Public holidays in Russia

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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.

Major National 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 . Until 2005, only 1 and 2 January were public holidays.^[3]

Orthodox Christmas day[]

Christmas in Russia (Рождество Христово Rozhdestvo Khristovo) is celebrated on 25 December Julian calendar which falls on January 7th Gregorian calendar and commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. The public holiday was re-established in 1991, following the decades of suppression of religion and state atheism of the Soviet Union.

Defender of the Fatherland Day[]

The Defender of the Fatherland Day (День защитника Отечествa or Den zashchitnika Otechestva) is celebrated on 23 February and is dedicated to veterans and service personnel of the Russian Armed Forces, 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 as it is connected to the decree published that day by the Council of People's Commissars that formalized the official raising of the Red Army.

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 has remained the global date for International Women's Day ever since.

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. Since 1992, May Day is officially called "The Day of Spring and Labour".

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 World War II 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) National Day, celebrated on June 12. On this day, in 1991, Russian parliament formally declared Russian sovereignty from the Soviet Union. 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). In Russian society there is a misconception that this holiday is also called "Russia's Independence Day", but it never has had such a name in official documents. According to a survey by Levada Center in May 2009, 44% of 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 3–4.

Regional public holidays[]

Muslim regions[]

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

List of other public holidays, commemorative and professional days[]

Date	English name	Original name	Remarks
January 12		День работника прокуратуры Российской Федерации	Honoring the 1772 foundation of the office of the Prosecutor General of Russia
January 25	Tatiana Day	Татьянин день	Celebrated as (University) Students' Day
February 15	International Duties Memorial Day	День памяти воинов-интернационалистов	Honoring all those who served in the 1979–1989 Soviet–Afghan War and in assisting and helping Warsaw Pact armed services during the Cold War or serving in various other military actions abroad, e.g. Vietnam
February 27	Day of Special Operations Forces[4]	День Сил специальных операций	Honoring the active and reserve personnel, heroes and veterans of the Special Operations Forces and commemorating establishment of Russian control in Crimea in 2014[5]
March 25	Cultural Worker Day	День работника культуры России	Honoring people involved in the cultural sector
April 21	[6]	День местного самоуправления
April 26		День памяти погибших в радиационных авариях и катастрофах	Anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster
April 27	Day of Russian Parliamentarism[7]	День российского парламентаризма	commemorates the first session of Russia's first-ever State Duma in 1906
June 6	Day of the Russian Language[8]	День русского языка	Prior to 2011, Pushkin Day honoring Alexander Puskhin, now honors the Russian Language
June 8		День социального работника	Enacted in 2000
3rd Sunday of June	Medical Worker Day	День медицинского работника	Has been celebrated since 1988 in USSR
Last Sunday of July	Navy Day	День Военно-Морского Флота	Honoring the active and reserve personnel, heroes and veterans of the Russian Navy
June 29	Partisans and Underground Fighters Day	День партизан и подпольщиков	Holiday enacted in 2009, honoring the 1941 decree on the raising of the first units of the Soviet partisans by the Council of People's Commissariats
1st Sunday of August		День железнодорожника	Holiday commemorating the achievements of the railways sector
August 1	Day of Remembrance of Russian Soldiers Who Fell in World War I	День памяти российских воинов, погибших в Первой мировой войне 1914-1918 годов	Holiday enacted in 2013
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 ��оенно-воздушных сил	Honoring the active and reserve personnel, heroes and veterans of the Russian Air Force
August 27		День российского кино	Honoring people involved in one of the world's oldest national film industries
September 13	Programmer Day	День программиста	professional day
September 29		День машиностроителей	professional holiday
October 1	Russian Ground Forces Day	День Сухопутных войск	Honors 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		День космических войск	The anniversary of the 1957 launch of Sputnik that opened the way to the Space Age
October 23		День работников рекламы	professional holiday, enacted in 1994
October 24		День подразделений специального назначения	Memorial, enacted in 2006, honoring the 1950 raising of the first Spetsnaz companies
October 25		День таможенника	Enacted in 1995
October 29		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		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 19		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		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		День Героев Отечества	Anniversary of the 1769 establishment (OS date: November 26) by Catherine the Great of the Order of St. George
December 17		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
• Tatiana Day (Students 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 (in 2022: 27 February to 6 March)
• Internal Troops and National Guard Servicemen's Day on March 27
• 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 (should be 24 June, St. John's Day and Summer Solistice, but shifted due to Julian calendar usage)
• Day of Remembrance and Sorrow on 22 June, marking the start of Operation Barbarossa — the Nazi invasion of the USSR
• Paratroopers' Day on August 2
• Apple Feast of the Saviour 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
• Knowledge Day on September 1 (traditionally, the first day of school)
• Day of Tankmen on the Second Sunday of September
• Father's Day on the third Sunday of October
• October Revolution Day on November 7
• Mother's Day on the last Sunday of November
• Naval Infantry Day on November 27
• (Western) Christmas Day on December 25

See also[]

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

References[]