The Russia's State Duma proposed changes to the Russian Labour Code which will allow regions to introduce their own public holidays. Some experts say such move was made mostly for predominantly-Muslim regions, as Islamic holidays are not days off in Russia, unlike Orthodox ones. 

      It should be pointed out, that many heads of Russian regions have already tried to establish regional holidays as days off, but without success. Morevoer, a week ago Bashkiria resident Sergei Dulov brought a suit to the Russia’s High Court about the abolition of Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha day-off holidays, saying that laws about holidays on a regional level contradict federal laws. The High Court upheld that lawsuit, but later suspended the sentence due to supervisory complaints of Bashkiria authorities and big social indignation. So, the nearest Muslim holiday (Eid al-Adha on the 6th of November) will remain the day off in Bashkiria and some other region, though it is still not official at the federal level. The draft for changes to the Russian Labour Code will be considered by the Duma ib the near future. 

      There are several holidays in Russia connected with Orthodoxy: Christmas on Jan. 7, and Public Unity Day on Nov. 4, actually Our Lady of Kazan Day, according to Alexei Markin, deputy director of political technologies centre. He added that the idea to allow Muslims to relax on their holidays looks very logic and that it should not lead to inter-ethnic tensions. 

      Even if Eid al-Adha was announced as a day off not only in predominantly-Muslim regions, but also in religiously-complicated Moscow, non-religious people are unlikely to protest over an additional day off. 

Sources: KP.ru The Moscow News