Family, Love and Fidelity Day (*Den' semyi, lyubvi i vernosti*, 8 July) is a Russian observance dedicated to the values of family life and conjugal fidelity, centred on the story of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom — an Orthodox couple venerated as the patron saints of family and marriage. It was established as an official observance in 2008, partly as a Russian cultural counterpart to Valentine's Day, and is symbolised by the chamomile flower (*romashka*). While not a public holiday, it is recognised by the state and observed with family-oriented events and the exchange of chamomile bouquets. ---
Public Holidays & Cultural Observances in Russia 2026
View the official 2026 public holiday calendar for Russia. Plan your year around the extended New Year holidays, Victory Day, and unique Russian cultural festivals.
Last verified: June 2026
Public Holidays & Observances List
National Flag Day (*Den' Gosudarstvennogo flaga Rossiyskoy Federatsii*, 22 August) marks the anniversary of the restoration of the white, blue, and red tricolour as Russia's official national flag on 22 August 1991, following the failed coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev. It is an official observance rather than a public holiday, marked with flag-raising ceremonies and civic events in cities and regions across Russia. The date serves as a reminder of Russia's post-Soviet constitutional identity. ---
Knowledge Day (*Den' Znaniy*, 1 September) is one of Russia's most beloved school observances, marking the beginning of the new academic year. It is not a public holiday in the labour law sense, but it is a fixture of Russian family life — students arrive at school in their best clothes, carrying flowers for their teachers, and first-graders experience a ceremonial welcome on their very first day of school. The tradition of children presenting teachers with bouquets on Knowledge Day is one of the most enduring customs in Russian educational culture. ---
Teachers' Day (*Den' Uchitelya*, 5 October) is a popular professional observance in Russia honouring schoolteachers and educators, celebrated on the first Sunday of October in accordance with the UNESCO World Teachers' Day date. It carries no public holiday status, but students bring flowers and small gifts to their teachers, schools organise concerts and performances, and the occasion is warmly observed across the Russian education system. The tradition of honouring teachers on this date has roots in the Soviet period, when it was a more formally recognised occasion. ---
Father's Day in Russia is observed on the third Sunday of October — a date specific to Russia, distinct from the June date used in many Western countries. It carries no public holiday status and is a relatively recent addition to the Russian calendar, having gained traction in the 2000s. Families mark the occasion with gifts and family gatherings, though it remains lower-profile than Mother's Day or Defender of the Fatherland Day. ---
Halloween (31 October) is a cultural observance in Russia that has grown in urban visibility since the 1990s but carries no public holiday status and has faced periodic official criticism. Themed parties in bars and clubs, costume events in entertainment venues, and decorations in shopping centres are found in major Russian cities. The Russian Orthodox Church and some state-aligned commentators have at times called for the holiday to be discouraged as incompatible with traditional Russian values. ---
Unity Day (*Den' narodnogo edinstva*, 4 November) is a national public holiday in Russia established in 2005, commemorating the expulsion of Polish-Lithuanian occupying forces from Moscow in November 1612 by a volunteer militia led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky. The holiday replaced the former Soviet-era celebration of the October Revolution on 7 November and is framed around themes of Russian national unity, patriotism, and the defence of the state. Official ceremonies, marches, and political rallies — including events organised by nationalist and patriotic organisations — are held across Russian cities on 4 November.
- Monuments to Minin and Pozharsky — most famously the bronze sculpture on Red Square in Moscow, erected in 1818 — are the focal points of official Unity Day commemorations, with wreath-laying ceremonies attended by senior state officials.
- Unity Day marches organised by nationalist organisations, including the Russian March (*Russky Marsh*), have been a recurring feature of 4 November in Moscow and other cities since the holiday's establishment.
October Revolution Remembrance (7 November) marks the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 — the event that brought the Communist Party to power and shaped the entire Soviet period of Russian history. It is no longer a public holiday in Russia, having been replaced on the calendar by Unity Day on 4 November in 2005, and its official observance has been wound down. However, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and various left-wing organisations continue to mark the date with public marches and rallies, particularly in Moscow and St. Petersburg. ---
Mother's Day (*Den' Materi*) in Russia is observed on the last Sunday of November — a date distinct from the March date used in many other countries. It was established as an official Russian observance by presidential decree in 1998. Flowers, gifts, and family gatherings are the main ways Russians mark the occasion, and state media and educational institutions typically run programmes honouring mothers in the days surrounding the date. ---
Constitution Day (*Den' Konstitutsii Rossiyskoy Federatsii*, 12 December) marks the adoption of the current Russian Constitution on 12 December 1993, following the constitutional crisis of that year. It was a public holiday in Russia until 2004, when it was reclassified as a non-working observance day, and then further reduced to a regular observance. Official events, educational programmes, and ceremonial readings of the Constitution are organised by state institutions on this date, particularly in schools and universities. ---
Christmas Eve (Western) (24 December) is a cultural observance in Russia with no public holiday status, primarily noted as the Christmas Eve date according to the Gregorian calendar. It is observed by Russia's small Catholic and Protestant communities and is visible in the commercial calendar of major Russian cities, where Western Christmas themes have become a standard feature of December retail environments. The majority of Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Eve on 6 January according to the Julian calendar. ---
New Year's Eve (31 December) is classified as a public holiday in Russia — the closing bookend of the New Year holiday period that begins on 1 January and is governed by Russian labour law as part of the extended holiday season. It is the most socially energetic night of the Russian year, with the President's televised New Year's address at midnight, fireworks over Red Square and city centres nationwide, and family celebrations centred on the fully laid *novogodny stol* (New Year's table). The emotional intensity of Russian New Year's Eve is widely acknowledged as unmatched by any other occasion in the Russian calendar.
- The ritual of writing a wish on a piece of paper, burning it, dropping the ash into a glass of *shampanskoye*, and drinking it before the clock finishes striking midnight is one of Russia's best-known New Year superstitions.
- Russian state television broadcasts the *Novogodny Ogonyok* (New Year's Light) variety programme — a fixture of Soviet and post-Soviet New Year's Eve television since 1962 — throughout the evening, alongside the Presidential address at midnight.
Understanding Russian State Holidays and Orthodox Traditions
Russia's public holiday calendar is shaped by two distinct layers: the official state holidays established under Russian labour law, and the religious and folk observances rooted in the Russian Orthodox tradition and pre-Soviet Slavic customs.
There are eight statutory non-working holidays (*neryabochiye prazdnichniye dni*) in Russia in 2026: the New Year Holiday period (1–6 January), Orthodox Christmas Day (7 January), Defender of the Fatherland Day (23 February), International Women's Day (8 March), Spring and Labour Day (1 May), Victory Day (9 May), Russia Day (12 June), Unity Day (4 November), and New Year's Eve (31 December). When a public holiday falls on a weekend, the Russian government typically issues an official transfer (*perenosen*) of the non-working day to the nearest Monday, resulting in an adjusted calendar that varies slightly each year.
Beyond the statutory holidays, Russian Orthodox observances — including Orthodox Christmas on 7 January, Orthodox Easter (*Paskha*), and the Maslenitsa festival — follow the Julian calendar, which runs thirteen days behind the Gregorian calendar. This means that Orthodox Christmas falls on 7 January in the Gregorian calendar, and Orthodox Easter typically lands one to five weeks after Western Easter. For anyone planning around the Russian religious calendar in 2026, it is important to note that Orthodox Easter is a moveable feast calculated by a separate formula and confirmed annually by the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Extended New Year and May Holidays in 2026
Russia's two longest holiday clusters are the New Year period and the May holidays, and both have a significant effect on business, travel, and daily life across the country.
The New Year holiday block runs from 1 January through 8 January in most years, combining the statutory New Year Holiday period (1–6 January) with Orthodox Christmas on 7 January and often a transferred day. For businesses and organisations dealing with Russian counterparts, this means that very little work typically takes place during the first week of January, and planning for the 2026 calendar should account for this extended shutdown.
The May holidays create a second major disruption. Spring and Labour Day on 1 May and Victory Day on 9 May, depending on how the calendar aligns in 2026, can produce a broken week in which many Russians take the intervening days as leave, effectively creating a ten-day break. Checking the specific day-of-week alignment for May in 2026 early in the year is essential for anyone scheduling meetings, deliveries, or project milestones with Russian organisations during this period.
Plan Ahead with the Printable PDF Calendar
Navigating Russia's combination of statutory public holidays, Orthodox calendar observances, official day transfers, and culturally significant folk occasions in 2026 is considerably easier with a consolidated reference document. Our Russia 2026 holiday calendar is available as a downloadable, print-ready PDF formatted for A4 paper, clearly distinguishing between statutory public holidays and observances, and flagging the Orthodox calendar dates — including Christmas on 7 January and the tentative date for Orthodox Easter — alongside Gregorian calendar holidays.
The PDF is designed for office wall planners, HR leave management schedules, school timetable boards, and personal desk use. Whether you are coordinating with Russian business partners, planning a visit to Russia around a major national celebration, or simply organising your own household calendar for 2026, having all of Russia's holidays consolidated in a single printable reference will save you time and prevent scheduling surprises. Download your 2026 Russia holiday calendar PDF and get your planning underway before the New Year holiday season arrives.