The most "non-working" month in five years has begun in Russia

January 2026 in Russia will consist of more than half of weekends and holidays, making it the most "non-working" month in the last five years. This follows from TASS calculations conducted on January 1.

According to information provided earlier to TASS by Yaroslav Nilov, head of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs, a reduced number of working days is expected in January 2026. According to his statement, only 15 days will be allocated for work, while the remaining days of the month will be declared days off and holidays.

It is specified that in January 2023, 2024 and 2025 there were 17 working and 14 non—working days, and in 2022 - 16 working and 15 non-working days. The only exception was January 2021, when there were 15 working days and 16 non-working days, which coincided with the situation in 2026.

Despite the "short" January, the overall balance of working and non-working days in 2026 will remain balanced. In total, there will be 118 days off and holidays and 247 working days in 2026. However, the rest for the May holidays in 2026 will be shorter than in previous years, due to a shorter break (May 1-3 and 9-11).

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On December 31, Nilov announced that the New Year holidays would not affect the fixed part of the wages of Russian citizens, however, for workers who receive piecework payments, changes in the total amount of earnings are possible. It was clarified that a long weekend period has started in the Russian Federation, which will last 12 days and end on January 11. Thus, in January 2026, the total number of working days will be only 15 out of 31 calendar days, which makes this month the shortest in terms of working hours over the past five years.

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