Subbotniks: from the great to the meaningless (the evolution of the Soviet labor phenomenon)

In this article we demonstrate how the role and essence of subbotniks changed, from being a great meaningful truly people's initiative to become a tedious show, even a farce in the Brezhnev epoch. The study comprehensively analyzes subbotniks as an exclusively Soviet phenomenon that existed throughout the history of the USSR. The first subbotniks were based on the Soviet people's enthusiasm and played an important role in helping the Front during the Russian Civil War, and after the war was over - working on various urgent issues. In the 1970s, subbotniks became widespread again, but despite what the official propaganda claimed, they were imposed by the government, and most of the people saw them as an unwanted duty. With the disappearance of the USSR, the subbotniks lost their ideological character and economic importance, but they did not disappear. Today, subbotniks are still organized in various Ex-Socialist countries.