Joyful days of the calendar: The Ministry of Labor approved weekends and holidays in 2026

The Ministry of Labor has presented a calendar of holidays and weekends for next year. The organization has published the corresponding calendar in its Telegram channel. Vacations, shortened working weeks and additional days off, for which you can start preparing now — in the Izvestia article

Postponement of weekends

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Russia has published and posted for public discussion a draft annual resolution on the postponement of days off. Anton Kotyakov, the head of the Ministry of Labor, explained how this procedure works. According to him, the Ministry is trying to combine holidays and weekends so that work and rest time are optimally distributed.

"The decree on the postponement of days off, which fall on public holidays, is adopted by the Government annually. The transfer is carried out in such a way as to optimally distribute the time of work and rest, if possible, combine holidays and weekends," said Kotyakov, quoted by the Ministry of Labor.

According to the decree, the following days off will be postponed: from Saturday, January 3 to Friday, January 9, and from Sunday, January 4 to Thursday, December 31.

Towards winter holidays

The upcoming New Year holidays promise to be long for the residents of Russia — as many as 12 days, thanks to the postponement. Russians will celebrate their holidays with worries and preparations as early as December 31, 2025, after which they will relax and enjoy the winter days until January 11, 2026.

Last year, Russia celebrated the New Year from December 29 to January 8, which is one day less. We talked about the production calendar for this year in the article about three-day and six-day working weeks.

Five days off each

The Ministry of Labor also did not forget about the shortened working weeks and additional days off and shared how the "short" holidays will affect the work schedule. In honor of Defender of the Fatherland Day, Russians are waiting for three February weekends in a row — from February 21 to February 23.

The March calendar promises the same number of days off due to the onset of International Women's Day. You will be able to relax and congratulate from March 7 to March 9. And in May, in honor of both Spring and Labor Day and Victory Day, Russians will rest twice for three days — from 1 to 3 May and from 9 to 11 May.

Russia Day will also be accompanied by weekends, from Friday to Sunday, that is, from June 12 to June 14. In November, Russian residents will have only one day off on the occasion of National Unity Day — on Wednesday, November 4.

And for the New Year holidays of 2027, it follows from the explanatory note of the Ministry of Labor, Russians will leave from December 31 to January 10, 2027.

Remaining holidays

The cycle of holidays in 2025 is already nearing its end, but Russians are waiting for an important date preceding the upcoming New Year holidays — National Unity Day. How was the celebration of the common cause in 2024 — Izvestia told in this article.

According to the production calendar set out in the Decree of the Russian Government, this year there is a postponement from Saturday, November 1, to Monday, November 3, so that Russians will rest from Sunday to Tuesday— from November 2 to November 4 inclusive.

At the same time, the agency traditionally reminds that if an employee's annual paid leave falls on non-working holidays, the rest days will be postponed. Thus, the employee will be able to "take off" the number of holidays that fell on his vacation, as part of an additional weekend.

Holidays for schoolchildren

Not only adults, but also the younger generation, who are still sitting at their school desks, will have a rest on the prescribed days. Despite the fact that they study at school, they will also be able to enjoy the holidays on February 23rd during the established non-working days. (Defender of the Fatherland Day), March 8 (International Women's Day), May 1 (Spring and Labor Day), May 9 (Victory Day).

The Ministry of Education has also released its own timetable, which schools can both follow and target their own learning frameworks. This explains the difference in vacations at educational institutions, which should be taken into account when planning holidays and activities for parents of schoolchildren.

According to the Ministry of Education, this year schoolchildren will celebrate the New Year holidays together with the whole country — on the 31st and up to January 11th. Public holidays, for the most part, will fall during school. Among them are February 23, March 8, May 1, and May 9.

During the summer holidays, students will be able to celebrate Russia Day without looking at their homework, enjoying the warm days and the sun. For grades 5-8, the end of the school year will fall at the end of May 2026, while for grades 9, the schedule of the state final certification is determined.

This year, the last holiday, dated November 4, traditionally falls at the end of the first quarter, and therefore students will celebrate National Unity Day at home or at city events with their family.