page_title: Revolutionary Mass Festivals
section_title: Pre-revolutionary predecessors
hierarchical_section_title: Revolutionary Mass Festivals / Pre-revolutionary predecessors
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Oster-Prozession in der Region Kursk English: Easter Procession in the Region of Kursk Español: Procesión de Pascua en la región de Kursk Русский: Крестный ход в Курской губернии Українська: Хресний хід в Курській губернії. Олія на полотні. 175 × 280 см. Державна Третьяковська Галерея, Москва. العربية: لوحة الفنان ايليا ريبين «موكب ديني في مقاطعة كورسك» من غاليري تريتياكوف في موسكو (175 × 280 سم).
context_page_description: Revolutionary Mass Festivals, or Mass Spectacles, were participatory, staged cultural events held in the Soviet Union. They were held during the period of the Russian Civil War following the October Revolution of 1917. Experimental in nature, they united the Marxist-Leninist ideology of re-education of the masses and the aesthetics of the Russian avant-garde. The revolutionary mass festivals built upon the tradition of fairs and carnivals, and were part of the subsequently institutionalized public holidays and their official celebration in the Soviet Union. In contrast to these earlier versions of public festivals, the early revolutionary mass festival was often produced ad hoc without a distinct guideline. However, they became crucial events in the active construction of historical myths.
context_section_description: Staged or semi-staged mass festivals have a long history dating back as far as to the ancient Saturnalia, medieval carnivals and mystery plays. They were appropriated by the French Revolution, with the first event of its kind being the funeral parade for Voltaire, which Jacques-Louis David organized in 1791. 
  Russia too shared a tradition of public festivals. On the one hand, parades were organized by the state on the occasion of coronations and in order to commemorate events of political or military significance, such as the victory over Napoleon in 1812 or bicentennial anniversary of the foundation of Saint Petersburg held in 1903. On the other hand, the Russian Orthodox liturgical calendar included annual religious processions (in Russian крестные ходы). Finally, strike marches, illegal May Day celebrations and funeral marches for fallen revolutionaries were a central element of the revolutionary movement since the 1890s. The Soviet mass festival draws heavily on these traditions, since they not only commemorate central events of political history but, by representing a new anti-religious ideology, they also assume and replace the spiritual position formerly held by the church.
caption: Ilya Repin: Religious Procession in the Kursk Province (1883)
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