
Public holidays in Russia 2022-2026
The most essential difference of the Russian holiday calendar from ours 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. Pentecost, on the other hand, is not known at all, and Easter is not a public holiday either.The amount of non-statutory holidays, but often military commemorative days in Russia may be surprising. In addition (but not listed here) there are numerous non-statutory holidays for almost every occupational group.
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Non-movable 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 |
Mar, 8th | Women's Day |
Apr, 2nd | Day of International Understanding |
Apr, 7th | Annunciation |
Apr, 18th | Day of the Battle on Lake Peipus 1242 |
Apr, 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 |
Jun, 6th | Puschkin's Day |
Jun, 12th | Day of Russia |
Jun, 22nd | Day of remembrance and mourning |
Jun, 27th | Youth's Day |
Jul, 2nd | All Saints' Day |
Jul, 10th | Day of the Battle of Poltava 1709 |
Jul, 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 |
Sep, 8th | Day of the Battle of Borodino 1812 |
Sep, 11th | Day of the Battle of Tendra 1790 |
Sep, 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 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beginning of the Russian Orthodox Lent | Mar, 7th | Feb, 27th | Mar, 18th | Mar, 3rd | Feb, 23rd |
Russian Carnival | Mar, 8th | Feb, 28th | Mar, 19th | Mar, 4th | Feb, 24th |
Air Defense Day | Apr, 10th | Apr, 9th | Apr, 14th | Apr, 13th | Apr, 12th |
Easter Sunday (Russian Orthodox) | Apr, 24th | Apr, 16th | May, 5th | Apr, 20th | Apr, 12th |
Day of the Navy | Jul, 31st | Jul, 30th | Jul, 28th | Jul, 27th | Jul, 26th |
Day of the Tank Troops | Sep, 11th | Sep, 10th | Sep, 8th | Sep, 14th | Sep, 13th |
Mother's Day | Nov, 27th | Nov, 26th | Nov, 24th | Nov, 30th | Nov, 29th |
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 in normal life the Gregorian calendar 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. A Christmas Eve is known in Russia only in a few regions. Also Boxing Day is almost nowhere a part of the Russian Christmas. Jack Frost is a loving old man with a beard, but he is not Santa Claus. He gives presents to the 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 precisely 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 other than the winter.