Maslenitsa

Maslenitsa is the traditional week immediately before Orthodox Great Lent. Its calendar date changes with Orthodox Easter, and the week blends a Christian liturgical threshold with older seasonal customs of farewell to winter and welcome to spring. It is a cultural observance, not a federal public-holiday week.

Blini—thin pancakes—are the best-known food of Maslenitsa, often shared at home and at public fairs. Some towns organise music, craft demonstrations and outdoor events. Customs are not identical across regions, and modern celebrations range from a quiet family meal to a large municipal festival; visitors should treat local traditions with curiosity rather than as a fixed script.

Orthodox practice calls this Cheesefare Week: meat has already been left aside, while dairy foods remain before the stricter Great Fast. Forgiveness Sunday closes the week with worship and mutual requests for forgiveness. Public festivities sometimes include an effigy burned as a farewell to winter, but that popular custom is neither required by the Church nor uniform across Russia. The module records the Monday beginning the week, 56 days before Pascha, solely as a calendar marker; no day in the week is federally non-working.