February 23

Defender of the Fatherland Day

Maslov S.A.

Today February 23 or "Defender of the Fatherland Day" is celebrated widely in Russia and some other countries.
According to our history, the origin of the holiday is directly related to the day of the formation of the Red Army in 1918.But there is one interesting point here: the date of its occurrence is considered to be January 28, 1918, and for some reason the holiday began to be celebrated on February 23. There was a lot of controversy and discussion about it.Explaining the situation described above, historians propose several versions, two of which will be given below.According to the first, on February 23, the Red Army heroically defended Petrograd, defeating the Kaiser's troops.The second one looks more believable. In 1919, the People's Commissar of the Ukrainian SSR Nikolai Podvoisky and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee proposed to celebrate the "Day of the Red Army" on January 28. However, the preparations for the celebration dragged on so much that it had to be “thrown” to the next day off, which then fell on February 23.So, until 1946, February 23 was celebrated as the Day of the Red Army. Then this holiday was renamed the "Day of the Soviet Army and Navy".After the collapse of the USSR, the celebration had to be renamed again. Since 1991 we have been celebrating February 23 as "Defender of the Fatherland Day". This day has been celebrated under different names in Russia for more than 100 years.

February 23 is a symbol of respect for the history of the country and its heroes. Heroes were ordinary people who showed courage and without hesitation, they stood up for the Fatherland when it was necessary. Defender of the Fatherland Day in Russia has been a day of military glory for many years.
Nowadays we should take into account the special military operation in Ukraine, which has made us look at the 23rd of February, from another angle. All of sudden, the defence of the country, has transformed from the form of hypothetical to the very real issue. We, as a new generation, who have never seen a war in our lifetime, are faced with an existential problem coming from the West. Today, everyone has to support our Motherland in this issue. Some people were scared and decided to leave the country and watch what would happen to Russia from abroad. But the majority, who has remained here both at the front and in the rear, started fighting for the very existence of our Motherland. Everyone is ready to make contribution to our common victory.

Our school has always supported our Russian defenders: lots of letters and postcards have been written and sent to our soldiers, parcels with gifts, presents and necessary things were sent to them too. Students make on school papers together, draw pictures and cards devoted to the holiday. At our school concert some students sing songs about Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, dance or read poems. On this day war veterans usually come to school and have discussions with students. At home mothers and sisters, wives and daughters treat their sons and brothers, husbands and fathers with a festive meal and give them presents.
In general, based on the foregoing, we can conclude that today's celebration concerns those men who really fulfilled or are fulfilling their duty to protect the Fatherland. To all involved - congratulations! The 23rd of February is a very special day for all Russian men who serve or work in the army and defend our land during war conflicts or guard our peace. It has been in history before, so it will be now. The victory will be ours!