Abstract

Holidays can unite a population under the regime’s national narrative, thereby enhancing regime support. In Russia, there are all-Russia holidays and regional holidays, leading to potential variation in their nation-building capacity. Using media coverage and observations from fieldwork in Tatarstan (2014, 2016) and Karelia (2015–2016), I compare how regional governments, public figures, and citizens support and celebrate holidays in each case. When Moscow has firm control over the form and message of the spectacles across the regions, holidays can be an effective nation-building tool. When divergent narratives arise, holidays become less effective and provide openings for competitive nation-building.

摘要

假期可以在政权的民族叙事下团结人民，从而增强政权的支持。在俄罗斯，有全俄罗斯假期和地区假期，导致其国家建设能力存在潜在差异。使用鞑靼斯坦（2014 年、2016 年）和卡累利阿（2015-2016 年）的媒体报道和实地调查，我比较了每种情况下地方政府、公众人物和公民如何支持和庆祝节日。当莫斯科牢牢控制各地区的奇观形式和信息时，假期可以成为有效的国家建设工具。当出现不同的叙述时，假期变得不那么有效，并为竞争性的国家建设提供了机会。