Street fairs, ice skating, curling, and lots and lots of Christmas trees. (Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Dec. 13, 2021) Despite concerns about coronavirus, the Moscow city government decided to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with its annual festival. Called “The Journey to Christmas,” the festival began this past weekend and will go until Jan. 9. Russia celebrates Christmas […]
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… Moscow police detained a man dressed as Grandfather Frost … on Red Square near the Kremlin … where he was protesting a city ban on holiday celebrations […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 4, 2019) Most Russians have a day off Monday as the country marks National Unity Day, a national holiday aimed to promote patriotism and tolerance between ethnic and religious groups in Russia. National Unity Day commemorates Russia’s defeat of Polish invaders in 1612, and is one of the country’s youngest national holidays as it […]
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“… the Soviet Union was … a complex actor, in spite of being an ally. The fact that it was at the time ruled by a mass murderer, Joseph Stalin, doesn’t help. … Americans … don’t know what to think about the USSR’s role in the worst conflict in human history … Russia’s revanchism on the world stage today doesn’t […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, May 7, 2019) Sometimes to ask a question is to answer it even if the answer is different than one intends. That appears to be the case with a Russian nationalist who asks, “Does Russia really need a Victory Parade every year?” His answer is an unabashed affirmative, but others clearly don’t […]
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(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Nikolay Epplee – Feb. 1, 2019) Nikolay Epplee is an independent researcher working on international memorial culture and on memory of Soviet state terror. He published extensively on memory issues in Vedomosti, InLiberty, Colta, and other Russian media. [wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/inventorying-the-past-russia-refreshes-its-historical-memory] The New Year’s holidays are one of the few times in the year that different generations […]
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MOSCOW. Jan 14 (Interfax) – Russians spent an average of 13,870 rubles this holiday season, slightly less than in 2018 (14,195 rubles), the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) said on Monday. “Actual spending generally coincided with the amount planned in late December (13,755 rubles). About 5,375 rubles were spent on gifts for family and friends, 4,592 rubles on New […]
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(Kremlin.ru – November 4, 2018) A reception to mark National Unity Day has been hosted at the Kremlin. As part of the event, the President presented the Russian Federation state decorations. The ceremony for presenting Russian Federation state decorations. Mayor of Malaga Francisco De La Torre Prados receives the Medal of Pushkin. Linguist, academician and president of the Russian Academy […]
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(Kremlin.ru – June 12, 2018) Following the National Awards ceremony, a reception was held on the Kremlin’s Ivanovskaya Square for the national holiday, Russia Day. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, Greetings on Russia Day! Today we honour our country and we are united in our brightest and warmest feelings for Russia, in our pride in […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – November 22, 2017) Russians should spend more time at work if they want to be successful, the head of Rostrud, Russia’s Federal Labor and Employment Service, says. Next year, Russia will have 28 official national holidays. They include 10 days in early January when Russians celebrate the Orthodox Christmas and the country traditionally grinds to […]
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(RIA Novosti – June 13, 2017) The Russian embassy in Washington has “for the first time in many years” not received any official greetings from the United States on the occasion of Russia Day on 12 June, RIA Novosti news agency has said. “We can confirm that we have not received any Russia Day greetings from the US side. This […]
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(Kremlin.ru – June 12, 2017) Following the National Awards ceremony, a reception was held on the Kremlin’s Ivanovskaya Square for the national holiday, Russia Day. Speech by President of Russia Vladimir Putin during a reception for the national holiday, Russia Day. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Dear friends, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to congratulate you on Russia […]
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(Kremlin.ru – May 9, 2017) Vladimir Putin attended the military parade to mark the 72nd anniversary of Victory in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War. The military parade marking the 72nd anniversary of Victory in the 1941-45 Great Patriotic War. Defence Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu inspected the troops during the military parade. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Land Forces […]
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“Bitterly cold temperatures haven’t stopped worshipers from celebrating Epiphany and Orthodox Christmas. Christian believers across the globe joined in celebrations. Those who attended midnight liturgy at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior had to bundle up for the bitter cold as temperatures in the capital dropped to about -30C on Christmas night. In Moscow Region, temperatures dropped below -32C. …”
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(Kremlin.ru – December 31, 2016) President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Citizens of Russia, friends, The year 2016 is coming to a close. It was a challenging year, but the difficulties we faced have brought us together and allowed us to reveal enormous resources for our movement forward. The main thing is that we believe in ourselves, in our strengths and […]
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(Kremlin.ru – June 12, 2016) President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends, colleagues, I congratulate you on Russia Day. This is one of our major national holidays, as today we honour our country, our Russia, that we love and take pride in. The civic, labour and military valour of the Russian people is evidenced by the many victories and achievements throughout […]
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(Interfax – June 12, 2016) The Day of Russia, the country’s National Day, reflects the responsibility of Russians for the country’s present and future, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on June 12. “This holiday marks such utmost important values as Motherland, patriotism, and the unity of the people, reflecting our warm and sincere feelings about Russia, our responsibility for its […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 25, 2016) Twenty-three percent of Russians received no gifts for New Year – the highest percentage for six years, according to a poll conducted by state-run pollster VTsIOM. For those who did receive gifts, the most popular items were sweets, alcohol and delicacies – these items were received by 24 percent of respondents, according […]
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In a country where more than 130 languages are spoken, the idea of unity is a necessary theme to explore. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Mikhail Shvydkoi – November 4, 2015) Mikhail Shvydkoi was the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation (2000-2004). On Nov. 4, Russian citizens will celebrate National Unity Day. This is a relatively new […]
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In a letter from Moscow, Roland Oliphant writes of disappearing pavements, vanishing food and holidaying citizens.
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – July 30, 2015) Alexandra Khomenok booked a European holiday earlier this month, but her plans hit a stumbling block this week as the ruble took an abrupt plunge, scraping four-month lows. While the 27-year-old PR manager has already bought tickets for herself and her husband to fly to Italy in September, they […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – June 11, 2015) Only 3 percent of Russians consider the upcoming Russia Day national holiday, celebrated on June 12, among the important celebrations of the year, according to a recent poll by the analytical Levada Center. By far the most significant holiday for Russians is New Year’s, which more than 80 percent […]
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Ukraine has a new holiday – 8 May, Day of Remembrance – and a new symbol, the poppy. But 9 May remains, as a reminder of the fact that war is ‘never a pretty story.’ (opendemocracy.net – Natalia Antonova – May 11, 2015) Natalia Antonova was born in Kyiv and grew up in North Carolina. She works as a journalist […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Gladkova – May 6, 2015) Victory Day is coming and the capital is scrambling to prepare for Saturday’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany. The day will be bursting with activity, from a massive military parade replete with shiny new tanks and military vehicles of yore in the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 7, 2015) The Russian Orthodox Church’s Patriarch Kirill prayed for peace in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin attended mass at a village church in southern Russia, as Russia’s Orthodox believers celebrated Christmas on Wednesday. Russian Orthodox Church holidays are marked according to the old Julian calendar, with Christmas falling on Jan. 7, when it […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – June 12, 2014 Nikolai Litovkin, RBTH – June 12, 2014) On June 12, Russia celebrates one of its youngest national holidays, Russia Day. Nominally a celebration of Russian statehood, the significance of the day is widely misunderstood, even within the country itself. What is the history of the holiday and how do Russians […]
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MOSCOW. May 7 (Interfax) – Victory Day is one of the most significant holidays for Russian citizens, which is widely supported by people, Levada Center sociologists said citing the results of many years of polls provided to Interfax. According to the information of sociologists, in the past years the majority of Russian citizens, 70-72%, celebrate Victory Day in one way […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 13, 2014) Nearly half of Russians are planning to ring in the “Old New Year” on Monday night, in a sign of the enduring popularity of the holiday based on the old Julian calendar. “Old New Year” is a legacy of the calendar that the country used before the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. The Russian […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 7, 2014) This year’s warm temperatures meant believers in Moscow celebrated a red and gold, rather than white, Orthodox Christmas. Moscow confectioners baked a giant apple and cherry pie in celebration of Russian Orthodox Christmas, which is marked on Jan. 7, based on the old Julian calendar. The 100 kilogram, 1.5-meter by 2.5-meter pie […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Mikhail Loginov – December 31, 2013) Mikhail Loginov is a journalist and novelist based in St Petersburg. He is the author of the recently published bestselling political thriller “Battle for Kremlin”. New Year is by far Russia’s most important and lavishly celebrated public holiday. But as Russians prepare to celebrate it, Putin is trying to impose austerity on […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – January 1, 2014) Many Russians love to honor the animal that symbolizes the coming year, based on the Chinese astrological calendar, believing half-jokingly but many would insist that it brings them luck for the next 12 months. “Whose year is the next one?” Russians ask each other around December. The […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 31, 2013) Vladimir Putin welcomed in the New Year in Khabarovsk together with residents of the Far East who have suffered from devastating flooding. In Khabarovsk, the President delivered his New Year’s Address to the Nation. PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Friends, The New Year of 2014 is almost here: in a few moments, we will take […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Dmitriy Romendik, RBTH – December 27, 2013) New Year celebrations are popular all over the world, but in Russia they are the main national holiday. The festivities last for at least eight days, and sometimes as many as 20. Russians’ pagan ancestors celebrated Kolyada, a winter solstice holiday. Early Slavs celebrated it from […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Mark H. Teeter – November 28, 2013) Sometimes Russians get American history so muddled (так путаются в американской истории) that it can only be un-muddled by authentic Yankee ingenuity (аутентичной хитростью америкоса типа меня). Last week, my grandson Valerka displayed lecture-worthy prejudice regarding the origins of Thanksgiving (День благодарения): “Isn’t that the holiday,” chided the […]
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MOSCOW. Oct 31 (Interfax) – Over a half of Russians (54%) see the Day of People’s Unity marked on November 4 as another day off and only 11% celebrate it as “a state holiday that unites the people of Russia and the country as a whole,” according to the Superjob.ru portal. It polled 1,000 respondents on October 17-18. “I see […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Artem Zagorodnov, RBTH – June 12, 2013) Sergei Shakhrai, one of the authors of Russia’s constitution, explained to RBTH what really brought about the USSR’s demise, and what prevented Russia from splitting apart further. During the turbulent years of the Soviet collapse, parliamentarian Sergei Shakhrai supported the Declaration of Sovereignty, passed by parliamentary […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Gleb Cherkasov, special to RBTH – June 11, 2013) Conceived by the founding fathers of the new Russia and in the mold of U.S. Independence Day, “Russia Day” has become just a new summer holiday mainly because no one has ever managed to figure out who Russia gained independence from. For almost […]
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(Kremlin.ru – June 12, 2013) The Kremlin, Moscow PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, friends, Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, I congratulate you on Russia Day. This holiday grows in importance every year. Its meaning, spirit and atmosphere reflect Russia’s development today. It is also a part of our history with all its difficult and sometimes dramatic moments. We all […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 11, 2013) Only 50% of Russian citizens know the correct name of the June 12 national holiday the Day of Russia, according to a survey by the Levada Center independent pollster. The survey, published on Monday, indicates that another 30% of Russians know this holiday by its previous name the Day of […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova – June 10, 2013) Ask a handful of people about Russia Day, celebrated every year on June 12 since 1992, and you are likely to encounter confusion. Meant to celebrate the birth of the Russian Federation, a modern nation with a new Constitution and flag, the holiday does not have a lot of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Rajeev Sharma – June 10, 2013) Russia’s stunted growth in the private sector in May was due to the extended holidays, while India led the pack of BRIC peers for economic growth, a report said. While noting that the economic growth in emerging market economies remained sluggish overall last month, the HSBC composite index, which […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 10, 2013) On Wednesday June 12 offices around Russia will empty as Russia celebrates Russia Day, one of the nation’s youngest public holidays. Since the day falls in the middle of the week, it will not be rearranged to make up a long weekend. “People will have to organize their working week to take […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 10, 2013) President Vladimir Putin has praised Russian soldiers as “the liberators of Europe” at a Victory Day parade with more than 11,000 soldiers and 100 military vehicles on Red Square. “We will always remember that it was the Red Army that didn’t allow the fascists to occupy the world,” Putin said a speech […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 7, 2013) Victory Day is one of the most significant holidays in Russia that enjoys mass support, Levada Center sociologists told Interfax quoting surveys of many years. The overwhelming majority of Russians, 70-75%, celebrated the Victory Day one way or another in the past three years, which was more than the number of Russians celebrating the […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Viktoriya Semioshina, special to RBTH – May 1, 2013) In early May, Russians have two bank holidays in quick succession, both inherited from the former Soviet Union. This sometimes translates into as many as nine days off work plenty of time to head for warmer climes, though many will opt to stay […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Simon Speakman Cordall special to The Moscow News – April 29, 2013) Overshadowed by dramatic Victory Day celebrations, the May 1 holiday has yet to be redefined in the post-Soviet landscape There were four pivotal dates on the Soviet calendar; January 1, May 1, May 9 and, the anniversary of the revolution, November 7. Times, […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Alina Lobzina – December 26, 2012) Russian lavish New Year’s celebrations provide the chance to “fall into childhood” which Russians happily enjoy, a psychology professor told RIA Novosti on Wednesday. The superstition about wearing something new, stacking up on figures of animal symbols of the year and rhyming wishes might seem unnecessary to many, but […]
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(Interfax – December 25, 2012) Only 7 percent of Russians celebrate Western-style Christmas, according to a Levada Center survey obtained by Interfax. The indicator stood at 5 percent in 2011, 6 percent in 2006, and 19 percent in 2003. It seems Russians are bracing for the long New Year holiday season, Levada Center said. The majority of Russians celebrating Western-style […]
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(Moscow Times editorial – themoscowtimes.com – November 6, 2012) The extended holiday weekend gave us a chance to think about how the U.S. should borrow a page from Russia and introduce a new holiday of its own also called National Unity Day. As Americans go to the polls Tuesday to elect a president, the din from “blue” supporters of incumbent […]
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(Kremlin.ru – November 4, 2012) During the reception, Russian state decorations were presented to foreign citizens for their contribution to strengthening cooperation with Russia and developing Russian culture abroad. Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky presented the decorations. Speech at a reception marking National Unity Day PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, friends. Congratulations on the National Unity Day! This […]
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