Heroes of Russia's 1917 revolution tweet and post messages in online project marking 100 anniversary

Record ID: 490972

  • Title: Heroes of Russia's 1917 revolution tweet and post messages in online project marking 100 anniversary
  • Date: 14th March 2017
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) '1917: FREE HISTORY PROJECT' AUTHOR, MIKHAIL ZYGAR, SAYING: "They (users) can follow modern pop-singers but also (poet Marina) Tsvetayeva and (poet Anna) Akhmatova, (they can follow) rappers but also (poet Vladimir) Mayakovsky and (poet Sergei) Yesenin and it happens this way." MOSCOW, RUSSIA (MARCH 14, 2017) (REUTERS
  • Embargoed: 28th March 2017 12:17
  • Keywords: Russia revolution anniversary Mikhail Zygar history 1917
  • Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA AND UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION
  • City: MOSCOW, RUSSIA AND UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION
  • Country: Russia
  • Topics: Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA00767XLT8N
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:As Russia marks 100 year anniversary of revolutionary events, which have dramatically changed the Russian history between February and October in 1917, an ambitious project was started online to reenact the country's past.
    A team of over a hundred historians, journalists and web-professionals are at work daily to update the '1917: Free History' project's social media feed where they are posting messages, pictures and even videos on behalf of historic figures - from Russian Emperor Nikolay II to Communist revolution leader Vladimir Lenin, as well as dozens of others including members of royal family, artists, clergymen and foreign ambassadors.
    "I think the main goal of our project is to try new genres in edutainment. And it is interesting for us of course and the sponsors who supported the project also wanted to see if it would be possible to attract a young audience, people who do not rush to bookstores to buy history books, if we could re-package history for them so that they are interested," the author of the project, journalist Mikhail Zygar told Reuters.
    The year 1917 featured two revolutions in Russia: the February revolution overthrew the Emperor Nicholas II after more than 300 years of rule by the Romanov dynasty and established the Provisional Government.
    During this time, urban workers began to organise into councils - soviets in Russian. Soviets criticised the Provisional Government and heavily supported Vladimir Lenin's Bolsheviks, who took control during the October revolution eight months later.
    The turmoil uprooted the Russian population, split the country, and millions lost their lives or fled the country in the upheaval that ensued.
    The '1917: Free History' project took over a year to put together as its authors had to source letters, diaries and other material from historic archives. According to Zygar, all the content is authentic, though sometimes shortened to suit the format.
    Users of the project's web-page can friend politicians, revolutionaries, scientists and celebrities of the 1917 to follow their status updates or even choose themselves a perfect match in 1917 dating app.
    "They (users) can follow modern pop-singers but also (poet Marina) Tsvetayeva and (poet Anna) Akhmatova, (they can follow) rappers but also (poet Vladimir) Mayakovsky and (poet Sergei) Yesenin and it happens this way," Zygar said referring to the names of famous Russian poets of the beginning of the 20th century.
    Tens of thousands of people are following the project's updates in Facebook and Russian social media network VK.
    The projects which also has an English version is supposed to run till January 18, 2018 which will mark exactly 100 years from the day when the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets became the new governing body of the country.
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