In late Soviet times, subbotniks, as a rule, were limited to spring work on landscaping courtyards and entrances, which often became a prelude to drinking in the fresh air. The effectiveness of such actions was low, and they caused irritation among people.

The word “subbotnik” also entered the jargon - this is how they began to call raids on prostitutes carried out by the police, and subsequently the free use of their services.

However, the idea of free labor of citizens for the common good remained alive even after the second coming of capitalism to Russia. Thus, in April, a citywide cleanup day is traditionally held in Moscow. At the end of the 2000s, there were even ideas about returning compulsory participation in this event, but they remained just talk.

The following publications were used in preparing the material:

Communist subbotniks in Moscow and the Moscow province in 1919-1920. M.: Moscow worker, 1950.
Kukushkin Yu., Shelestov D. The first communist subbotniks. M.: Moscow worker, 1959.
Lenin V.I. Full composition of writings. T. 38, 39. M.: IMEL, 1974.

While working at the All-Union Communist Subbotnik near the building of Moscow University named after M.V. Lomonosov on the Lenin Hills. Author Kurdachev. April 11, 1970. Main Archive of Moscow

In April 1919, 15 workers of the Moscow-Sortirovochnaya railway depot returned to the workshop after a work shift and, on their own initiative, repaired three steam locomotives.

Hey, comrades, railway and waterman!
Remember
every honest worker
I have to go to the subbotnik!
Vladimir Mayakovsky

This spring turned one hundred years old traditions of holding subbotniks. Although working together for the common good appeared in Russia much earlier. In villages, for some important and urgent matter, they collected cleanup. All the village residents went out together to do some common task - harvest the crops, cut down the forest, build a house or church.

Where it all began

In 1919, the tradition of joint labor received an ideological overtone - the ancient folk cleanup turned into communist subbotniks. At that time, the country was going through a Civil War, the economy was in decline, and the Red Army needed help. The first subbotnik took place spontaneously. It is important that the initiative came from below.

On Saturday, April 12, 1919 at 20:00 15 workers of the Moscow-Sortirovochnaya railway depot on the Kazan Railway did not go home to rest after their next shift, but returned to the workshop and continued repairing steam locomotives. The initiator of the action was the communist mechanics foreman Ivan Burakov, and the decision was made at a meeting of the party cell.

That night the railway workers worked 10 hours overtime and repaired three locomotives. This is what brigadier Ivan Burakov wrote in the protocol:

“The communist cell at the Moscow-Sortirovochnaya depot of the Moscow-Kazan Railway decided to work on Saturday and Sunday from April 12 to 13 on the night, which was carried out. Work began at eight o'clock in the evening, and was carried out until six o'clock in the morning. They worked on cold locomotives that needed to be washed. Three locomotives were started<…>When the repair was completed in its entirety,<…>then all the workers voluntarily went into the carriage, where they drank tea, discussed the current situation on the Eastern Front, sang “The Internationale” and began to go to their apartments...”

Afterwards, Burakov began talking about the idea of subbotniks to his party comrades. They became interested in her.

“Subbotniks arose on the initiative of the cell of the Sortirovochnaya depot of the Kazan road<…>Comrade Burakov made a report on this at the district delegate meeting. The report was taken into account, but this idea was taken up by Comrade Zhuk. Comrade Zhuk developed it and introduced subbotniks on the Kazan Railway, then published an article in newspapers entitled “Work in a revolutionary way!” After the introduction of subbotniks on the Kazan Railway, this issue was discussed in the district committee, and it was decided to organize subbotniks on all roads,” said one of the reports.

Article “The Great Initiative”

In May, the idea of free joint labor for the benefit of the Motherland began to spread throughout the country. Already on May 10, the second cleanup took place on the Kazan Railway - 205 people took part in it. After this, in May - June they were held at different railway stations across the country.

The first subbotniks in April and May 1919 were voluntary. It was a sincere desire of the workers to help the country. But just five days after the second subbotnik, the Zheleznodorozhny district committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) adopted a resolution according to which communists were obliged to work on Saturdays for at least six hours.

Whether this decision had an impact or not, already in June 653 party members took part in the cleanup. In July they worked for free for the benefit of the Motherland 1510 communists and 608 non-party members Muscovites - such data were provided by the accounting and statistical department of the Moscow Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks).

For non-party members, collective work was truly voluntary, but they also tried to attract them to work. For example, before the next subbotnik, meetings were held at enterprises, and those workers who agreed to participate gave a receipt. But it often happened that those who subsequently signed up for subbotniks shirked. And those who did not express a desire, on the contrary, decided to participate at the last moment. In a word, confusion reigned and the committees never knew in advance the exact number of “subbotniks.”

Some communists proposed more radical measures to attract voluntary labor, for example, depriving shirkers of food rations and bonuses. But such ideas were condemned by the party leadership and remained only on paper.

“The meeting of the organizers of the subbotniks, having discussed these proposals, decided: while welcoming all methods of a propaganda nature to attract the broad masses of non-party people to the subbotniks, we consider any kind of coercion of the subbotniks unacceptable. It is also considered unacceptable to make deductions from food distributions for non-participation in subbotniks.”

Little by little, the phenomenon of subbotniks reached the highest state level. At the end of June 1919, Vladimir Lenin wrote an article: “The Great Initiative (On the heroism of workers in the rear. Regarding the “communist subbotniks”).” In it, he reflects on the significance of this new phenomenon in the life of the country and the whole world.

Non-Party people take part in cleanup days

After this article, subbotniks began to be held more often, and their number of participants increased. In August there were 4,151 subbotnik workers in Moscow, and in September there were 6,772. A slight decline occurred in October, but already in November 15,928 people began working for free in the capital.

In Moscow it was formed cleanup bureau, and in each district special departments appeared that informed enterprises how many people they should provide for the next “labor holiday”.

At this time, the participation of communists in subbotniks at least twice a month becomes mandatory. Non-party members continue to work on Saturday voluntarily. Work begins with distribution into groups - each with no more than a hundred people. Squads are divided into groups of up to 25 people. Seniors are appointed who supervise the work and note those who showed up and who didn’t come. They also manage the distribution of food for workers.

Clean-up work continued at least four hours, but often lasted longer - until all the work was completed.

On September 13, participants from Moscow organizations of the Russian Communist Youth Union (RCYU) came out for the cleanup day for the first time. The work was carried out at the Moscow-Tovarnaya station.

“A section of the yard littered with iron strips was cleared, and then, with the participation of several adult comrades, the train filled with machines (lathes, etc.) was unloaded.”

Thematic weeks began to take place in Moscow, as throughout the country. For example, the Week of Occupational Safety and Repair started on September 11 . On the subbotnik, which fell on these days, it was prescribed to repair and put in order the premises of the depot and workshops, as well as to carry out “work to clean the railway areas from sewage.”

Thematic weeks

The number of subbotnik participants increased sharply in 1920. In January there were over 35 thousand people. Moreover, the majority - almost 25 thousand - were non-partisan. The thing is that in the first month of the year, Front Week took place throughout the country. Lenin and the party called on Soviet citizens to work hard and thereby help the Red Army.

In Moscow, Front Week began with a mass cleanup day. The working day was increased, and overtime pay went to help the army.

"Moscow. Front Week is an ongoing success. All Soviet institutions, all factories, factories, printing houses, railways make contributions in favor of Front Week: they donate their rations, refuse coupons and food cards. The rallies are held with great enthusiasm,” the Izvestia newspaper wrote in those days.

In February, more than 40 thousand people took part in community cleanups. Once again, most participants were non-partisan.

At the end of March - beginning of April, the IX Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) took place. One of his resolutions sounded like this: “To transform the international proletarian holiday, May 1, which falls on Saturday this year, into a grandiose All-Russian subbotnik.”

In addition, it was decided to work to ensure that subbotniks become part of the everyday life of citizens, and party members who evade them should be severely punished— to be blacklisted so that in the future they cannot hold any positions “requiring public trust.”

The first All-Russian subbotnik and Lenin with a log

The first All-Russian subbotnik took place on May 1, 1920. In Moscow they took part about 450 thousand people. Vladimir Lenin decided to personally set an example and clean up the Kremlin. A photograph has survived in which he is depicted carrying a log with his comrades. True, there was only one photograph left, but then artists painted many pictures of Lenin carrying a log.

Later this story became very popular in Soviet propaganda. He was not only depicted in paintings and posters, but also described in poetry, works of art and even history books.

“The cadets carry heavy logs. The Commissioner is paired with Lenin. For the first minutes there is a silent struggle between them. The commissar, sparing the age and strength of Vladimir Ilyich, takes the log by the thick end. Lenin, not wanting to be left behind, tries to warn him. Finally Lenin can’t stand it anymore:

- You, comrade, are letting me down with my work. I work less than you.

“It’s only fair, Vladimir Ilyich: you are fifty, I am twenty-eight.” ( From the book “Moscow. Essays on the history of the great city")

Voluntary-compulsory

In 1922, the Civil War in Russia ended, and the original meaning of the subbotniks—to help the army and the front—seemed to have disappeared. However, free work on Saturdays continued. Subbotniks were seen as a new format for organizing workers, as a forerunner of the future society to which Soviet people aspire.

In the 1920s, hundreds of thousands of Muscovites participated in communist subbotniks every month. But increasingly they began to be criticized. Mostly they were communists, dissatisfied with the obligation for party members. Participation for non-party members was still voluntary.

Closer to the 1930s communist subbotniks gradually became mandatory for everyone. At first, those evading “labor holidays” were publicly shamed. Later, participation finally became voluntary-compulsory—it was impossible to refuse.

“These are lazy people and quitters who are alien to the construction of the metro. Beloruchka Alexandrova says: “I’ll also be messing with the dirt at your subway cleanup. I'm not used to this. This is not what my mom and dad raised me to do.” Shame on the white-handed and lazy person. People of the same brand are trailing behind her,” the inscription on a poster criticizing those who evade subbotniks (first half of the 1930s).

Subbotniks took place in the USSR until the 1990s. Labor holidays were mandatory for all enterprises. dedicated to Lenin's birthday - April 22. On all other days, subbotniks were held irregularly. The main work involved cleaning, putting things in order and beautifying the area. Schoolchildren and students took part in the cleanup days. Soviet citizens worked mainly at their places of work and study.

One hundred years later

After the collapse of the USSR, it seemed that subbotniks were a thing of the past. Nobody built communism anymore - neither in deeds nor in words. This means that communist “labor holidays” were no longer needed - neither voluntary nor forced.

Subbotniks in Moscow got a second life in the mid-1990s. They again became voluntary, but without communist overtones. The organizers remembered only historical continuity, but not ideological continuity. Cleanup days are a great opportunity to personally participate in cleaning the city after winter. They are attended by everyone who wants to see the capital beautiful and well-groomed.