Public holidays in Russia

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 9 May 1945 (by Moscow time) the German military surrendered to the Soviet Union and the Allies of World War II in Berlin (Karlshorst).

A large ground and air military parade, hosted by the President of the Russian Federation, is annually organized in Moscow on Red Square.

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.

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.

In the same place, the authors of the bill expressed the hope that a new memorial date for Russia would contribute to "the formation in society of the ideals of selfless service to the Fatherland."