Father’s Day in Russia is celebrated unofficially, with different cities promoting activities on different days between November and March. But starting in 2014, the country could have its first all-Russia Father’s Day on June 15th. The idea was proposed by Alexander Sidyakin, deputy of the ruling party, in a speech to the Parliament.
Sidyakin justified the necessity of a Father’s Day due to the growing number of families in Russia in which children are raised by single fathers: “This number is close to one million (…) the lack of fathers causes many issues within the family,” he reported. Activists believe that an official date will trigger state-driven programming for fatherhood issues and involve state institutions in the work currently driven by non-profit organizations.