Public holidays in Russia

The following is the list of official public holidays recognized by the Government of Russia. On these days, government offices, embassies and some shops, are closed. If the date of observance falls on a weekend, the following Monday will be a day off in lieu of the holiday.

Official holidays

New Year holiday

In addition to New Year's Day (Новый год Novy god) on 1 January, 2–5 January are public holidays as well,^[1][2] called New Year holiday (Новогодние каникулы Novogodniye kanikuly). The holiday includes January 6 and 8, with Christmas being January 7, declared as non-working days by law. Until 2005, only 1 and 2 January were public holidays.^[3]

Christmas day

Christmas in Russia (Рождество Христово Rozhdestvo Khristovo) is observed, on 7 January, as a public holiday according to the Julian calendar used by the Russian Orthodox Church. The public holiday was re-established in 1991, following the decades of suppression of religion and state atheism of the Soviet Union. Christmas on 25 December is celebrated in Russia by the Roman Catholic and various Protestant churches, but is not a public holiday. But despite it not being a public holiday, it is a popular holiday.

Defender of the Fatherland Day

The Defender of the Fatherland Day (День защитника Отечества Den zashchitnika Otechestva) is celebrated on 23 February and is dedicated to veterans and members of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, though it is often colloquially known as Men's Day (День Мужчин, Den' Muzhchin) and commonly treated as a celebration of all men. The holiday was established in 1918.

International Women's Day

On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. In 1913 following discussions, International Women's Day was transferred to 8 March and this day has remained the global date for International Women's Day ever since.

National Flag Day

The National Flag Day is an official holiday in Russia, established in 1994. It is celebrated on 21 August, the day of the victory over putschists in 1991, but it is not a day-off.

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 protest grievances the workers have.

Victory Day

May 9, Russia celebrates the victory over Nazi Germany, while remembering those who died in order to achieve it. On 9 May 1945 (by Moscow time) the German military surrendered to the Soviet Union and the Allies of World War II in Berlin (Karlshorst). Victory Day (День Победы Den Pobedy) is by far one of the biggest Russian holidays. It commemorates those who died in WWII and pays tribute to survivors and veterans. Flowers and wreaths are laid on wartime graves and special parties and concerts are organized for veterans. In the evening there is a firework display. A huge ground and air military parade, hosted by the President of the Russian Federation, is annually organized in Moscow on Red Square. Similar ground, air and marine (if it is possible) parades are organized in several other Russian cities (which are Hero Cities or have military district or fleet headquarters primarily).

Russia Day

Russia Day (День России Den Rossii) is the national day, celebrated on June 12. On this day, in 1990, Russian parliament formally declared Russian sovereignty from the Soviet Union (unlike all other ex-Soviet republics) which declared complete state independence ,^[4] Russian independence was less radical, and coexistence of Russian and Soviet state power had a place until the end of 1991). The holiday was officially established in 1992. Initially it was named Day of the Adoption of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation, on 1 February 2002 it was officially renamed to Russia Day (in 1998 Boris Yeltsin offered this name socially). There exists a misconception in Russian society, that this holiday is also called Russia's Independence Day, but it never had such a name in official documents. According to the survey of Levada Center in May 2009, 44% of the respondents named the holiday as Independence Day of Russia.

Unity Day

Unity Day (День народного единства Den narodnogo edinstva) was first celebrated on November 4, 2005, commemorates the popular uprising led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky which ejected the Polish invaders from Moscow in November 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. National Unity Day is also known as Consolidation Day (as an alternative translation), which people in Russia celebrate on November 3 - November 4.

Regional public holidays

Muslim regions

• Kurban Bayram (Eid al-Adha)
• Uraza Bayram (Eid ul-Fitr)

List of holidays and commemorative days

Date	English name	Local name	Remarks
January 12	Prosecutor General's Day	День работника прокуратуры Российской Федерации	Honoring the 1772 foundation of the office of the Prosecutor General of Russia
January 25	Tatiana Day	Татьянин день
February 15	International Duties Memorial Day	День памяти воинов-интернационалистов	Honoring all those who served in the 1979-89 Soviet war in Afghanistan and in assisting and helping Warsaw Pact armed services during the Cold War
March 25	Cultural Workers Day	День работника культуры России	Honoring people involved in the cultural sector
April 21	Local Self-Government Day[5]	День местного самоуправления
April 26	Memorial Day of Radiation Accidents and Catastrophes	День памяти погибших в радиационных авариях и катастрофах	Anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster
April 27	Day of Russian Parliamentarism[6]	День российского парламентаризма	commemorates the first session of Russia’s first-ever State Duma in 1906
May 9	Victory Day	День Победы	Honoring all those who served in the Second World War (1941-1945 The Great Patriotic War
June 6	Day of the Russian Language[7]	День русского языка	Prior to 2011, Pushkin Day honoring Alexander Puskhin, now honors the Russian Language
June 8	Social Workers' Day	День социального работника	Enacted in 2000
June 12	Russia Day	День России	Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation from the USSR
Last Sunday of July	Navy Day	День Военно-Морского Флота	Honoring the active and reserve personnel, heroes and veterans of the Russian Navy
1st Sunday of August	Railway Workers' Day	День железнодорожника	Holiday commemorating the achievements of the railways sector
August 6	Russian Railway Troops Day	День железнодорожных войск	Honoring all the active and reserve personnel, heroes, fallen and veterans of the Russian Railway Troops
2nd Saturday of August	Sports Day	День физкультурника	Holiday commemorating the achievements of the nation's sportsmen and women, coaches, judges, sports officials and youth and disabled athletes
August 12	Russian Air Force Day	День Военно-воздушных сил	Honoring the active and reserve personnel, heroes and veterans of the Russian Air Force
August 27	Film and Movies Day	День российского кино	Honoring people involved in one of the world's oldest national film industries
September 29	Day of Machine-Building industry workers	День машиностроителей	professional holiday
October 1	International Day of Older Persons Russian Ground Forces Day	Международный день пожилых людей День Сухопутных войск	Honors the elderly and all working for their health, celebrating all those serving, the heroes, fallen and veterans of the Russian Ground Forces on the day of the raising of the first units of the legendary Streltsy by Ivan the Terrible in 1550
October 4	Russian Aerospace Defence Forces Day	День космических войск	The anniversary of the 1957 launch of Sputnik that opened the way to the Space Age
October 23	Day of Advertisement industry Workers	День работников рекламы	professional holiday, enacted in 1994
October 24	Day of Special Forces of the Armed Forces	День подразделений специального назначения	Memorial, enacted in 2006, honoring the 1950 raising of the first Spetsnaz companies
October 25	Day of Customs Workers	День таможенника	Enacted in 1995
October 29	Day of Security services of the MVD	День вневедомственной охраны	Enacted in 1952 by government decree
October 30	Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions	День памяти жертв политических репрессий	Enacted in 1991, honors the victims of the Imperial and Soviet era political repressions
October 31	Day of the detention centers and prisons workers	День работников СИЗО и тюрем	Enacted in 2006
November 10	Police and Internal Affairs Servicemen's Day	День сотрудника органов внутренних дел Российской Федерации	Honoring all those serving in the Police of Russia and all those working in the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Russia)
November 18	Day of the missile forces and artillery	День ракетных войск и артиллерии	Enacted on 21 October 1944, to commemorate the artillery strikes and bombardment at the Battle of Stalingrad of 19 November 1942
November 27	Naval Infantry Day	День морской пехоты	Honoring the 1705 date of the raising of the first units of today's Russian Naval Infantry by orders of Peter the Great
December 9	Fatherland's Heroes Day	День Героев Отечества	Anniversary of the 1769 establishment (OS date: November 26) by Catherine the Great of the Order of St. George
December 17	Strategic Missile Troops Day	День Ракетных войск стратегического назначения	Enacted in 1995 to commemorate the establishment of the strategic missile forces on the 17th of December 1959

Popular holidays which are not public holidays

• New Year according to Julian Calendar on January 14
• Death Anniversary of Vladimir Lenin and Bloody Sunday on January 21-22
• Tatiana Day (student's day) on January 25
• Valentine's Day on February 14
• Maslenitsa (a week before the Great Lent) Start date changes every year, depending on the beginning of the Great Lent
• Internal Troops and National Guard Servicemen's Day on March 27
• Easter In each year is calculated on a lunisolar calendar
• Annunciation on April 7
• Cosmonautics Day on April 12
• Soviet Air Defense Forces Day on the Second Sunday of April
• Russian State Fire Service Day on April 30
• Radio Day on May 7
• Saints Cyril and Methodius' Day on May 24 (also Slavonic Literature and Culture Day)
• Border Guards Day on May 28, celebrating the anniversary of the Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation
• Ivan Kupala Day on July 7
• Paratroopers Day on August 2
• Savior of the Apple Feast Day on August 19 (also the Great Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus)
• Great Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God on August 28
• Enlightenment Day and Orthodox Church New Year on September 1
• Tankers Day on the Second Sunday of September
• October Revolution Day on November 7
• Naval Infantry Day on November 27
• Christmas Day on December 25
• Emergency Workers Day on December 27, celebrating those working in the Ministry of Emergency Situations on the anniversary ofn its foundation in 1990

See also

• Public holidays in the Soviet Union
• Days of Military Honour

References

1. Russia takes an extended New Year holiday - Europe - International Herald Tribune. By Steven Lee Myers. Published: Friday, January 5, 2007
2. Article 112, Public holidays - Labor Code of the Russian Federation. (Russian) Retrieved on June 6, 2013
3. Article 112. Non-working holidays (English version). International Labour Organization. Retrieved on June 6, 2013
4. Russia's New Politics: The Management of a Postcommunist Society by Stephen White, Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 0521587379 (page 240)
   Citizens in the Making in Post-Soviet States by Olena Nikolayenko, Routledge, 2001, ISBN 0415596041 (page 101)
5. УКАЗ Президента РФ от 10.06.2012 N 805 "О ДНЕ МЕСТНОГО САМОУПРАВЛЕНИЯ"
6. "RF State Duma to vote establishment of Day of Russian Parliamentarism on Friday". Itar Tass. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
7. "Russian State Duma calls for efforts to popularize Russian language abroad". Itar Tass. Retrieved 6 May 2013.