February 23 is Defender of the Fatherland Day

Today, the CSTO States – Republic of Belarus, Kyrgyz Republic, Russian Federation and Republic of Tajikistan – honour defenders of the Fatherland.
In the Soviet Union, February 23 was celebrated as the Day of the Soviet Army and Navy. For many living in the countries of the former Soviet Union, it still is. And yet, it is worth noting that there was no official document establishing such a holiday in the Soviet Union.
However, the Soviet historiography linked the establishment of this holiday on February 23 to the events of 1918: on January 28 (January 15, O.S.), 1918 the Council of People’s Commissars headed by Chairman Vladimir Lenin adopted a decree establishing the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army (WPRA), and on February 11 (January 29, O.S.) – the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Navy (WPRN).
On February 22, a proclamation decree Socialist Fatherland in Danger! was published, and on February 23, rallies were held in Petrograd and Moscow, where workers were urged to defend their Fatherland from the advancing German troops. In Petrograd and Moscow, fighters of the Red Guard started enlisting into the emerging Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army thus marking its actual formation. On February 23, 1922, a military parade was held at Red Square in Moscow, organized by Leon Trotsky, chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council.
In 1938, The Short Course on the History of the VKP(b) presented a slightly different interpretation of the origin of the holiday’s date. The book argued that in 1918 near Narva and Pskov “the German occupiers were resolutely pushed back. Their advance towards Petrograd was halted. The day of rebuffing the German imperialist troops – February 23 – became the birthday of the young Red Army.”
Later, the order of the People’s Commissar of Defence of the USSR of February 23, 1942 slightly changed the wording: “The young Red Army units, joining the war for the first time, crushed the German invaders at Pskov and Narva on February 23, 1918. That is why February 23 was declared the birthday of the Red Army.”
In 1951, another version of the origin of the holiday appeared. The History of the Civil War in the USSR stated that in 1919, the first anniversary of the Red Army was celebrated as “a day of commemoration of mobilization of workers for the defence of the socialist Fatherland, the mass enlistment of workers into the Red Army and the widespread formation of the first detachments and units of the new army.”
Through the years, the name of the holiday also changed. Since 1922, the holiday was traditionally called the Red Army Day; since 1946, the Soviet Army Day; since 1949, the Soviet Army and Navy Day.
On the basis of the Federal Law of March 13, 1995 On Days of Military Glory in Russia, February 23 was officially named the Day of Victory of the Red Army over the German Kaiser Troops (1918) – the Defenders of the Fatherland Day. In 2006, the name of the holiday was amended, and it became Defender of the Fatherland Day.
In December 2001, the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation supported a proposal to make Defender of the Fatherland Day a non-working holiday.
But this is already history, albeit a recent one.
Today, Defender of the Fatherland Day is not just a holiday for men, it is a holiday for those who at the first call are ready to stand up to defend their Homeland and who are defending it today.
On this day, the CSTO Member States – the Republic of Belarus, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan – traditionally hold celebrations, parades and displays of military equipment. This is the day to remember veterans and all those who have given their lives defending their Homeland.