Moscow City Day is annually celebrated on the first or the second Saturday of September. For the first time regular celebration of Moscow City Day in early September was initiated in 1986 by Boris Yeltsin who headed Moscow CPSU Committee that time. Formerly 700th anniversary of the first referring to Moscow was celebrated quite modestly in 1847 and grandiose celebration of the 800th anniversary with gigantic portraits of Bolshevik’s leaders hanged throughout the city and evening illumination and firework was held in 1947 accordingly to Stalin’s decree. Presently folk festivals, parades and concerts are held on this day. On these days central streets are crowned with people, popular singers and dancers present their performance, numerous shows are held. Traditionally the major celebrations are arranged in the Tverskaya Street, the Red Square, the Vasilyevsky Spusk, the Poklonnaya Hill and the Sparrow Hills. The City Day celebration are traditionally ended with firework. This festival every year attracts many guests from the vicinities of Moscow and from abroad.
Yearly on 09 of May the Russians celebrate victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War. The major celebrations take place on this day in Moscow. The celebrations start with the Victory Day parade on the Red Square where thousands of soldiers and hundreds of military equipment, including military jets take part in. But the Red Square will be off-limits to regular visitors on this day. So you can watch the Victory Day parade only over TV. But lots of other events will take place in the center of Moscow on this day where everyone can take part in. One of the most popular events on the Victory Day is the «Immortal Regiment». Thousands relatives of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War walk along main Moscow streets with portraits of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers. At the end balloons soar into the sky and a big concert begins. And at 22.00 traditional fireworks start. Among the best places to view fireworks will be bridges across the Moscow River, observation platform on Sparrow Hills, Victory Park and VDNH park.
International military music the Spasskaya Tower Festival named after the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin at the Red Square is traditionally held in Moscow during the City Day celebrations (the first or the second Saturday of September). Russian and foreign military bands, folk groups, and heads of state guard of honour units take part in this colourful festival of military tattoo. Traditionally the festival is ended with picturesque gala performance at the Red Square.
On May 27 1703 Peter the Great laid the foundation stone of the Peter and Paul fortress. This day is considered to be the city foundation day which is celebrated annually by the citizens of St Petersburg on a grand scale. Many festivities are organized on this day in the city center including a parade, historical displays, games, public concerts. On May 27 Nevsky Prospect is usually closed to traffic and citizens take to the street en masse towards Palace square where major festivities take place. In the evening, crowds of people head towards embankments from where they can enjoy the fireworks that usually start by 11:00 p.m.
The Navy Day is celebrated annually on the last Sunday of July. This holiday honors the sailors in units of the Russian Navy and its specialized arms. The Main Naval Parade of warships and aircraft takes place in St Petersburg on the water area of the Neva River. After the parade some of the battle ships will be open for public visit. There are usually interactive and concert programs for a wide audience in the city on this day. And in the evening the central water area of the Neva River is illuminated by fireworks.
The Stars of the White Nights festival is the largest international music festival in Russia. The festival usually runs from the middle of May to the end of July at all the venues of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. The festival takes an inspiration for its name from the short summer season when the sun never sets, and the beauty of St-Petersburg White Nights contributes to the festival’s special atmosphere. Each year the festival programme includes the finest opera and ballet productions, great symphonic works, masterpieces of chamber music and new premieres. Renowned conductors and star-artists perform at the Stars of the White Nights. This festival is a must for ballet, opera and classical music amateurs.
The International Ballet Festival “Mariinsky” is one of the most significant events in the ballet season of St Petersburg. It takes place in March at all the venues of the Mariinsky Theatre. The festival brings together the world‘s best ballet dancers and the playbill lists a programme of works performed by various ballet companies. Each year the festival opens with a ballet premiere and it concludes with a gala concert featuring stars of international ballet.
The Scarlet Sails Festival is a famous event during the White Nights. The festival takes place each June (one evening between 18th and 25th of June) and celebrates Russian students graduating from schools. This tradition began in 1968 and was based on the popular 1922 children’s book Scarlet Sails by Alexander Grin. Nowadays a wide entertainment program is organized for graduates on this evening which includes appearances by popular music-stars, ballet and other classical acts, performing on several stages during the event. The show also includes a series of events on the waters of the Neva River, such as rowing and motorboat races and a battle with pirates culminating in the appearance of a tall ship with spectacular scarlet sails followed by fireworks. Only graduates and their guests can enter by invitation the main festive venues, but citizens and guests of St Petersburg gather on the embankments and bridges, from where they can see fireworks and the passage of the Scarlet Sails.
Russian Music Seasons Festival is a unique chamber classical music concert in the magnificent historical palaces of St. Petersburg. The concert program usually includes classical works of famous Russian composers of the late 19th – early 20th century performed by the soloists of the Mariinsky Theater with the participation of symphony orchestras, as well as the young talents of Russia. Before the concert you will be offered a glass of champagne and showed around the main rooms and halls of the palace. The evening will immerse you into the unforgettable atmosphere of the time of the Russian aristocracy.
The Yelagin Park International Street Theater Festival takes place in summer. It is a unique opportunity to experience the magical world of theater. In the days of the festival, Elagin Island turns into one large stage. Here you can see performances of both already known and absolutely new masters of street theater from Russia and all over the world. During the festival performances of all kinds of street art are shown: clownery, new circus, large-scale shows and unusual performances, musical and interactive performances.
The Imperial Gardens of Russia is the international festival of garden and park art. This large-scale event is held annually in summer by the Russian Museum. The festival takes place on the grounds of the Russian Museum, in the Mikhailovsky Garden or in the Summer Garden. The central event of the festival is the landscaping exhibition and competition. The participants of the festival create landscaping compositions on a given topic. Besides the exhibition competition, the festival includes entertainment and educational activities: concerts, master classes, lectures, excursions, fashion shows, and special programs for adults and children of different ages.
The festival usually takes place from May to September. Various sculptural sand compositions are created by sculptors from different countries right on the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Vast crowds gather to admire sculptors working. For children there are usually special workshops where they can learn about the basic principles of work with sand sculptures and, together with the masters, create figures from sand.
The St. Petersburg Tulip Festival takes place annually late May on Yelagin Island. It counts to the world’s top ten florist festivals. More than a hundred varieties of tulips, original compositions, and florist bouquets are specially created for the festival and occupy the territory of 3000 square meters. The program of the festival includes exhibitions, art installations, concerts, and workshops.
“World of Siberia” is an open-air international festival of world music and crafts. It takes place annually in July in Shushenskoye, the Krasnoyarsk region. The festival has already become an essential part of cultural life for thousands of people. Since 2003 the festival has become very popular among common people and performers not only from Krasnoyarsk region, but also from all over Russia and other countries. Every year the number of spectators increases steadily. More than 30 best bands of different nationalities take part in the contest annually. The festival gives everybody a great chance to get acquainted with the best examples of world ethnic music, immerse you in the atmosphere of unity with everything that happens around.
Every year the Yhyakh traditional Yakut people New Year celebration connected with June solstice, holiday of renewing of the Nature and the Man is held at Us Khatyn area not far from Yakutsk. Central activities of the festival is competition of narrators of Olonkho heroic epic of Yakuts and Okuokhai — simultaneous round dance and song symbolizing the Circle of Life. The celebration is ended with sunrise watching as a symbol of purification of the soul.
