David Burghardt

February 23 in Russia is a holiday dedicated to all of those Defenders of the Fatherland, or in other words all the military people from WWII onwards. Even though I’m an expat in Moscow, the natives still like to invite me to their holidays and we celebrated like “real men!”

Being a “defender of the fatherland” myself, albeit it’s the “motherland” and I served in the U.S. Navy, it’s always a treat to celebrate Russian holidays incognito.

There’s not really much to celebrating the holiday except for the fact that women usually buy “man-type” toys such as drills, flasks, or ties for their “defenders.” The guys are usually less than impressed but know it’s a precursor to the next holiday in Russia, International Women’s Day, which is celebrated on March 8. This is a very costly holiday for women with lots of flowers, restaurants, theaters, jewelry, perfume, beauty salons…and the list just goes on (the haul is usually better than Christmas or New Year’s). Plus they end up getting an entire three days off even though the holiday falls on a Thursday, as opposed to “Defenders’ Day,” which also fell on a Thursday this year, but we were all back at work early on Friday.

So, anyway, guys are given carte blanche to go out drinking with their buddies on Defenders’ Day, usually coming home late at night and not in the best of form. Since I’m here in Moscow, I of course delved into the “holiday spirit” and enjoyed an evening out with my male friends. We did have a great time and no one yelled at any of the mighty men upon returning home late at night far from sober.

There is an official side to the celebration with the laying of wreaths at monuments, official speeches by senior political figures and other events dedicated to the older generation who fought for Russia in all its wars.

We have something similar to both Defenders of the Fatherland and International Women’s Day: Father’s Day and Mother’s Day. But there are restrictions on those days in the West. You have to be either a father or a mother…In Russia, you just have to be male or female. Much more democratic, I’d say!