Russia is the land of high intellectual writers and thinkers such as Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Pushkin, Anton Chekhov and leaders such as Lenin and Stalin who changed the face of the world. Russia is a country in northern Eurasia which is by far the largest country in the world, covering more than a ninth of the Earth’s land area. The country has the world’s largest reserves of mineral and energy resources, and is ranked as an energy superpower. Russia has the world’s eighth largest economy by the means of nominal GDP or the sixth largest by purchasing power parity. People who read 'Brothers Karamazov’ can’t forget Dostoyevsky and his Russia but the celebrations of the Valentine’s Day in this country of culture are not quite unique and different from other countries because of influence of the popular media on the whole concept of Valentine’s day.
Valentine’s Day Traditions in Russia
The history of Valentine’s Day belongs to the roman times when St.Valentine was martyred for refusing to give up his Christian faith. It’s believed that he dies on February 14th and people all over the world honor him on the same day. Russians celebrate Valentine’s Day with high spirit and vigor. People exchange greeting cards with love messages on this day of love. It is believed that greeting cards are the expressions of love. Russian youngsters use to write their own romantic lines on the cards to impress their valentine. Roses, chocolates, candies and cards are believed to be the most popular gifts for the romantic occasion. Russia is celebrating the Valentine’s Day with the same spirit with which they celebrate their traditional festivals.
The day of love is getting very popular in Russia in the last decades. Valentine’s Day is getting much commercialized in Russia, from the past decade. Some Gift shops in Russia use to paint themselves with the festive look of Valentine’s Day long before the arrival of the real Valentine’s event. Gift basket is a common practice between lovers in Russia on Valentine’s Day. Russian Young men gifts flower bouquets, rings, perfumes, chocolate candies and gift baskets to their sweethearts. Nowadays, teenagers are very much fascinated by the popular media’s projection of Valentine’s gifts and they enjoy the day with new ideas such as photo story albums, Musical CDs, DVDs, High-Fi mobile phones.
Russia being one of the most developed countries, urban people are very familiar with the electronic media and its possibilities. So people from different cities the valentine greetings with e-cards and gifts which available through online Valentine’s Day shopping sites. Valentine’s Day dinner and dance parties take place in Russian cities to celebrate the expression of love. Most of these parties are arranged by the youngsters who want to explore the spirit of their youth. Restaurant and pubs get prepared for the Valentine’s Day with finely tuned cocktails and live music. Russia celebrates the Valentine’s Day with true spirit of Valentine’s day but they never get into the insanity of celebration because most of Russian villages think of Valentine’s day as a foreign festival.
