Public holidays in Russia

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 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.

The Defender of the Fatherland Day (День защитника Отечествa or 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.

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.

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".

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 (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 (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.

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