Celebration of the Kalym Abolition Day in Soviet Kazakhstan

N the 1920s, there was a unique holiday in the Kazakh ASSR - the Day of the Kalym Abolition. It was established in memory of the adoption of a decree prohibiting the payment and receipt of kalym. The holiday was established on December 11, 1923 and was celebrated until the early 1930s. Demonstrations, rallies, gatherings and theatrical performances have become the main forms of festive events. In order to convey to the population the main ideas of the Kalym Abolition Day, Soviet and party organs conducted agitation in national languages. Plays were staged in Tatar, Kazakh, and Bashkir languages, and pamphlets and newspapers were published. There was even an amnesty for women in honor of the holiday. All these events were organized on the International Day of Female Workers. A distinctive feature of the Kalym Abolition Day was the demonstrative trials in cases of crimes that constitute remnants of ancestral life. Court proceedings were also scheduled for March 8, but they concerned alimony, domestic violence and other aspects of family life.