With Christmas holidays in the UK nearly on the doorstep, Russia has to wait for their winter break a little longer. The working year will finish on Saturday, 29th December, and the public holidays will start on Sunday, 30th December 2012, lasting until 8th January 2013. The reason why the festivities start later than 25th December is because the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on 7th January. That’s Christmas Day according to the older – Julian calendar. Unlike the Catholic Church or Church of England, the Russian Church did not switch to the Gregorian calendar.
Other public holidays in Russia in 2013 are:
Saturday, 23rd February is the Defender of the Fatherland Day.
Friday, 8th March is International Women’s Day.
Wednesday, 1st May is the Day of Spring and Labour. Thursday, 2nd May, and Friday, 3rd May, are also days off in lieu of 5th and 6th January which fell on Saturday and Sunday within the official Christmas break. This makes it a 5-day spring break for most Russian employees.
Thursday, 9th May is Victory Day. 10th May is also a day off in lieu of the Saturday 23rd February falls on. This combination makes it another long 4-day weekend.
12th June, Wednesday, is Russia Day.
4th November, Monday, is Unity Day.
It is worth keeping a note of these days if you do business with Russia. When Russian companies are closed for holidays, it’s unlikely you will get a quick response to your email enquiries and your phone call may not be answered. Sending a brief note of congratulations to your Russian business partners will not go amiss either. At the end of the day, it all helps to build a closer and more successful relationship with Russian customers.
[Tip: To talk to our Russian translator, please call us on 0207 0436940 or email enquiry@talkrussian.com]
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