It incorporates traditions derived from Christmas, including gift-giving, decorated trees, and a Santa Claus-like figure—Ded Moroz (Russian: Дед Мороз, lit.

Novy God's customs have remained a popular observance among Russians and diaspora since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, as well as in parts of Central Asia.

[4][5] In 1929, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union abolished all religious holidays, including Christmas, as part of a wider campaign against religion.

[4] In December 1935, via a letter published by the party's official newspaper Pravda, politician Pavel Postyshev proposed that the New Year be celebrated as a secular holiday benefiting Soviet youth.

[13] Following the success of Channel One's Old Songs about the Main Thing [ru] project, the Little Blue Light New Year's Eve special was revived in 1997.

'Old Man Frost') depicted as delivering presents to children on New Year's Eve (similar to the Western figure of Santa Claus),[21][4][20] with assistance from his granddaughter Snegurochka (Russian: Снегурочка, lit.

[28][29] At Moscow's Red Square, revellers gather under the Kremlin Clock—whose chimes at midnight are traditionally followed by the playing of the Russian national anthem, and a fireworks display.

[43][44][45] It is common to allow soldiers of Russian-speaking heritage serving in noncombat facilities to go on leave on the night of the 31st to allow them to celebrate the holiday; however, this is not enforced by official order.

[46] Novy God customs have also continued to be practiced in post-Soviet states in Central Asia—such as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan—that have large Muslim populations.

The continued prominence of the holiday in these regions has faced criticism from devout Muslims and other officials, who have considered it inconsistent with their culture and heritage (especially where Russians are an ethnic minority).

[47][48] In 2012, Uzbekistan briefly banned Novy God characters such as Ded Moroz, although this was lifted in 2014 after the issuance of a fatwa considering New Year celebrations to be "permissible from the point of view of common sense and Sharia law".

[47][48] Scholar Bakhtiyar Babadjanov explained that "it is simply that some zealous Islamic leaders need to exploit all this to convert their coreligionists and sow division among the public.