Muslim Holidays in the Daily Life of Kabardino-Balkarian Society in the Soviet Period

Abstract

The article examines the role and place of Muslim holidays in the daily life of the population of Kabardino-Balkaria during the Soviet period. This explains the increased attention of the authorities to festive culture in general. It is concluded that in the Soviet period, the holiday, as a phnomenon of spiritual culture, became a kind of tool for constructing and maintaining value- semantic constructs relevant to the current historical moment in society. The reasons for the liberal attitude of local authorities towards religious holidays in the pre-war Soviet decades, that is, during the period of the most severe and consistent persecution of religion, are analyzed. The use of a religious component in the political activities of the Nazi occupation authorities, including in relation to religious holidays, is also being considered. Based on the analysis of archival materials, the features of the main Muslim religious holidays in Kabardino-Balkaria in the 40–80s of the XX century are investigated. It is concluded that, despite the permanent atheistic work, often timed specifically to the main religious holidays, they continued to occupy an important and lasting place in the daily life of the population of the subregion, despite the catastrophic drop in the level of religious literacy and the indifferent attitude of a significant part of the population to religion as a whole that has become commonplace.