Russian Culture and Festivals

Russian culture has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its
vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern and Western influence.
Russian writers and philosophers have played an important role in the development of
European thought. The Russians have also greatly influenced classical music, ballet,
sport, painting, and cinema. The nation has also made pioneering contributions to science
and technology and space exploration.
Here are some Russian Festivals:

1. New Year Celebrations – 31st December – 1st January

Russia winter tour Christmas and New Years

New Years is the most important holiday on the Russian festivals calendar. Although it’s
primarily a family affair, where on New Year’s Eve, relatives gather at home for a huge
feast and the exchange of gifts around a fir tree, tourists (at least in the big cities)
certainly won’t miss out, with practically every hotel and restaurant geared up for an
evening of Russian-style partying. On New Year’s Eve in Moscow, celebrations peak
with the famous firework display in the Red Square. In St Petersburg, the biggest
fireworks are launched over the Neva River. Post-midnight, revellers gather in parks and
squares all over Russia to continue drinking and dancing – sub-zero temperatures be
damned!
2. Orthodox Christmas – 7th January

Moscow winter tour Russia white Christmas

If you’re visiting Russia over New Years, you’ll be delighted to know the celebrations
don’t stop after the next year ticks over. Christmas Day on the Russian Orthodox
Calendar falls on January 7. Between New Years and Christmas, Moscow and St
Petersburg’s public spaces are elaborately decorated with lavish ornaments and brightly
lit Christmas trees, and the streets and parks bustle with Christmas fairs and markets.
Explore our Russia Winter Tour to dive headfirst into the high points of this snowy
escapade. On either Christmas Eve or Christmas Night, you have the chance to attend a
traditional midnight mass in a beautiful candlelit Russian church.
Christmastide is a special time for Christians. In Russia, where Christianity was
suppressed, the old traditions like fortune telling, which pre-dated the adoption of
Christian beliefs in Russia, are part of remembering old customs. Caroling is common
with songs often sung by costumed singers.
3. Winter Festival, mid-December to mid-January
 Moscow Winter tour Christmas
Russian winters are notoriously long and arduous, so the Russians do what they can to
make freezing temperatures more fun – by throwing a month-long festival! All Russian
cities have winter festivals celebrating local arts and culture, but Moscow’s hands down
the biggest and best. Here the festival is a massive annual event that sees the city decked
out in thousands of fairy lights, squares turned into ice skating rinks and a huge array of
activities around the city. Jingle your way through Izmailovo Park with a ride in a
traditional troika or three-horse sleigh. In Gorky Park, wander through an outdoor
exhibition of incredible ice sculptures, and in Revolution Square, browse the handicraft
markets, scoff down warm pancakes and bagels with honey, listen to a balalaika concert
or watch a winter fashion show.
4. Maslenitsa (Pancake week) – February to early March

Maslenitsa Festival
Seven weeks before Easter, Maslenitsa is a Russian festival that celebrates the end of
winter and the coming of spring with a week of pancake-related festivities (what else?).
In fact, thanks to its pagan roots, Maslenitsa is more like a carnival than an Orthodox
Holy Week. It’s enjoyed all over Russia with parades, live music, dancing and fireworks.
Of course, food is an essential part of Maslenitsa. Maslenitsa marks the beginning of
Lent, and traditionally the last week milk, eggs and butter can be consumed. So naturally,
blini (pancakes) are consumed in great quantities every day, either fresh out of the pan or
doused with delicious sweet and savoury toppings. The festival culminates with the
burning of a life-sized straw effigy of ‘Lady Maslenitsa”, meant to represent winter.
5. Reindeer Herders Festival in Yamal, end of March – beginning of April

Yamal Nenets Reindeer Herders Festival Siberia tour

Even the remotest regions in Russia have their own unique celebrations. The indigenous
Nenets of Yamal is the last remaining peoples to practice large-scale, nomadic reindeer
herding, completing a one-way migration of up to 1,000km from the Russian mainland to
their summer grazing camps above the Arctic Circle. At the end of this backbreaking
journey, the Nenets let their hair down with a kind of tribal sports carnival, held in the
town of Salekhard on the last Saturday of March.
The Reindeer Herders Festival is aimed at preserving the ancient traditions of Yamal’s
indigenous people. The main spectacle is an incredible variety of reindeer races that even
includes reindeer skiing (we’re not exactly sure how this one works). Nenets from
competing camps battle to become champions of their national sports, which include sled
jumping, lassoing, axe throwing and tug of war. Curious visitors are encouraged to
participate while enjoying traditional reindeer meat snacks. This has to be one of the most
interesting Russian festivals to be celebrated.
6. Russian Orthodox Easter – April
 Russian Easter
Orthodox Easter is a more traditional Russian festival that usually falls slightly later
compared with the regular Christian calendar. Although it’s one of the most solemn
Russian festivals, it’s a lovely time to experience Russia’s devotion to rites and rituals,
with a week of church services taking place from the Palm Sunday processions to a
lengthy Easter liturgy which begins on Saturday night and can flow well into Sunday.
Even if you’re not a regular church-goer, attending at least part of the Easter liturgy can
be a mesmerising and uplifting experience. Expect to see painted boiled eggs rather than
chocolate ones, and be sure to try traditional Easter pastries such as “kulich” (sweet bread
flavoured with honey and raisins).
7. Moscow Golden Mask Festival – March-April

If you adore the arts and happen to be in Moscow during March and April, you’re in luck.
The Golden Mask Festival presents an almost two-month-long program of the most
important and innovative performances from all over Russia. Held in a variety of
prestigious venues, the festival showcases all genres of theatre art including drama,
opera, ballet, modern dance, musical and Russian puppet theatre. A prestigious awards
ceremony is staged on the festival’s closing night in late April.
8. Victory Day – 9th May

Victory Day Russia

Commemorating the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany, this patriotic
festival is bristling with military bombast. Around the country, the end of WWII is
celebrated with parades, fireworks and displays of military might. The most ostentatious
events are held in Moscow, with giant tanks, missiles and thousands of troops marching
down the Red Square, while helicopters hover above the enormous crowds of spectators.
9. Peterhof Fountains opening and closing ceremonies

St Petersburg tour Russia Peterhof

Peterhof’s series of palaces and gardens are astounding at any time, but the grandest
visual spectacle of the year is undoubtedly the opening ceremony of the Fountains.
Officially marking the start of the summer season, the ‘Russian Versailles’ entire
collection of very expensive sprinklers goes live at once, and it’s a truly extraordinary
sight. The festival lasts into the night, with musical performances, fireworks and classical
fountains jazzed up with laser light shows and pyrotechnics. In mid-September, Peterhof
holds a similar closing ceremony that’s equally as impressive.
10. St Petersburg “White Nights” Festival – end of May – beginning of
 July

Without a doubt, one of the most memorable times to be in St Petersburg is during the
White Nights Festival. Because of its far-northern geography, between mid-May and mid-
July, the sun never completely sets, providing a romantic backdrop for a festival that
celebrates music, dance, theatre and the intoxicating spell of a city where day and night
are one and the party never needs to stop. Venues around the city invite world-class
Russian and international performers to attend, with the Mariinsky Theatre alone
clocking up a program of more than 175 operas, ballets and classical concerts. The White
Nights is much more than watching theatre in austere venues, however. The entire city is
buzzing with festive energy. St Petersburg’s bars and clubs are positively pumping and on
a midnight stroll, you’ll be accompanied by street performers, ice cream sellers and
spirited revellers contributing to a carnival atmosphere.