С Новым Годом!
Ringing in 2007 in from Spasskaya Tower in Red Square
To watch President Vladimir Putin's 2008 New Year's address to the nation, click here.
You can also watch the 2007 Russian presidential New Year's speech here
Today is New Year's Day, perhaps the most beloved family holiday on the Russian calendar. Today marks not only the beginning of the new year, but also of the extended holiday vacation season in Russia. Many Russians won't be returning to work until Monday, January 14.
January 1, 2008 also will see the merger of two Russian oblasts, Ust-Orda Buryatia and Irkutsk Oblast, following the results of a 2006 regional referendum in Siberia. The Russian Federation will now go from having 85 federal regions to 84.
From Russia Blog to our readers around the world, best wishes, health and happiness for the new year!
Comments
very sad to see the propaganda from the bbc's coverage of the new year celebrations in moscow on news24. A simple reporting of celebration was turned into an anti-putin rant.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 31, 2007 4:51 PM
Putin looks OK. The rest is extremely creepy.
Endless pictures of Kremlin with no human presence in sight and insane howling of old Soviet anthem... brrrr
Posted by: Candide | January 2, 2008 11:42 AM
Am I wrong, or is this New Year's address a year old- The date is 12-31-06, he is ringing in 2007, the year we just finished.
Posted by: Tanya | January 11, 2008 8:10 AM