33. Russia Day

Several internet sources make the claim that the typical Russian person does not know what Russia Day (June 12) is all about, nor gives it special importance relative to other holidays. Indeed, one of my colleagues didn't know what exactly this holiday is supposed to celebrate (beyond a general national patriotism), and another had no idea whether or what celebratory events were scheduled. This is a newer celebration, established in the early 1990s, that commemorates the constitutional reforms implemented with the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

The continuous rain on Monday certainly dampened the celebration, but there were still thousands of people out in Palace Square in the afternoon to enjoy a military band performance. I suppose it defeats the purpose of a military spectacle if you can't see the uniforms and medals, so the soldiers and police were not wearing any sort of overcoat or poncho. Maybe that's normal in inclement weather; I'm really not knowledgeable about military protocol. There were numerous military bands, although I couldn't tell what the differences were from one to the next - they all appeared to be Russian army bands who played the same range of instruments and same type of songs (mostly military marches, with some classical and pop also in the mix).

Russia Day involved just a fraction of the pageantry and celebrations of Victory Day, but clearly everyone was enjoying the day off from work, even in poor weather. Apparently there were widespread protests in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia, but I didn't see anything amiss during the 2.5 hours that I was out and about in central St. Petersburg.