
Public holidays in Russia
The biggest difference in the Russian holiday calendar from most is the shift of Christian events. The Russian Orthodox Church calculates its holidays according to the Julian calendar, which is somewhat more accurate in relation to the Earth's orbit around the Sun. Therefore there is a shift of, e.g., Christmas by about 13 days. Whitsun, on the other hand, is not known at all, and Easter is not a public holiday.The amount of non-statutory holidays, but often military commemorative days, in Russia may be surprising. In addition, there are numerous non-statutory holidays for almost every occupational group (though they are not listed here).
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Non-floating holidays
Non-statutory holidays are written in gray.Date | Holiday |
---|---|
Jan. 1st | 1st New Year's Day |
Jan. 2nd | 2nd New Year's Day |
Jan. 3rd | 3rd New Year's Day |
Jan. 4th | 4th New Year's Day |
Jan. 5th | 5th New Year's Day |
Jan. 7th | Russian Orthodox Christmas |
Jan. 14th | New Year (Julian calendar) |
Jan. 19th | Epiphany |
Jan. 27th | Day of the lifting of the Leningrad blockade 1944 |
Feb. 2nd | Day of the Battle of Stalingrad 1943 |
Feb. 23rd | Father's Day |
Feb. 23rd | Day of the Defender of the Fatherland |
March 8th | Women's Day |
April 2nd | Day of International Understanding |
April 7th | Annunciation |
April 18th | Day of the Battle on Lake Peipus 1242 |
April 26th | Memorial Day for the deceased in nuclear accidents |
May 1st | Labor Day |
May 9th | Victory Day over Fascism 1945 |
May 18th | Day of the Museums |
May 24th | Slavic Scripture and Culture Day |
May 28th | Day of Border Troops of Russia |
June 6th | Puschkin's Day |
June 12th | Day of Russia |
June 22nd | Day of remembrance and mourning |
June 27th | Youth's Day |
July 2nd | All Saints' Day |
July 10th | Day of the Battle of Poltava 1709 |
July 28th | Day of the baptism of Rus |
Aug. 9th | Day of the Battle of Cape Gangut 1714 |
Aug. 22nd | Day of the Russian flag |
Aug. 23rd | Day of the Battle of Kursk 1943 |
Sept. 8th | Day of the Battle of Borodino 1812 |
Sept. 11th | Day of the Battle of Tendra 1790 |
Sept. 21st | Day of the Battle of Kulikovo Polje 1380 |
Oct. 1st | Day of the elderly |
Oct. 30th | Memorial Day for the victims of political repression |
Nov. 4th | Day of the Unity of the People |
Nov. 7th | Day of the October Revolution of 1917 |
Nov. 19th | Artillerymen's Day |
Dec. 1st | Day of the naval battle at Sinop 1853 |
Dec. 5th | Day of the counterattack, Battle of Moscow 1941 |
Dec. 12th | Constitution Day |
Dec. 17th | Strategic Rocket Patrol Day |
Dec. 20th | Intelligence Day |
Dec. 31st | New Year's Eve |
Moving Holidays in Russia
Holiday | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beginning of the Russian Orthodox Lent | Feb. 27th | March 18th | March 3rd | Feb. 23rd | March 15th |
Russian Carnival | Feb. 28th | March 19th | March 4th | Feb. 24th | March 16th |
Air Defense Day | April 9th | April 14th | April 13th | April 12th | April 11th |
Easter Sunday (Russian Orthodox) | April 16th | May 5th | April 20th | April 12th | May 2nd |
Day of the Navy | July 30th | July 28th | July 27th | July 26th | July 25th |
Day of the Tank Troops | Sept. 10th | Sept. 8th | Sept. 14th | Sept. 13th | Sept. 12th |
Mother's Day | Nov. 26th | Nov. 24th | Nov. 30th | Nov. 29th | Nov. 28th |
Postponement of non-working days

Jack Frost and a Christmas in January
As mentioned at the beginning, Russia calculates church holidays according to the Julian calendar. Although the Gregorian calendar normally applies throughout the country, holidays are calculated according to a centuries-old system for historical and religious reasons. Incidentally, this is also done in many other countries.Thus, the official Russian Orthodox Christmas takes place 13 days later on January 7. During the preceding 40 days, the fasting period applies. Christmas Eve is known in only a few regions in Russia, while Boxing Day is almost nowhere to be found as part of Russian Christmas. Jack Frost is a loving old man with a beard, but he is not Santa Claus. He gives presents to children on New Year's Eve, which is why there is no additional Boxing Day at Christmas. The Jolka celebration on New Year's Eve is often compared and confused with the actual Christmas celebration because of the gifts, but the Jolka celebration has no religious background. It was introduced in 1937 to give the population a secular holiday to replace Christmas, which was banned at the time. This is also how Jack Frost came into being, who resembles Santa Claus, but in the Russian version symbolizes nothing more than the winter.