February 2026 Holidays and Long Weekends in Russia

After the New Year holidays, the next opportunity for a prolonged rest will present itself to Russian residents at the end of February. Traditionally, this month marks one of the main state holidays — Defender of the Fatherland Day, which in 2026 grants three consecutive days off.

Holidays in February

Defender of the Fatherland Day — a holiday with a deep history. It was established in the RSFSR in 1919 as the anniversary of the creation of the Red Army and initially was called «Day of the Red Army and Navy». Over time, the holiday evolved. In 1949, it was renamed «Day of the Soviet Army and Navy». After the collapse of the USSR, in 1995, the holiday received its modern name — «Defender of the Fatherland Day». The official status of a non-working holiday on February 23 was obtained in 2002.

In addition to the official holiday, the atmosphere of February 2026 will be created by other events. Saturday, February 14 — Valentine«s Day, and the week from February 16 to 22 — Maslenitsa (Butter Week, a Slavic folk holiday). Although these are not days off.

Long Weekends in February

In 2026, February 23 falls on a Monday. This automatically forms three consecutive days off — from Saturday, February 21, to Monday, February 23 inclusive.

Is It Worth Taking a Vacation in February?

From a financial point of view, February is not the most profitable month for vacation. The point is that it has 19 working days with a five-day week. For comparison, April will have 22 working days. If you take a vacation, the number of working days will decrease, which may affect the size of the salary. After all, the cost of one working day and a vacation day differs.

Salary is calculated for actually worked days. But vacation pay — for all calendar days, except holidays, based on the average earnings for the last year. For a more accurate calculation, you need to compare your vacation pay with daily earnings.

However, the main plus of February 2026 — the opportunity to extend the three-day holiday weekend, spending a minimum of vacation days. If you take just four days, from February 24 to 27, then in total with the weekend (February 21–23) you will get as many as 9 days of continuous rest (from February 21 to March 1).

Calendar of Long Weekends for 2026

After February, in 2026, several more holiday periods are planned:

March: March 7–9 (International Women«s Day). Since the holiday (March 8) falls on a Sunday, the day off will be moved to Monday, March 9.

May: May 1–3 (Spring and Labor Day) and May 9–11 (Victory Day). May 8 will be a shortened pre-holiday working day.

June: June 12–14 (Russia Day). June 11 will also become a shortened working day.

November: Day of National Unity, November 4, on Wednesday, will be a single holiday day off. The day before, November 3, the working day is shortened.

Thus, in 2026 with a five-day work week, out of 365 days there will be 247 working and 118 days off and holidays.