The key facts
- VTsIOM head Valery Fyodorov: Russians want long holidays both in January and in May, without shortening the winter ones
- 2027 production calendar: two three-day rest periods — from May 1 to 3 and from May 8 to 10
- In between — four working days from May 4 to 7; before the end of 2026 a three-day work week remains from December 28 to 30
What VTsIOM found out
Russians would like to have holidays as long as the New Year break during the May holidays, but without shortening the winter holidays. This was stated in a conversation with RIA Novosti by VTsIOM General Director Valery Fyodorov. According to him, citizens are not interested in moving January days off to spring, but in extending the overall duration of holiday rest. «People would like, in addition to the long January holidays, to also get long May holidays. That is what people want. In other words, not to compensate, but to have plenty during both holidays,» Life.ru quotes Fyodorov as saying.
What the production calendar says
The current calendar does not yet match the wishes for a long May break: no continuous May holidays are provided for 2027. Rest is planned in two three-day periods — from May 1 to May 3 and from May 8 to May 10, and in between, four days will have to be worked, from May 4 to May 7. Thus, what the sociologist's poll refers to is a wish, not an adopted decision: the 2027 schedule has already been fixed in a different form.
Upcoming days off
Before the end of 2026, Russians will have one more shortened work week: it will last three days, from Monday, December 28 to Wednesday, December 30, after which the long New Year holidays will begin. This schedule is also provided for by the production calendar.
