Major Holidays

New Year’s Day: January 1^st

Russian Orthodox Christmas: January 7^th (The Orthodox Church still goes by the old calendar, which differs from the Gregorian by 13 days.)

Day of the Defender’s of the Fatherland (Army Day): February 23^rd (Voted as a holiday by Russian lawmakers in 2002.)

International Women’s Day: March 8^th (Established after the Second International Conference of Socialist Women in Copenhagen in 1910)

Orthodox Easter (Pas’kha): Falls in April or May

Labor Day or May Day: May 1^st, 2^nd (Even though no longer celebrated as International Workers’ Solidarity Day, it still retains a festive nature with parades on Moscow’s Red Square and St. Petersburg’s Palace Square. Much of the country shuts down for the first two weeks in May)

Victory Day: May 9^th (Parades are held at war memorials, such as the Piskarovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, to celebrate VE Day, the end of WWII in Europe.)

Russian Independence Day: June 12^th

Day of National Accord and Reconciliation (formerly known as the Day of the Great October Revolution): November 7^th

Constitution Day: December 12^th

January 27^th is the anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad in 1944.

The second week in March is Maslenitsa or Blini Day. This stems from an old Pagan tradition of making blini – pancakes (representing the sun) to honour the coming of spring.

During the summer months, some of the other celebratory holidays include: International Day for the Protection of Children – June 1^st; Pushkin’s Birthday – June 6^th; St. Petersburg White NIGHTS festival – starting from June 21^st till July 11^th; Day of Youth – June 27^th; Police (GAI) Day – July 3^rd; Day of Russia’s Military Glory – July 10^th (in commemoration of the Poltava battle in 1709); Day of Russian Mail – second Sunday in July; Navy Day – last Sunday in July (in St. Petersburg the fleet usually parades along the Neva River); Day of Railway Troops – August 6^th; Air Force Day – August 9^th; Russian Flag Day – August 22^nd.

In addition, the Siege of Leningrad Day (special ceremonies in St. Petersburg mark the end of the 900 – day siege during (WWII) falls on September 8^th, and Moscow Day on September 19^th.

Name Days: Many calendar dates have a corresponding name day. Russians love to celebrate their own name day.

Moscow and St. Petersburg have many other art, music, and sports festivals during the year. Every year in summer, Moscow hosts the Moscow International Film Festival. Every August, the Moscow International Marathon is run through the city.