Public holidays in Russia

The following is the list of official public holidays recognized by the Government of Russia. On these days, government offices, embassies and some shops, are closed. If the date of observance falls on a weekend, the following Monday will be a day off in lieu of the holiday.
In addition to New Year's Day (Новый год, Novy god) on 1 January, 2–5 January are public holidays as well, called New Year holiday (новогодние каникулы, novogodniye kanikuly). The holiday includes 6 and 8 January, with Christmas being 7 January, declared as non-working days by law. Until 2005, only 1 and 2 January were public holidays.
Christmas in Russia (Рождество Христово, Rozhdestvo Khristovo) is celebrated on 25 December (Julian calendar) which falls on 7 January (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, Den zashchitnika Otechestva) is celebrated on 23 February and is dedicated to veterans and service personnel of the Russian Armed Forces, 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 as it is connected to the decree published that day by the Council of People's Commissars that formalized the official mandatory conscription in the Red Army.
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".
On 9 May, 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 large 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 possible) parades are organized in several other Russian cities (which are Hero Cities or have military districts or fleet headquarters primarily).
Russia Day (День России, Den Rossii) is celebrated on June 12. On this day, in 1991, the 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, then on 1 February 2002 it was officially renamed 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 4 November 2005, commemorating the popular uprising led by Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky which ended the Polish occupation of Moscow in November 1612, and more generally the end of Polish intervention in Russia and the Time of Troubles. The event was marked by a public holiday which was held in Russia on 22 October (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 a Tsar nor Patriarch to guide them. Most observers view this as a replacement for the October Revolution Day. National Unity Day is also known as Consolidation Day (as an alternative translation), which people in Russia celebrate between 3-4 November.