Those citizens who studied during the Soviet Union remember well the picture of V. Ivanov “V.I. Lenin at a cleanup with a log in the Kremlin. " More than one thousand school essays were written on this subject, expressing approval of the wise grandfather Ilyich, a friend of all children and workers, who, by his own example, proved that he was not afraid of physical labor. However, many of these children, as adults, never wondered about where and where Lenin was dragging a log, and why he was doing it. In our article we will try to highlight this issue.
Lenin with a log
The painting by V. Ivanov is not the only one in which Vladimir Ilyich - the leader of the world proletariat and a friend of all peoples - performs hard work. In total, several paintings were painted, on which Lenin is depicted with a log (photo), or performing heavy physical work as a simple worker:
- D. Borovsky and M. Klonsky "May 1, 1920 (Lenin at the cleanup)".
- M. Sokolov "V.I. Lenin at the All-Russian Subbotnik on May 1, 1920. "
- N. Sysoev "Lenin at a cleanup in the Kremlin."
- E. Shatov "Lenin and the Bolsheviks on the construction of slalom canals."
Perhaps there were many unknown authors who portrayed Ilyich as a hard worker. We have listed the most famous works that many Soviet schoolchildren knew about. What did the paintings on which Lenin was depicted with a log for that time mean? We will try to understand further.
Where did the logs come from in the Kremlin?
The first question that immediately comes to mind when you see paintings depicting Lenin with a log, where did the logs come from in the Kremlin?
Various rubbish and construction materials remained on Red Square after the collapse of the revolution. They were scattered by the junkers who built the barricades just from logs. In addition, there was dirt, trash, traces of conflagration and ashes everywhere. All this is a natural consequence of armed confrontations. Therefore, there was a need for cleaning not only on Red Square, but also throughout the country.
Political PR Action
Many researchers are sure that Lenin with a log was not just depicted to show his industriousness - it was a real political PR action, which pursued a completely different goal.
The fact is that the "hardworking" Ilyich walked with a log through the territory of the Moscow Kremlin from the Armory to Tsar Cannon - the distance is only a few hundred meters. After this, no one saw the leader of the world proletariat behind physical labor. However, paintings from this historic event have been accumulated for each school, factory and factory. Why was this done? We will express one of the points of view later in the article.
Three steam locomotives per night
When our state no longer knows what else to come up with for our people, so that, as one catch phrase says, “life doesn’t seem like honey”, then the citizens themselves come to the rescue, prompting the right decision.
In the spring of 1919 , Soviet Russia was in a difficult economic situation, which was caused by the consequences of the revolution and the Civil War. One of the serious problems of that time was the poor work of the railways, in particular the acute shortage of steam locomotives.
Then the workers of the Moscow-Sortirovochnaya depot of the Moscow-Kazan Railway voluntarily decided on additional free work after the shift. This event occurred on the night of April 11-12, 1919 on Saturday. In one night, 15 workers repaired 3 steam locomotives.
Voluntary slavery
Naturally, such a desire of the working people should have been encouraged. After that, the whole plant decided to voluntarily carry out such actions on a weekly basis until a complete victory over Kolchak. It was this event that gave birth to such a concept of socialist achievement as a “subbotnik” - i.e. free voluntary work for the benefit of a “bright future”.
The wide initiative of caring people immediately attracted the attention of the state apparatus. 205 people came out for a similar action on May 10, 1919. Naturally, such an event could not pass state journalists and politicians. Mass propaganda of voluntary free labor has begun.
The Great Initiative
It would seem, what does the above events have to do with paintings on which Lenin carries a log? Actually - direct.
After the subbotnik on May 10, 1919, the leader of the world proletariat wrote his article “The Great Initiative”. In it, he ideologically substantiated a new movement of voluntary free labor. Thus, the sincere desire to help the revolution of ordinary workers, perhaps the usual desire to curry favor with the new government, set a historical precedent that the authorities subsequently used to introduce universal and universal “voluntary” free labor on Saturdays. The story is somewhat reminiscent of the famous “Stakhanov movement”, when many workers performed “labor feats”, increasing the volume of output several times higher than normal.
The problem for the rest was that their exploits became the norm for everyone else in the future, therefore they treated the “Stakhanovites” as enemies of the common people. Something similar was observed here: the initiative of 15 workers turned into mass propaganda of free labor throughout the country. And such actions were voluntary only on paper. Subsequently, many were even fired from work for absenteeism only because they refused to “voluntarily” take part in subbotniks.
When switching to a six-day workweek in 1940, a new term appeared - “Sundays”, since the usual subbotniks lost their relevance. This continued until the 22nd Congress of the CPSU (March 29 - March 8, 1966), at which it was decided to restore the five-day working week. Then the concept of “subbotniks” again enters the usual vocabulary of Soviet citizens.
Lenin with a log as propaganda for universal free labor
The state, of course, liked the “initiative from below” with free mass labor. Now it was necessary to implement this idea throughout the country. The usual initiative of even the whole plant is not an argument that could force everyone else to give up their own day off and go to free work. We needed a political PR action. That is why on May 1, 1920, Lenin took the log, carried it several meters, and then many artists depicted it in their works.
Further, copies of these paintings fly to all corners of our country. The meaning, we think, is understandable to everyone: the great leader himself goes to subbotniks with the goal of making our world a better place. And what is better for each of us that does not go to free work in the name of a brighter future? Thus, Lenin with a log became a call for free mass labor throughout the country. Something similar can be observed in modern news bulletins, such as, for example, some governor planted a tree or went out on a community work day to clean up the territory, or some celebrity refused to travel by car in order to preserve the environment, etc.
Since that time, mass free compulsory labor was presented not as "cruel exploitation", but as "a transition to a new labor discipline." For what they fought, as they say, they ran into something.
Pictures as a means of mass propaganda
The Bolsheviks first used the works of artists for agitation. The benefits are clear: newspapers and news on the radio are quickly forgotten. No one cuts pictures from newspapers and sticks them on the walls. The situation is different with paintings: they are hung in canteens at enterprises, school essays are written on them, they hang in the most prominent places. Lenin with a log calling for free mass labor could be seen at every Soviet enterprise.
The phrase “obsolete news” cannot be applied to the picture, since it is a work of art, not news reports, therefore free work on Saturdays has always been relevant.