March 14, 2001

The Calendar Issue


The Calendar Issue

You will see references to the old calendar in many articles dealing with Russian history prior to February 14, 1918. For example, you might read that the Romanov family was captured in March {February on the old calendar} of 1917. The old calendar refers to the Julian Calendar. The, so called, new calendar is the Gregorian.

The Julian Calendar was introduced in 45 BC by Julius Cesar and was endorsed by Emperor Constantine and the First Ecumenical Council of the Church at Nicea. This calendar featured a seven day week, was slightly longer than the solar year and was modeled after the Christian sabbatical cycle. The Julian New Year is September 1st. August 31st is the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist and marks the end of the church year. Under this system, the Nativity of Our Lord {Christmas} falls on January 7th. The Pascha {Easter Sunday} is a moveable feast. It must fall on a Sunday, but the date varies from year to year. It is determined as the Sunday after the first full moon, after the first vernal equinox, and reckoned, astrologically, at the Jerusalem meridian. This date and the following weeks until Pentecost will differ between the Julian and Gregorian calendars. (reckoning for Pascha on the Julian and Gregorian calendars)

The Gregorian calendar is the product of scientific and astrological research commissioned by Pope Paul III. He solicited various astronomers to figure out a way to correct the 'error' of the Julian calendar's reckoning. The main researcher was a Jesuit by the name of Christopher Clavius. Pope Paul III passed away before a calendar solution was formed. His successor, Pope Gregory XIII , was presented with several calendar reform options and chose the one created by Clavius. Clavius' reforms were officially adopted by the Catholic Church and most European Catholic nations on February 24, 1582, as the Inter Gravissimas or Gregorian Calendar Reform. England and her colonies did not accept the Gregorian calendar until 1752.

Until the end of the 15th century, the Russian calendar began with March 1st. The years were counted from the time of Creation or 5509 BC. Between the mid-1400's to 1700, Russian calendars placed the New Year on September 1st, in keeping with the Julian calendar. Peter the Great decided to implement the Gregorian calendar and adopt the Christian Era method of year counting. This caused quite a bit of opposition from the Russian Orthodox Church who refused to comply. As a result, Russia continued to use the old calendar but referred to the Gregorian when dealing in foreign affairs. We can only imagine how much confusion this caused for the Russian people!

Vladimir I. Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution, officially changed Russia's calendar to the Gregorian in 1918. He did this to keep in step with the rest of the world. To this day, the Eastern Orthodox Church still uses the old calendar. The first half of the Church year runs from September 1 - December 25 {Sept. 14 - Jan. 7 on the Julian calendar}. December 26 - August 31 marks the second half of the Orthodox or old calendar {Jan. 8 - Sept. 13 on the Julian}.

The old or Julian calendar was the way all the world once reckoned dates. Thanks to the Russian Orthodox Church, Russia maintained its use longer than any other country. If you have any Russian Orthodox friends and they don't open their Christmas presents until January 7th, now you know why!

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955