Public holidays in Russia
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Below is the list of official public holidays recognized by the Russian government. On these days, government offices, embassies and some shops, are closed. If the date of observance falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday will be a day off in lieu of the holiday.
[edit] Official holidays
[edit] New Year (Новый Год Novy God) and Christmas (Рождество Rozhdestvo)
The Russian New Year is celebrated January 1st. Many Russians still celebrate Old New Year on January 13th. January 13th corresponds to the first of the year according to the Julian calendar, which was used in Russia until 1918. It differs slightly from the Gregorian calendar used by most of the world (the current difference between them is 13 days). After the Russian Revolution of 1917, all religious holidays, including Christmas were banned, so to many Soviet people the New Year was the biggest holiday of the year. Since 2005 New Year holidays (non-working days) last from January 1st to January 5th.
Since 1992 Christmas has been openly observed in Russia and now the New Year's celebration usually flows directly into the celebration of Russian Orthodox Christmas observed on January 7th.
[edit] Defender of the Fatherland Day (День защитника Отечества Den zashchitnika Otechestva)
On 23 February, Russia honors those who are presently serving in the Armed Forces and those who have served in the past. During the era of the Soviet Union, it was called "Red Army Day" or the "Day of the Soviet Army and Navy" (celebrating the day of the first mass draft of the Red Army in Petrograd and Moscow or of the first combat action against the occupying German forces).
[edit] International Women's Day (Восьмое марта Vos'moe Marta)
Every 8 March, the United Nations declares this day to celebrate women and the accomplishments they have made to society. Other than in the former Soviet republics, it is not celebrated much throughout the world. It is traditional on this holiday to present women with gifts and flowers to express appreciation for their work, love and devotion. It can be regarded as the equivalent of Mother's Day combined with some aspects of Valentine's Day.
[edit] Spring and Labour Day
In the former Soviet Union, 1 May was International Workers' Day and was celebrated with huge parades in cities like Moscow. Though the celebrations are low key nowadays, several groups march on that day to discuss the grievences the workers have. Several communist states (Cuba and North Korea) still hold this day as an official occasions with a military parade and columns of weapons and workers.
[edit] Victory Day (День Победы Den Pobedy)
Every 9 May, Russia celebrates the victory over Nazi Germany, while remembering those who fell in order to achieve it. 9 May was chosen, since in the night from 8th to 9th 1945 the German military surrendered to the Soviet Union and its Allies in Berlin (Karlshorst), for people in Russia this happened on the 9th (time change). A military parade is held in Moscow to celebrate the day
[edit] Russia Day
Russia Day is a holiday of national unity celebrated on June 12. On this day, in 1990, Russian parliament formally declared its sovereignty. The holiday changed its name twice. Initially it was named Independence Day then in 1994 was renamed to Day of the adoption of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation and finally on 1 February 2002 was officially renamed to Russia Day (in 1998 Boris Yeltsin offered this name socially). While the holiday has been officially recognized since 1991 when it was established by Boris Yeltsin, 2003 was the first year that it was celebrated in a major way, when promoted by Vladimir Putin.
[edit] Unity Day
November 4. Unity Day (or National unity day, Russian: День народного единства), first celebrated in 2005, commemorates the popular uprising led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky which ejected the Polish invaders from Moscow in November of 1612, and more generally the end of the Time of Troubles and foreign intervention in Russia. The event was marked by a public holiday which was held in Russia on October 22 (Old style) from 1649 till 1917. Its name alludes to the idea that all the classes of Russian society willingly united to preserve Russian statehood when its demise seemed inevitable, even though there was neither Tsar nor Patriarch to guide them. Most observers view this as an attempted replacement to counter Communist demonstrations on November 7 holiday, which marked the anniversary of the October Revolution. Recently a film 1612 was made to explain to the Russian audiences the history behind the new holiday. This National Unity Day is also known as the Consolidation Day, which people in Russia celebrate on November 3 - November 4. Consolidation Day and National Unity Day are the synonyms, as the holiday name may be translated in different ways, so it is a National holiday.
[edit] Regional public holidays
[edit] Muslim regions
[edit] Popular holidays which are not public holidays
- Old New Year on January 13
- Tatiana Day on January 25
- Maslenitsa (a week before the Great Lent)
- Easter
- Cosmonautics Day on April 12
- Radio Day on May 7
- Ivan Kupala Day on July 7
[edit] External links
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