Images of enemies in the celebration of the October revolution's anniversaries: burning of the images of opponents (1918-1920)

The paper is focused on the Soviet public holidays as political events. After the Revolution of 1917, November, 7 th became the main holiday of the Soviet «red calendar». The analysis of the features of that holiday is of great importance, because it may contribute to the understanding of the Soviet politics, as well as it may help in revealing the dynamics of the holiday's development, the logic of the party apparatus in the organization of the holiday, and the methods of the population's involvement into the celebration. The representation of the images of enemies played an important role in the early Soviet holidays: for example, the kulak effigy was burned on the Red Square in Moscow in 1918. The analysis of how the political situation influenced the character of burnings shows that the symbolic form of retaliation against the enemies created a carnival atmosphere. The author compares the events in various cities and emphasizes that in 1918, there was not yet a uniform image of enemies, as the representation of the enemies differed in regions. The author discusses the controversies of the images of enemies. The holiday was used in the struggle of various groups in the Bolshevik party for political influence. The history of the Holiday of November, 7 th in general contributes to a better understanding of the power mechanism during the early Soviet period.