TASS-FACTBOX. On May 1, Spring and Labor Day is celebrated annually in Russia. In accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, this day is a non-working day. The holiday received its current name in 1992. In Soviet times, it was officially called the Day of the International, and then the International Day of Workers’ Solidarity.
History of the holiday
May 1, 1886: Workers in Chicago, Illinois, organized a large-scale strike demanding an eight-hour workday. In response, factory owners dismissed the striking workers. On May 3, the dismissed workers attempted to prevent new employees from entering the factory, leading to clashes with the police. One person was killed, and several others were injured. On May 4, anarchist leaders organized a mass demonstration in protest against police brutality. During the demonstration, an explosive device was thrown at the police, resulting in the deaths of seven officers. The police opened fire on the crowd, killing between four and six people and injuring over 100 others. Many were arrested, and four were later executed. In memory of these events, the second International Congress held in Paris in 1889 declared May 1 as International Workers’ Day.
1890: supporters of left-wing parties and movements began celebrating May Day in Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the US, France, Sweden, and other countries. In 1891, following a decision by the Brussels Congress of the Second International, the organization’s sections in each country were granted the right to independently determine the date and form of the celebration. From then on, Britain and some other countries shifted their celebrations to the first Sunday in May.
May Day in the Russian Empire
1890: The first celebration of May Day in Russia took place in Warsaw (then part of the Russian Empire), where 10,000 workers held a mass strike. The first May Day gatherings were organized in St. Petersburg in 1891 and in Moscow in 1895 (with about 250 participants). From the early 1900s, socialists began to associate May 1 with strikes, rallies, and demonstrations.
Soviet times
After the October Revolution of 1917, the holiday gained official status in Soviet Russia. May 1 and 2 were designated as non-working days. The holiday was celebrated with demonstrations and military parades. The first such parade of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army took place in 1918 at Khodynka Field in Moscow. From 1919 to 1968, parades were held annually in Red Square.
1969: Demonstrations on May Day featured only workers and employees from local enterprises; military equipment was not used. In other cities across the USSR, authorities organized meetings with speeches from party and business leaders. The last May Day demonstration in the history of the Soviet Union took place in Moscow on May 1, 1990.
During the Soviet era, May Day parades and processions were broadcast annually, first on All-Union radio and, starting in 1956, on the Union’s central television network.
Celebrations in Russia
Following the collapse of the USSR in 1992, the modern name “Spring and Labor Day” was officially approved. In December 2004, Russia adopted amendments to the Labor Code, according to which from 2005 onward only May 1 remained a public holiday and non-working day, while May 2 was excluded.
In 2014, for the first time since the dissolution of the USSR, a festive procession organized by trade unions took place on Red Square, with over 100,000 people taking part. In 2019, a similar event also drew about 100,000 participants, with 2.4 million people taking part in the celebration nationwide. Starting in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and for safety reasons, most of the celebratory events were held online. In 2022, instead of a large-scale march, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR) held the final stage of the all-Russian motor rally “For a world without Nazism” in the capital to support the special military operation in Ukraine.
On May 1, 2024, festive events organized by the FNPR under the slogan “Decent work for everyone – a guarantee of family well-being and national development” were held across the country. In Moscow, a march titled “May! Work is Cool!” organized by Russian student groups and Rosmolodezh took place at VDNKh as part of the Russia exhibition and forum. More than 5,000 people participated in the event. An exhibition of captured Western weapons and military equipment brought from the special military operation zone was also opened in Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow.
On May 1, 2025, the May Day rally organized by trade unions was held under the slogan Valiant Labor – the Key to Victory”; with over 8,000 offline events, including rallies, marches, and concerts, taking place across 45 regions.
