When to Go July and August are the warmest months in Moscow and the main holiday season for foreigners and Russians. Summer days are long and can be wet. By the end of November Moscow is frozen most of the time and serious snow arrives in December and stays until April.
Spring arrives fast and with a great thaw, a month or so long, and people go a touch crazy.
A great many festivals are derived from Orthodox church tradition. Orthodox Christmas begins with midnight mass on 7 January. In odd-numbered years, the Moscow Film Festival hits the city's screens in autumn. The Russian Winter Festival is pretty much a tourist affair, with troyka rides, folklore shows, games and vodka, and is celebrated between 25 December and 5 January. Sylvestr is the Russian New Year celebration, and is the main gift-giving festival of the year, with presents placed under the traditional fir tree.