Nuclear industry waste. Radioactive waste
It is believed that for the first time during the First World War, fraternization took place on Western Front, on Christmas Day 1914. There, after a two-day truce was declared, during which the opponents buried their fallen comrades, joint libations and even football matches took place. In fact, these events were not the first fraternizations Great War- such truces began a little earlier on the Russian front.
The captain of the Sumy Hussar Regiment, V. S. Littauer, recalled while in exile:
“At the beginning of December, our regiment was stationed in the village of Kussen... A temporary calm reigned in our sector of the front. One morning a German lancer rode into no man's land with a spear to which he was tied. White flag, and put the package and letter on the ground. The letter addressed to the officers of our regiment was written in a polite manner. The package contained cigars and cognac. After some time... we invited them to meet at noon in no man's land. Three officers from each side met and even took photos together. We talked about everything... but didn't say a word about the war. Saying goodbye, we agreed to meet the next day at the same time; we had to bring a snack, and the Germans had to bring cognac".
However, the next meeting was not destined to take place. The new division commander forbade his subordinates to communicate with enemy officers, about which the Russian forward posts notified the Germans with a volley into the air.
Photo in memory of the fraternization of Russian and German troops in 1917. There is no photographic evidence of the fraternizations of 1914, but documents indicate that they began right then
In his memoirs, Colonel B.N. Sergeevsky of the General Staff described the truce organized in December 1914 at the positions of the 2nd Finnish Rifle Brigade - on the initiative of German officers who asked to be given the opportunity to bury their soldiers. The Russian command refused them, but officers of both armies reached a compromise. The Russians took over the burial of the German soldiers. Under white flags, with a memorial service, the bodies of the dead were interred. “Then the opponents dispersed, both sides sounded the all-clear and lowered the white flags. Not even 10 seconds had passed after the flag disappeared in the German trench when shots rang out from the Russian side. The Germans responded immediately.”, - Sergeevsky concluded the description of this episode. A few days later, German officers invited the Russians to dinner, but no further negotiations took place.
The fact of fraternization, which took place back in 1914, is confirmed by order to the troops of the 1st Army No. 377 of December 29, 1914. Here is its full text:
“On the day of the Nativity of Christ, the Germans, coming out of their trenches against the positions of the Danube and Belebeevsky regiments, began waving white rags and approached the river, showing bottles and cigars and inviting our people to come to them.
About 10-15 Germans without weapons approached the river, got into a boat, crossed to our side and began to lure the soldiers of the above-mentioned regiments who had approached the shore. Several people succumbed to this vile trick and crossed to the German side, and, most shamefully, Lieutenant Semyon Stepanovich Svidersky-Malyarchuk, called up from the reserves of the Danube Regiment, crossed with them. All our soldiers who moved to the other side and this officer unworthy of his rank were immediately arrested and taken prisoner by the Germans.
Having ordered that Lieutenant Svidersky-Malyarchuk be immediately tried in absentia by a field court under Art. 248 books. XXII Code of Military [Resolutions] 1869 ( the death penalty), I order that the names of the surrendered soldiers be immediately reported to their homeland, so that in their villages and hamlets they immediately stop issuing rations to their families and everyone there knows that they have betrayed their homeland, flattered by a bottle of beer.
If such vile tricks on the part of the Germans are repeated, immediately open fire on them, and also shoot those who decide to believe such dirty tricks and come out to talk with our enemies.Signed: Army Commander, Cavalry General Litvinov".
To Svidersky-Malyarchuk’s credit, it should be noted that he himself considered what happened to be an unfortunate misunderstanding. The unlucky lieutenant repeatedly tried to escape from captivity in order to justify himself.
However, this example differs from previous cases of truce. The warriors were not driven by the need to bury the fallen - they were seduced by the opportunity to brighten up the difficult everyday life of war. This motive later became more and more significant.
The entry in the combat log of the 13th company of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment dates back to February 6, 1915:
“One soldier of the 15th company leaned out of the trench and showed the newspaper to the German; the German, in turn, picked up the newspaper, and so our soldier climbed out of the trench and headed towards the German trenches, the German also climbed out of the trench and headed towards our brave man. They got together, shook hands, shook hands, exchanged newspapers; then the German took out a flask of cognac, poured it into glasses, raised it towards our trenches - drank, then poured it and gave it to our soldier. This one raised his glass towards the German trenches and shouted: “For the health of the enemy!” He drank, then gave our German a cigarette, the German, in turn, gave ours a cigarette, they lit a cigarette, said goodbye and each went to his own trench.”.
The Easter holiday of 1915 was also celebrated with a series of fraternizations. Russian soldiers left the trenches, broke fast with the enemy, and exchanged tobacco and food. On one of the sections of the front, it came down to a choir competition and joint dancing to the accompaniment of a German guitar!
Fraternization. Russian soldiers are easy to identify by the hats and Adrian helmets on their heads
Source: http://humus.liveournal.com
A year passed, the “Great Retreat” of the Russian army was temporarily replaced by positional warfare. And by Christmas 1915, fraternization resumed, sometimes not limited to one-time meetings. Messages about this were received by the chief of staff of the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Northern Front, M.D. Bonch-Bruevich. At Fort Franz on the Western Dvina, the riflemen of the 4th battalion of the 55th Siberian Infantry Regiment followed the rule "don't touch me and I won't touch you". With the knowledge of the regiment commander, instead of reconnaissance, they literally went to visit the Germans. They did not remain in debt, bringing the soldiers with them cognac, cigarettes, and chocolate. Separate treats were given to Russian military doctors. The enemies took turns on guard by agreement, and even exchanged prisoners instead of dangerous forays for “tongues.”
M. D. Bonch-Bruevich. On the front entrusted to his headquarters, Russians and Germans sometimes lived “harmoniously”
The truce at Fort Franz was notable for its duration. It was started by the soldiers of the 53rd Siberian rifle regiment, who stood in this position previously. At first, the command intended to stop flagrant violations of discipline. But the circumstances that led to them were stronger. The realities of the war were equally difficult for the soldiers of both armies, and fraternization in them turned out to be a unique form of escapism. However, such an idyll could not last forever, having a disintegrating effect on discipline. Yes and German troops They were by no means pacifists. When they occupied Fort Franz in May 1916, more than 70 Russian soldiers surrendered.
Easter 1916 revealed new level mass fraternization. This fact outraged the senior officials of the Russian army, because fraternization was a violation of military duties - in fact, a criminal offense. But at the same time, the Military Regulations only provided for punishment for them... demotion to the rank and file.
Even by the end of 1916, the maximum that the Russian local command could counter the inclination of the troops entrusted to them to fraternize was single artillery shots at the insolent enemy. But even then, on one sector of the front «… in some places the German is about forty steps away from us, you can still hear him talking, sometimes shouting: “Rus, let’s give you cognac and vodka, you don’t have it, but bring us bread,” and our soldiers answer him, “Eat Wilhelm’s I ... and x ...” He fired a volley at us and we fired at him...» . On another section of the front: “...nour heroes and the Germans came together and congratulated each other, shook hands and kissed, they treated us to cigarettes, and vodka, and cognac, and we gave them our bread, which had to be chopped with an ax, and they didn’t like the bread... Yes, we became friends with Germans» .
Fraternization
Fraternization- spontaneous cessation of hostility or hostilities, or the conclusion of a fraternal alliance.
There are known situations where friendly or friendly relations between certain groups of people were prohibited. To such groups in different time included:
- soldiers of opposing armies;
- occupiers and population of occupied territories;
- soldiers sent to pacify popular unrest and the rioting population;
- believers of different religions;
- guards, civilians and prisoners;
- representatives of certain castes and social classes.
Nevertheless, in history there have been unauthorized terminations of hostility, despite the fact that they were condemned by official morality, and were often persecuted by the authorities, even being accused of treason.
Fraternization in the 19th century
Fraternization during the First World War
Fraternization on the Russian-German front. 1917
Ban on fraternization in 1945
Poster for American soldiers: “Remember this! Don't fraternize!
In 1945, General Eisenhower declared that there should be "no fraternization" between American troops and the German population. However, thanks to pressure from the State Department and individual US congressmen, this policy was gradually relaxed. In June 1945 the prohibition on talking to German children was made less strict. In July it became possible to talk to German adults under certain circumstances. In September, the no-communication policy was lifted in both Austria and Germany. On early stages During the occupation, American soldiers were not allowed to pay for the maintenance of a German child, which was considered as “helping the enemy.” Marriages between white American soldiers and Austrian women were not permitted until January, and since German women until December 1946.
Individual episodes of fraternization between Soviet and American soldiers occurred during the so-called “meeting on the Elbe,” despite the fact that there were instructions for Soviet army: do not show any familiarity with allied forces.
In culture
IN fine arts The lithograph by A. Provost “Brotherhood of the rebel people with troops at the Tuileries Palace on February 24, 1848” is known.
The film “Merry Christmas” directed by Christian Carion, which appeared in 2005, is dedicated to fraternization in the First World War. original name film "Joyeux Noël", in English-language publications it is known as "Merry Christmas".
see also
Notes
Literature
Links
- Bazanov S. N. Champions of peace and the collapse of the army. Anti-war protests at the front in March-October 1917
- Bazanov S. N. On the history of the collapse of the Russian army in 1917
- Bazanov S. N. German soldiers began... to crawl over to their Russian “comrades” and fraternize with them// Military historical magazine. 2002. No. 6. P.43-50.
- Bazanov S. N. The army in the Russian revolution. Political parties and the army: from February to October. No. 09/2001 newspaper “History” of the publishing house “First of September”
Its meaning is that if two men experience a feeling of brotherly love for each other, feel spiritual unity and intend to live in fraternal cohabitation in the future, without, however, taking monastic vows and without leaving the world, then the rite of church brotherhood is performed over them .
St. Sergius and Bacchus, to whom the brothers turn during the ritual.
Intrigued? Then - to the cut!
This is not propaganda of homosexuality, this is Orthodoxy at its core. As they say, the box just opened :-)
This is how Fr. describes the ritual. Pavel Florensky in his monumental work “The Pillar and Statement of Truth”:
1) The order of the fraternities in the church in front of the lectern on which the cross and the Gospel lie, with the eldest of the fraternities standing on the right, and the youngest on the left.
2) Prayers and litanies asking brothers to unite in love...
3) Tying the fraternities with one belt, placing their hands on the Gospel and handing them a lighted candle.
4) Reading the Apostle and the Gospel.
5) More prayers and litanies.
6) Reading "Our Father"
7) Communion of St. Gifts - a common cup
8) Leading the brothers holding hands around the lectern while singing the troparion: “Lord, look down from heaven and see...”
9) Exchange of kisses.
10) Singing: “Behold, what is good or what is good, in the life of the brethren together”
(P. Florensky. “The Pillar and Statement of Truth”, Moscow 1914, pp. 458-459)
The "Orthodox Encyclopedia" adds the following touches to the picture (vol. 6, article "Brotherhood") - at the end of the rites, the fraternities, holding hands, go to a specially prepared solemn meal, and the prayers read during fraternization contain petitions for perfect love, inseparable life, chastity and joining in spiritual brotherhood.
O. Pavel Florensky, describing the meaning of such rituals, refers to Ecclesiastes: “Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor: for if one falls, the other will lift up his comrade. But woe to one when he falls, and there is no other to lift him up. Also, if two people are lying down, then they are warm; How can one keep warm alone? And if one begins to overcome one, then two will stand against him: and the thread, twisted three times, will not soon break."
The Orthodox Encyclopedia, in its article on the rite of fraternization, notes that its description began to gradually disappear from liturgical books in the 17th-18th centuries, perhaps due to the spread of the pagan rite of incest between fraternities during its performance. However, in a number of Orthodox regions of the Balkan Peninsula, the ritual continues to be preserved.
Since it is obvious that there are no special decisions to revive the practice of fraternization loving friend a friend of brotherly love in pairs of men or women is not required - the canonicity of the rite is not questioned by either Fr. Paul, nor the author of the "Orthodox Encyclopedia" - it remains to be assumed that the surge of interest in traditional forms of religiosity that we observe today will lead to widespread this exciting mystery in Everyday life Orthodox Russian people. I am sure that this will attract many thousands of new adherents to the ranks of Orthodoxy, who now, for various reasons, cannot find a place for themselves in the bosom of the Church, especially from among representatives of creative professions.
A short introduction
Article
Holy Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus
Adeelfopoeesis, ἀδελφοποίησις (from the Greek. Ἀδελφός - brother and ποιέω - do, do) - literally “fraternal” - a rite, historically performed in some Christian traditions for the unification of two people of the same gender (usually men) into a friendly union, blessed by the Church. Similar twinning rituals were practiced by other cultures, including the American Indians, ancient Chinese, and Germanic and Scandinavian peoples. According to the evidence of Byzantine manuscripts of the 9th-15th centuries. the prayer texts proclaimed the participants in the rite to be “spiritual brothers” and contained references to canonized couples, among whom the most revered were Saints Sergius and Bacchus, renowned for their friendship. At the end of the 20th century, the disappeared Christian tradition gained fame, finding itself at the center of controversy among supporters and opponents of the secular and religious legalization of homosexual relations in the West.
Adelphopoiesis in the Christian tradition
Russian polymath scientist, priest Pavel Florensky suggests famous description adelphopoiesis in his monumental work “The Pillar and Ground of Truth. The Experience of Orthodox Theodicy in Twelve Letters,” containing an early bibliography on the topic. Florensky describes traditional Christian friendship, expressed through adelphopoiesis, as “The limit of fragmentation is not the human atom, from itself and from itself relating to the community, but a communal molecule, a pair of friends, which is the beginning of actions, just as the family was such a molecule of the pagan community.” , reflecting on the words of Christ that “Where - γαρ - two or three are gathered - δύο ή τρεις - in My Name - εις το έμον όνομα - there I am in the midst of them.” In his theological interpretation of the rite, Florensky describes the combination in adelphopoiesis of agapic and philic Christian love, but not eros, noting that its follow-up consists of prayers, reading the Bible and the communion of the presanctified Eucharistic gifts.
An alternative point of view is that the rite was used in many cases as the conclusion of a permanent agreement between heads of state or brothers in religion. As a replacement for twinning (in particular, by blood), which was prohibited by the church at that time. Other opinions, such as Brent Shaw, also argue that such unions were more akin to twinning and did not contain any sexual connotations.
“Same-sex union” or “fraternity”?
However, the ritual came to public attention in the West after the late Yale historian John Boswell wrote in his book Same-sex unions in pre-modern Europe, also published as Marriage similarities" (The marriage of likeness), stated that the purpose of this practice was to unite two people into some kind of marriage union. His theory has been challenged by other learned experts on the subject, most notably UCLA historian Claudia Rapp in a special issue of the Catholic scientific journal Traditio (issue 52) in 1997, dedicated to criticism of this thesis. Boswell's work has also been the subject of criticism from the religious community, to date mainly coming from the once involved in the original practice of the Greek Orthodox Church, which considered his work a modern American cultural appropriation of their tradition and translates the word "adelphopoiesis" as "fraternization", implying chaste friendship. A similar translation of the term is “brotherhood.”
Although many scholars criticized Boswell's conclusions, some agreed with him, including liberal American Episcopal scholars Robin Scroggs and William L. Countryman. Boswell provided the text and translation for several versions of the "fraternization" ceremony in Greece and a translation of various Slavic versions (Brotherhood), although Rapp and other opponents have disputed the accuracy of his translations. Boswell denied that adelphopoiesis itself could be translated as "homosexual marriage", but insisted that "fraternalization" or "brother-making" was an "anachronistically literal" translation and suggested "same-sex union" as the preferred interpretation. Boswell's preference was questionable to Orthodox canonists, as well as to scholars such as Rapp, who argued that it was entangling an anachronistically modern secular estimology and anthropology distinct from traditional Christianity. Boswell drew a potential parallel with modern concepts about sexual identity, although the adherence to adelphopoiesis clearly emphasizes the spiritual nature of the union in pre-modern Christian realities.
Boswell noted the absence of any equivalent of the Western Latin ritual tradition to the Roman catholic church, but the British historian Alan Bray, in his book The Friend, presented a Latin text and translation of a Latin Catholic rite from Slovenia called "Ordo ad fratres faciendum", literally "Following to the Creation of the Brothers". Allan Tulchin, "Same-sex couples leading households in Ancien Regime France: the application of Affrèrement." in the Journal of Modern History: September 2007, argued that the affrèrement ceremony in France united unrelated same-sex couples into lifelong unions, which could then form a family, jointly own property and were in all respects the same as a marriage union or were equivalent to it in terms of legal and social customs, as indicated by parish records. However, they were not in contact with the early Eastern tradition and were not described sexually in parallel with modern concepts of sexual identity.
Adelphopoiesis in the Russian Orthodox Church
Until 1650, in the Orthodox Church there was an institution of the so-called “adelphopoiesis” (ἀδελφοποίησις), literally “brotherhood”, that is, legal male same-sex unions, the ritual of which was very similar to a wedding. Adelphopoiesis was mainly widespread in Orthodox Christianity, in Greece, in the Slavic lands: in Kievan and Moscow Rus'. This rite gave the right to inherit the partner’s property and was used to formalize their relationship before God.
The rite of brotherhood is outwardly very similar to the celebration of the sacrament of marriage - both took place in the church in front of the altar. Both men wishing to enter into an alliance were placed in front of a lectern on which lay the cross and the Gospel. Candles were given to them, the priest joined their hands, prayers and Holy Scripture were read. The priest led them around the lectern, singing church songs, and administered the Presanctified Gifts. Men wishing to become brothers and/or marry exchanged kisses, kissed the priest and went to a meal (agape). The church rite of brotherhood had the same meaning as the sacrament of marriage; in particular, persons who entered into spiritual brotherhood through the church were considered to be closely related, which served as an obstacle to marriage between their relatives and granted the right to inherit without a will. By the way, this also followed from the 53rd rule of the Trullo Council (691-692), according to which spiritual kinship was equated to blood, “... for kinship in spirit is more important than union in body...”.
January 24th, 2016Fraternization on Eastern Front began already in August 1914, and at the beginning of 1916, hundreds of regiments already participated in them from the Russian side. Russian soldiers went to them not only because they were tired of the war, but because of the peculiarities of peasant psychology (“forgiveness”) and the desire to barter with the enemy (mainly exchanging bread for vodka).
On New Year's Day, 1915, sensational news spread around the world: a spontaneous truce and fraternization of soldiers of the warring British, French and German armies began on the Western Front of the Great War. Soon, the leader of the Russian Bolsheviks, Lenin, declared fraternization at the front as the beginning of “the transformation of the world war into a civil war.”
Among these news about the Christmas Truce, the meager information about fraternization on the Eastern (Russian) Front was completely lost. Fraternization in the Russian army began in August 1914 on the Southwestern Front. In December 1914, cases of mass fraternization of soldiers of the 249th Danube Infantry and 235th Belebeevsky Infantry Regiments were noted on the North-Western Front. The initiators here were the soldiers German army. A telegram from the commander of the 1st Army, General A. Litvinov, to the corps commanders spoke of “a deceptive method, under the guise of an invitation to visit and treats,” the capture of “people who took them at their word and were gullibly seduced, who thus became traitors to their homeland.” . The army commander ordered not to allow “such visiting” as an obvious “betrayal and betrayal of the oath”, “to take all measures to eliminate the possibility of any relations with the Germans.”
As disciplinary measures, it was also ordered to open fire on the participants in the fraternization, “as well as shoot those who decide to believe such dirty tricks and go out to talk with our enemies.”
There were also cases of fraternization on Easter 1915. They consisted of leaving the trenches, meeting with the enemy (“German”), “baptizing Christ,” and mutually treating them to cigarettes and cigars. One of the fraternizations, in which officers also participated, ended with a competition of choirs on both sides and general dancing to the German guitar. In the spring of 1915, it became known from censorship reports that in the front lines after the Easter holidays, a systematic exchange of bread, cognac, vodka, chocolate and cigars began between soldiers of the Russian army and the enemy armies. In this regard, the general on duty at Headquarters, General P. Kondzerovsky, informed the front commanders that “from now on, for allowing such communication between lower ranks and the enemy, the strictest responsibility should fall on company commanders and regiment commanders.”
Fraternizations continued in the summer of 1915 on the Russian-Austrian front. And since the autumn of 1915, with the beginning trench warfare, fraternization already occurred in many infantry units. They continued at Christmas in December 1915. Thus, according to information received by the chief of staff of the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Northern Front, General M. Bonch-Bruevich, “friendly relations” were established with enemy units in some sections of the Northern Front. Such relations existed, for example, in the 55th Siberian Infantry Regiment on the Western Dvina, at Fort Franz, where the riflemen of the 4th battalion agreed with the Germans to “live in friendship”, without warning, never to disturb each other, not to shoot and not to take prisoners . The regiment's riflemen did not go on reconnaissance, but “to visit”, and not at night, but during the day. From the Germans who came out to meet them, the soldiers received cigarettes and cognac, and brought German “gifts” to the regiment doctors. The principle “don’t touch me, and I won’t touch you” was established in many regiments on the Riga sector of the front.
The investigation that began revealed a lot of details about the daily life of soldiers at Fort Franz. They consisted of an agreement on a ceasefire, first at the time of the change of units, and then in general for long time. Agreements with the enemy also extended to reconnaissance, when, in order to “bloodlessly capture” the “language,” the parties agreed to simply exchange prisoners of war, selecting special negotiators from among the prisoners. Despite the attempts of the temporary commander of the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Mandryka, to stop “relations with the enemy,” on Christmas and New Year’s Day, 1916, contacts continued on both sides, the exchange of alcohol, etc.
The broad development of relations with the enemy on the Russian Front is also indicated by the fraternization that broke out on Easter 1916 (which coincided with this holiday for the enemy - April 10), in which dozens of regiments already participated, artillery batteries and railway battalions of the Northern 24 and Southwestern Fronts. About the massive scale of fraternization on the Southwestern Front “how general rule” was also said in relation to the chief of staff of the commander-in-chief, General M. Alekseev.
Fraternization was an outright violation of military duties and disciplinary regulations, and extensive contacts with the enemy generally fell under the Military Regulations on punishments and entailed criminal liability. Mutual christenings, fun and games took place with an invitation to visit the enemy in their trenches. Sometimes this was accompanied by filming of fortifications, which was a violation of basic instructions, given the difficult access even for newspaper correspondents and allied representatives to the Russian Front. Meetings between opponents were accompanied by alcoholic treats and the capture of the “hosts” by the “guests,” apparently by prior agreement. The Russian high command, and personally Commander-in-Chief Nicholas II, were especially outraged by the participation of officers in these “relations with the enemy.”
However, not all military leaders agreed to tolerate fraternization. On the 3rd day of Easter, the commander of the 12th Army, General R. Radko-Dmitriev, gave the order to open artillery fire by groups of fraternities.
But even after Easter fraternization, peaceful relations with the Germans continued. Thus, in one soldier’s letter from the Southwestern Front it was reported: “Between the Germans and us, a tradition has been established not to shoot, we walk in a completely open place. Today even our soldiers came together and separated peacefully again.” From another letter it is obvious that the soldiers (on the same front) were expecting peace any day: “Since there are no battles, it means that peace negotiations are underway, and therefore there will be peace soon.” The soldiers reported in letters about “visiting” the enemy and exchanging alcohol.
In the fall of 1916, fraternization continued. In some sections of the Southwestern Front, mutual greetings between soldiers of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian armies became commonplace, which added to the thoughts about the pointlessness of continuing the war. The censorship of the Southwestern Front continued to find the following phrases in soldiers’ letters: “We live in perfect harmony with the Germans, we negotiate.”
After February Revolution fraternization became widespread, and the command even stopped opposing it. Thus, on Easter Week 1917 - from April 2 to 8 - over a hundred regiments already took part in fraternization.
The fraternizations that took place on the Eastern Front of World War I were significantly different from the fraternizations on the Western Front. It was based on ingrained ideas about the importance Orthodox holidays V social relations among the peasants: for example, during Easter in Russian villages, the rich tried to support the poor, gave Easter cakes, Easter cakes, etc. The same thing happened between the soldiers, when they, “softened” by the surge of religious feelings, sometimes crying, distributed their bread to their poor comrades to break their fast, and then to the enemy. During fraternization, mutual refreshments certainly occurred. But on the part of the Russian soldiers, it was more like a folk festival, even a drinking party, when representatives of the village assembly went around all the yards to make the holiday universal. So, “breaking the fast from hunger” was not allowed in the village: in this case, rich relatives and villagers brought food for festive table food for poor fellow villagers. In the same way, Russian soldiers gave gifts to the visiting Austrians, treated them to bread and even brought Easter, eggs, lard, sausage, bread (“otherwise they have black bread”), and “sweets” to the Austrian trenches.
In general, the peasant mentality is characterized by aversion to long-term rivalry with an enemy - for example, a neighbor, and a desire to go to peace as soon as possible, even to forgive him. This is one of the conditions of peasant life in the world, on earth, as can be seen from special treatment to neighbors, acquaintances in the weeks leading up to Easter. The fraternizations that took place mainly on the Southwestern Front, with soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army, in significant numbers Slavs and partly Orthodox, were a mixture of religious insight with forgiveness, a manifestation of not only “identification with the enemy,” but sometimes love and pity for him, with handshakes and tears and “kisses for joy.”
Such fraternization is described in a letter from a soldier of the 41st Selenga Infantry Regiment: “On the first day of Easter, when we had already broken our fast, we had all rested a little, quietly, not a single shot was fired, we began to wave our hats from our trenches to our enemy, and he also began to wave and began to call for a friend friend to visit us and so we got together little by little with the Austrians in the middle between the wire fence without any weapons and began to christen ourselves and some of the Austrians were Orthodox, then they kissed us and some cried out of pity and treated each other in revenge, danced like real comrades and Then we separated and our story should be written in the newspapers.”
The soldiers in their letters home constantly emphasized reconciliation, pacification, and reconciliation with the enemy. The celebration itself was presented as a general celebration, the unity of everyone and mutual forgiveness. It was as if the holiday was incomplete if the enemy did not participate in it. The holiday began among one's own people, but always ended among strangers. The soldier-peasants reported to their relatives in their villages about “how they spent the holiday,” making their fellow villagers a participant in fraternization and reconciliation.
Another peasant custom that found its application in Easter fraternizations is the custom of twinning, which has its roots in antiquity. During this holiday, the ability to leave the battle peacefully was demonstrated, after both sides showed courage and exceptional military qualities, to turn the opponent into a sworn brother. During such holidays, gifts were exchanged. Such customs still remained among the Don Cossacks, who could fraternize with strangers who came from other places. The twinning rituals themselves were performed in some villages on the second day of Easter. Such twinning was accompanied by bows, kisses, refreshments, and a shared meal. The custom of twinning, infrequent at the beginning of the 20th century in Russia (except, as was said, among the Cossacks), was, however, still tenacious among Western Slavs, the main contingent of the army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Elements of twinning were also embodied in fraternization at the front. The letters described how “enemies and friends rushed into each other’s arms”, that “it was a friendly affair all day”, they emphasized “friendship”, “complete friendship”, promises “not to fight anymore”, the giving of a “brotherly hand”, etc. P.
During the fraternization, Russian peasant soldiers tried to make up for the loss of the “usefulness” of the war and return it to its “material” character, which is so important for the peasant mentality. There was also a shortage of certain products in the armies and the desire to replenish them at the expense of the enemy. The Russians brought bread, soap, and tobacco for fraternization. Germans and Austrians - harmonicas, cigars, pocket knives, electric flashlights, etc.
An indispensable part of the peasant celebration of Easter were strong drinks. They helped to bring the holiday to the level of formal forgiveness of the enemy, the intention to resolve the conflict with him. In addition, the “prohibition law” introduced in Russia after the start of the war also made it known. As soon as Russian soldiers received Easter food, after receiving Christ they rushed to the enemy, where they received alcohol in exchange. The Austrians supplied the Russian soldiers with vodka, rum, cognac, alcohol, red wine, “they brought glasses of vodka and said good things when there will be peace.” The soldiers drank, sometimes for several days, and brought each other drunk into the trenches. Barter trade also played a role: Russian soldiers knew about the shortage of bread in the Austrian army and bought it specifically for fraternization.
But often the Russians were simply treated to vodka and cigarettes, which was the reason for the start of fraternization on the Austro-German side. Actually, the fraternization itself took place either in the middle of the position, or in the Austro-German trenches, and rarely in the Russians. But even later, relations with both the Germans and the Austrians were accompanied by copious libations.
In 1917, the alcoholic basis of fraternizations came to the fore. So, according to soldiers’ letters, deposited in the censorship, they drank vodka and rum every day from the Austrians on the Southwestern Front (part not specified), soldiers of the 25th Smolensk Infantry Regiment received rum and cigars, Life Guards. Pavlovsk Regiment - vodka and cigars every day, 199th Kronstadt Infantry Regiment - vodka and rum. In the 663rd Yazlovetsky Infantry Regiment “they drank vodka, cognac, rum and were not very cowardly.” The Austrians knew the Russians' dinner time and specially brought vodka. As a result, in the spring of 1917, mass drunkenness began in many Russian units.
The “spontaneous,” as Lenin called it, the nature of fraternization on the Russian front came as a complete surprise to the Bolshevik leader, who considered fraternization the most important instrument of the “world revolution.” A surge of interest in fraternization among Lenin and the Bolsheviks occurred after the seizure of power in October 1917: now fraternization was supposed to serve the cause of spreading the revolution begun in Russia to the rest of Europe. However, it soon became clear that the “unorganized”, “irresponsible” fraternizations, which were based on peasant ideas about universal “pacification and forgiveness”, supported by barter and accompanied by copious amounts of drinking, did not fulfill the mission of spreading the revolution. Lenin now strongly emphasized the inability of the “peasant army” to wage a revolutionary war. This determined his tactics for concluding a separate peace with Germany, and then the creation of a new type of army, with the predominance of the proletariat in it.
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