1937: A Year Soaked in Blood

a year soaked in blood 

In 1937 the New Year fell on Friday, a workday. So everyone worked. Building socialism and fighting foreign and domestic enemies apparently left no time or energy for frivolous celebrations.

The country had been living with a six-day work week for several years. Mondays and Fridays, to say nothing of Sundays, were declared vestiges of the pre-Revolutionary past. Now there was the first day of the shestidnevka [the six-dayer], the second day of the shestidnevka, etc. The 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th, and 30th of each month were designated as days off. The only month when you could rest on the 1st was in March, to make up for the missing fifth day off in February.