Shepherd's day in the context of Soviet ethnonational policies

The paper describes the transformation of festive culture of Turkic population in Altai based on the analysis of archival documents and regional press. Through the example of Shepherd's day the author will show the establishment of Soviet festive culture in the second half of 20th century in the frame of internationalism, and the shift in approaches to the traditional ethnic culture in Soviet ethnonational policies. Modernization of festivities in the Altai region has become a part of the overall policy of the festive rites formation, the policy which is free of religion, politically charged by form and ideologically charged by content. By denying the “dark ” past and emphasizing the “bright” future, the communist ideology postulated a combination of overall Soviet and progressive ethnic traditions. This holiday introduced the ideology of internationalism into the consciousness of ethnic groups, integrated them into sociocultural and political space of the Soviet state, and transmitted the concept of “international friendship ”.