Victory Day and Orthodox Easter: The Reflection of Holidays in the Media of Authorities

Abstract

A purpose of the article is to analyse the correlation between congratulations on the occasion of two holidays that construct the political myth of contemporary Russia: Orthodox Easter (as the most popular religious holiday) and Victory Day (as the most significant civil secular holiday). As an object for the analysis were chosen diverse media of state, municipal and political subjects of St. Petersburg as one of the largest and most important cities of the Russian Federation with a strong interfaith dialogue tradition. In Max Weber’s classification, a congratulation is considered to be a value-rational social action, whose aim is to legitimise social events. 

For the research, the qualitative content analysis approach was used. Its object is media publications of the official authorities published at the period from 20.04.2019 to 20.05.2019 and dedicated to the celebration of the Orthodox Easter or the Victory Day. The total sample consisted of 343 sources. As a result of the study, it was found out that in 2019 by means of media political, municipal and state subjects were inclined to congratulate the audience with a secular holiday (Victory Day, a celebration of which is presented in all the analysed political subjects that have media), however, both holidays are of paramount importance in the media space. This situation can be interpreted in terms of the broader scope and consolidating potential of the Victory Day holiday, which is based on a significance close to representatives of all religions and confessions of Russia, as well as the grandeur of the great Patriotic war itself, which affected almost all residents of the former USSR, and, as a consequence, is perceived by modern citizens closer than a Church holiday.