To study the history of the phrase "Workers of all countries, unite," you must understand the meaning of the words "proletariat" or "proletariat."
Proletarian. Origin of the word
According to history, the word "proletarian" has Latin roots: proletarius. It means "producing offspring." Poor citizens of Rome, characterizing their property, wrote the word "children" - "proles". That is, they, except for children, had no other wealth. So the meaning was attached to the word: poor, poor, poor. In the dictionary of V. Dahl, the term is described even more strictly: "homeless or landless, homeless burial ground." It sounds, at least, insulting.
The French during the "Great Revolution" have already begun to use the term "proletariat", designating them all idle people who freely live their lives, they are not worried about tomorrow.
F. Engels, one of the founders of Marxist theory, in 1847 "ennobled" the term, defined its new political orientation, and deduced a new semantic content. In the interpretation of Engels, the proletarian became an honest worker, working, ready to sell his strength, but not having the material basis for his own business. Since then, the meaning of the word "proletariat" has remained unchanged; during the time of the Great October Socialist Revolution in Russia, it sounded proudly. And in the days of the existence of the USSR, it was heard and in full view of all Soviet citizens.
Unite or unite?
Who said "Workers of all countries, unite" for the first time? Let's look into this issue.
Working together on the writing of the "Manifesto of the Communist Party," K. Marx and F. Engels wrote in the slogan, which later became popular: "Workers of all countries, unite!" And so the words sound in an arbitrary translation into Russian.
How to speak correctly? "Workers of all countries, unite?" or "connect?". In German, the word vereinigt means "unite," "connect." That is, you can speak both versions of the translation.
So, there are two options for ending the Marxist appeal: “unite” and “unite”.
Workers and unity
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a multinational state, uniting 15 friendly territories.
As early as 1920, a call appeared, directed to the East, with the aim of bringing together and rallying peoples who had previously been oppressed. V.I. Lenin, the leader of the Land of Soviets, agreed with his wording and considered the call for unity to be true, since it corresponded to the political vectors of the state. Thus, the slogan in the form familiar to us began to be realized.
The multinational state - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - was, in its essence, the result of unification. The friendship of fraternal peoples, united by a common goal - the building of socialism and communism, was a special pride of the Land of Soviets. This political action has become an example and confirmation of the vitality of the theory of Marxism.
The slogan and symbols of the state
It so happened that after the October Revolution, in Soviet times, the slogan "Workers of all countries and oppressed peoples, unite!" declined, “oppressed peoples” fell out of it, a shortened version remained. He fit well into the concept of public policy, thereby earned his popularization. The Government of the Country of Soviets decided on state symbols. They became: the sun, the sickle and the hammer, in addition to them - the proletarian slogan.
The emblem of the USSR consisted of symbols, and the text was written in the languages of the territorial units that were part of the state. Moreover, the number grew, starting with six (1923 - 1936). After them there were already eleven (1937-1940), and even later - already fifteen (1956).
The republics, in turn, also had a coat of arms with a slogan from the famous manifesto both in the language of the autonomous territory (Republic) and in Russian.
This slogan was everywhere
In the Soviet Union, the famous slogan was even on postage stamps. A well-known brand, on it the call for the union of the proletariat was depicted using the Morse code, the text was placed along the oval frame.
Citizens of the USSR are accustomed to seeing the motto that interests us everywhere - on many stands and posters. Often people had to carry banners with text in demonstrations. Such processions were held regularly on May 1 (International Workers' Day), November 7 (October Revolution Day). After the collapse of the USSR, these parades were abolished.
The “unifying” text was printed on party cards (covers), it was regularly placed in the header of any print media publication related to politics and state historical subjects. And the Izvestia newspaper was different from the others - it allowed itself to depict the aforementioned text in all languages (republics that were part of the USSR).
Orders, medals, honorary badges
Everyone’s favorite phrase shone on the Order of the Red Star. The Order of the Red Banner of Labor was also awarded a similar honor.
The medal "Workers of All Countries, Unite."
On the memorial insignia of the Red Army depicted the leader - V. I. Lenin and the banner with the text about the connection of the proletariat.
Affected this phenomenon and finances. The same inscription was cast on fifty kopecks (1924 ) and placed on banknotes (one chervonets).
The famous phrase "was absorbed into the blood" and remained in the memory of several generations of people. They built socialism, dreamed of communism and firmly believed in the power of the united proletariat.