Vacation Like a Russian

One thing that Americans start to notice, once they begin travelling outside the land of Big Walmart, is just how overworked and exploited they are compared to the rest of the civilized world. Americans workers are some of the most obese, overworked and overstressed people in the world, leading to over a decade of declining average life spans starting with the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008-2010 and accelerating downward with the COVID Pandemic. This is especially true with the modern drive for productivity and obsession with short term quarterly profits and company stock price above all that has gripped corporate America over the past 20+ years.

Instead of investing in additional technology or training, US megacorps just fire people to polish up the numbers and drop the increased workload on the remaining workers. Then they ride that mule until it burns out and quits or drops dead. Then they hire back some of the people they previously fired and repeat the process over again.

Note: the above YouTube video is satire by Stas

Those who move to Russia and work in the Russian Federation for a major employer, will quickly find out that there is more to life than just slaving away for the Man, who can fire you at a pin drop to save a penny or two.

Let's begin this holiday edition of our ESW content, appropriately enough, with an overview of Russian holidays. True, some businesses are still open on federal holidays, especially grocers and restaurants, but they're required to pay overtime during these times.

Russian Winter Holidays

The winter holidays encompass New Years Day, which officially starts with the chiming of the Kremlin Chimes (Kourant) at midnight followed by an annual presidential address and playing of the anthem on national television, and the Orthodox Christmas. These holidays begin on December 31st and run continuously through January 8th. Many people take a few additional days of vacation and take off for some destination and a two-week break.

The reason that Orthodox Christmas is on January 7th is because of the Western calendar, the Gregorian calendar which the Roman Catholic Church, adopted a few centuries after the Great Schism. The Orthodox Church remains on the Julian calendar and is thus still celebrating the Birth of Christ on December 25th, just using the Julian December. But since there are now two weeks difference between the calendars, it falls on January 7th on the Western countries' Gregorian calendar. Every few centuries or so, the calendars move further apart by one day.

Old New Year January 14th (Starey Novygod)—not an official holiday, but unofficially the end of the winter holiday break for many students and faculty at universities.

St. Tatiana's Day January 25th—not an official day off for most adults, but a beloved holiday for Russian students, who gather for celebrations and for Orthodox students, church services commemorating the beautiful Greek martyr Tatiana and a spiritual patroness of students. Also close to the date the M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University was founded by a decree of the Empress Elizabeth on January 23, 1755.

Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland, February 23rd (Zashchitnika Otechestva). Also known as Men's Day. This day is for all those men who have served in the defense of Russia and the Soviet Union before that. Though mostly a male holiday, not all men have served and there are women who have and do serve, so it's not exclusive to one of the two genders. Small gifts are given to the veterans and servicemen, and some parades and other activities are usually organized. Some people in southern Russian regions such as Krasnodar or Crimea also start cooking out at this point, weather permitting.

Not coincidentally, because Crimea had at the time and still has a large concentration of Soviet/Russian veterans and military spouses, this was the date in 2014 when the Russian Spring protests began in the Black Sea Fleet headquarters city of Sevastopol.

On Sunday, February 23, 2014 tens of thousands of locals, without being paid by the Kremlin, rallied to protest against a U.S.-backed Kiev junta and call for Russian aid. These protests would spread across Novorossiya, the old Russian Empire geographic descriptor for the southern and southeastern Ukraine, including the cities of Odessa and Kharkov, where the uprising was viciously suppressed (over 100 Odessan anti-Maidan activists were murdered). The enduring protests in Donetsk and Lugansk led to the formation of a People's Militia which for eight years before the SMO fought successfully against the US/NATO-installed government in Kiev and foreign mercenaries.

Russian Spring Holidays

International Women’s Day or Women's Day, March 8th (Den Zenshiny) This holiday originated in Chicago in the 1880s with pro-women marches. The actual origin of the holiday was a march by the Red Light District working girls to the docks to demand that the ships owners pay their men on time so that the horny sailors could pay the ladies on time. Thankfully, the holiday quickly outgrew these rough roots and became a day for all ladies.

This holiday is taken very seriously in Russia and women are normally gifted with flowers and candy. If you happen to be the boss of an office or facility with women, be sure to bring flowers for them as well, or you will have a very upset work force. Even the police are often out and about handing out flowers to female passers by of all ages.

May 1st–Day of Spring and Labor (Den Truda). This is formerly the Soviet workers’ day holiday. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation still holds labor parades, but these are typically under-attended, as most Russians would prefer to go to their dachas and grill shashlik.

Victory Day 9th May (Den Pobedy). After New Year, this is probably the most celebrated holiday in Russia. This day marks the end of the Great Patriotic War, the official surrender of Nazi Germany (it was still the evening of May 8th in Berlin, but already the 9th in Moscow when the surrender news was transmitted). On this day there are many military parades, including the biggest one in Moscow.

Before the Special Military Operation and threat of drone attacks, there would be a March of the Immortal Regiment, in which ordinary people and retired officers would come out with portraits of their family members who fought and died in the Great Patriotic War. Hopefully, with the defeat of the Banderite regime, this tradition will return. Including Immortal Regiment marches through the hero cities of Odessa and Kiev.

Since a weekend falls in between Spring Day and Victory Day, people normally take a few extra days of vacation and make a whole week of it. Expecting things to happen during these days, as during the long winter break, is generally not advised, so wrap up your government or commercial offices business before or carry it on afterward.

Russian Summer Holidays

Day of Russia July 12th (Den Rossii). This is the day of the first Russian declaration of independence from the Soviet Union, in 1991. Of course, since Russia is the legal successor state to the USSR at the United Nations, one may ask, what was it that Russians became independent from? I suppose one could say from the burden of subsidizing many of the former Soviet Republics.

Russian Autumn Holidays

Day of Knowledge September 1st (Den' znaniy)–Not a day off for workers, but a day for appreciating teachers past and present, when the torch of knowledge is symbolically passed in school assemblies from the older kids to the younger first graders who are starting their studies. On this day parents give their children flowers to present to the school teachers.

This was also the day in 2004 of the Beslan School Siege tragedy in North Ossetia.

November 4th–Day of National Unity (Denʹ narodnogo yedinstva). This holiday actually draws its roots from the 1612 defeat of the Polish relief army outside of Moscow by two Russian people’s armies. This Russian victory led to the surrender of the Polish garrison in Moscow that had been under siege. It marked the end of almost 20 years of strife and civil wars over imperial succession known as the Times of Troubles.

Especially since the start of the SMO in 2022, the government, state TV and civil society have emphasized the unity of all ethnic groups and oblasts across Russia on this day.

Paid Vacation in Russia and Why, No Matter How Much You Love Your Work, You'd Better Use Your Time Off

On top of all these fixed holidays, Russians also receive 24 days of paid vacation. While some vacation days can be carried over from year to year, the aggregate usage rate of vacation days is monitored for each company by Russia's Ministry of Labor. If excess vacation days are not used, a company can be fined for abusing their workers. This is especially true if the company is foreign-owned.

This is why Russian employers tend to be strict about not letting too many vacation days accumulate for each employee. This means in extreme cases, employees who have stubbornly refused to use their days off after Human Resources asked them verbally and in writing can be told to either use their accumulated time, or accept a payout in lieu of their days off, and go find themselves another job.

Additional Holidays for Workers in Remote Regions and More Strenuous or Hazardous Occupations

Additionally, those working in more remote areas of Russia, such as the Far North or Far East, including Sakhalin Island, will receive government-mandated additional days of vacation. The amount depends on the location of their work and can be up to an additional 14 days per year.

But that's not all, if a woman gives birth, she is eligible for paid leave of 2.7 years. Of course, for financial reasons, most working mothers return to their full time positions much earlier, usually within 6 months of giving birth. The time can also start 2 months before giving birth, but that is dependent on whether the woman wants to take it or to continue working.

Over all, the average worker has 15 holidays and 24 days of vacation. Compare that to the average American worker. Is it any wonder that so many American workers are worn down, having no time for their families, and deathly afraid of losing their jobs?