Holidays of the USSR - Soviet Press Day

The newspaper "Pravda" as a literary and journalistic magazine appeared in 1903. The publication became the mouthpiece of the ideas of Bolshevism, and later of the Communist Party of the USSR, in 1912. The founder of the printed organ of the RSDLP (b) and the Central Committee is V.I. Lenin. In 1917, the editorial office was headed by the sister of the leader of the world revolution, M.I. Ulyanov. The first issue of the “collective propagandist,” as Lenin called the newspaper, was published on May 5. In 1922, to mark the tenth anniversary of the publication of Pravda, a state holiday was established in the USSR - Soviet Press Day. Journalism of the world's first state of workers and peasants developed in many directions. The traditions of Soviet journalism originated in such publications as Izvestia, Trud, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Ogonyok, Krasnaya Zvezda, Komsomolskaya Pravda and others. Therefore, it would be wrong to talk about Soviet Press Day only in relation to Pravda. Moreover, it is not the oldest Russian publication. Long before the publication of the first issue of Pravda in 1861, the regional studies and popular science magazine Around the World appeared. However, this does not diminish the importance of the role of the newspaper, the publication of which did not stop even during the harsh years of the Great Patriotic War. Soviet printed publications were not only the mouthpiece of the ideas of socialism and communism, the propaganda of labor shock workers and the Stakhanov movement. “Soviet Sport” informed about the victories and achievements of athletes, “Inventor and Innovator” - about technical innovations and scientific achievements. "Ogonyok", "New World" and "Literaturnaya Gazeta" covered the development of education and culture in the USSR, publishing works of writers and poets. “Pionerskaya Pravda”, “Young Naturalist” and “Coeval” were produced for young audiences. Newspapers, magazines and almanacs contained both materials about the labor exploits of Soviet citizens and international events, such as, for example, the weekly publication “Abroad”. Soviet Press Day was celebrated in the USSR annually on May 5th. In 1991, it was renamed, replacing “Soviet” with “Russian” and began to be celebrated according to the decree of B.N. Yeltsin January 13. The date for setting the solemn day was the publication in 1703 of another oldest Russian newspaper - Vedomosti. Pravda became the main press organ of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, which is the heir to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The newspaper forged personnel throughout all the years of its existence: its staff formed journalistic schools, from which emerged professionals who make up the flower of modern journalism. Soviet Press Day is still dear and memorable to most Russians who lived during the Soviet Union. Therefore, editors, journalists and other employees of periodicals celebrate their professional holiday on May 5 in the old fashioned way.