✨ Interesting facts about Orthodox Christmas Eve, known as Sochelnik/Holy Supper, celebrated on January 6th:
• Orthodox Christmas Eve falls on January 6th, as Russian Orthodox Churches use the older Julian Calendar.
• Sochelnik/Holy Supper is the traditional, festive, meatless Christmas Eve dinner for Orthodox Christians, eaten on January 6th after the first star appears, featuring 12- course meal – one course for each apostle.
• Initially, Russian orthodox Christians did not sleep on Christmas Eve, but celebrated Kolyada. This is a rich Slavic tradition that combines ancient pagan rituals in honour of the winter sun (Solntzevorot) with Christian Christmas, including house-to-house caroling (kolyadki) with costumes and songs for good fortune, celebrated around Orthodox Christmas, symbolizing rebirth and new light.
#OrthodoxChristmasEve
• Orthodox Christmas Eve falls on January 6th, as Russian Orthodox Churches use the older Julian Calendar.
• Sochelnik/Holy Supper is the traditional, festive, meatless Christmas Eve dinner for Orthodox Christians, eaten on January 6th after the first star appears, featuring 12- course meal – one course for each apostle.
• Initially, Russian orthodox Christians did not sleep on Christmas Eve, but celebrated Kolyada. This is a rich Slavic tradition that combines ancient pagan rituals in honour of the winter sun (Solntzevorot) with Christian Christmas, including house-to-house caroling (kolyadki) with costumes and songs for good fortune, celebrated around Orthodox Christmas, symbolizing rebirth and new light.
#OrthodoxChristmasEve
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
#KievRegimeCrimes
⚡️ Ambassador at Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Rodion Miroshnik:
PHOTO EVIDENCE of crimes committed by Ukrainian armed forces over the week of December 29 – January 4:
▪️December 30 – a kamikaze drone attacked a civilian passenger car in Novaya Kakhovka, Kherson Region.
▪️December 31 – a fixed-wing UAV Chaklun-V struck a privately owned residential house in Donetsk, DPR.
▪️December 31 – shelling of a residential area in Maslova Pristan, Belgorod Region. Three civilians were injured, 23 private homes were damaged.
▪️January 1, at midnight – three Ukrainian UAVs attacked a café and a hotel complex in Khorly, Kherson Region. 29 people were killed, at least 31 were injured.
▪️January 1 – a kamikaze drone strike on a grocery store in Razumnoye, Belgorod Region. Three civilians were injured.
▪️Night of January 2 – UAVs attacked a power substation in Rubezhnoye, LPR. More than 85,000 household consumers in eight localities were left without electricity.
▪️ January 2 – a missile strike hit a commercial facility in central Belgorod. Two women were injured.
▪️ January 2 – an FPV-drone strike on a civilian passenger car in Belyanka village, Belgorod Region. Two civilians were injured.
▪️Night of January 4 – UAVs attacked Gubkin, Belgorod Region. A civilian woman was injured, several commercial facilities were damaged.
▪️ January 4 – a kamikaze drone struck civilian passenger cars in a car park in Razumnoye, Belgorod Region. Three civilians were injured.
⚡️ Ambassador at Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry Rodion Miroshnik:
PHOTO EVIDENCE of crimes committed by Ukrainian armed forces over the week of December 29 – January 4:
▪️December 30 – a kamikaze drone attacked a civilian passenger car in Novaya Kakhovka, Kherson Region.
▪️December 31 – a fixed-wing UAV Chaklun-V struck a privately owned residential house in Donetsk, DPR.
▪️December 31 – shelling of a residential area in Maslova Pristan, Belgorod Region. Three civilians were injured, 23 private homes were damaged.
▪️January 1, at midnight – three Ukrainian UAVs attacked a café and a hotel complex in Khorly, Kherson Region. 29 people were killed, at least 31 were injured.
▪️January 1 – a kamikaze drone strike on a grocery store in Razumnoye, Belgorod Region. Three civilians were injured.
▪️Night of January 2 – UAVs attacked a power substation in Rubezhnoye, LPR. More than 85,000 household consumers in eight localities were left without electricity.
▪️ January 2 – a missile strike hit a commercial facility in central Belgorod. Two women were injured.
▪️ January 2 – an FPV-drone strike on a civilian passenger car in Belyanka village, Belgorod Region. Two civilians were injured.
▪️Night of January 4 – UAVs attacked Gubkin, Belgorod Region. A civilian woman was injured, several commercial facilities were damaged.
▪️ January 4 – a kamikaze drone struck civilian passenger cars in a car park in Razumnoye, Belgorod Region. Three civilians were injured.
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✨The Russian Embassy wholeheartedly wishes Merry Christmas to our compatriots living in South Africa and Lesotho, Orthodox Russians and all those who celebrate this holiday today!
This bright holiday unites millions of people around the ideals of goodness, mercy and justice. These fundamental values have played a special role in the history of our country, serving as strong spiritual and moral pillars of our society for centuries.
✨On this holy day, we wish you hope and love, support from friends and family, well-being and family happiness!
#Christmas2026
This bright holiday unites millions of people around the ideals of goodness, mercy and justice. These fundamental values have played a special role in the history of our country, serving as strong spiritual and moral pillars of our society for centuries.
✨On this holy day, we wish you hope and love, support from friends and family, well-being and family happiness!
#Christmas2026
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✨Посольство России от всей души поздравляет с Рождеством Христовым соотечественников, проживающих в ЮАР и Лесото, православных россиян и всех, кто сегодня отмечает этот светлый праздник!
Рождество Христово объединяет миллионы людей вокруг идеалов добра, милосердия и справедливости. Эти незыблемые ценности играют особую роль в истории нашей страны, на протяжении веков служат надёжной духовной, нравственной опорой общества.
✨Желаем православным христианам, всем, кто отмечает Рождество Христово, надежды и любви, поддержки друзей и близких, благополучия и семейного счастья!
#РождествоХристово2026
Рождество Христово объединяет миллионы людей вокруг идеалов добра, милосердия и справедливости. Эти незыблемые ценности играют особую роль в истории нашей страны, на протяжении веков служат надёжной духовной, нравственной опорой общества.
✨Желаем православным христианам, всем, кто отмечает Рождество Христово, надежды и любви, поддержки друзей и близких, благополучия и семейного счастья!
#РождествоХристово2026
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
☦️ Russia's President Vladimir Putin congratulated Orthodox Christians and all Russians celebrating Christmas (January 7, 2026)
✍️ Vladimir Putin: This wonderful holiday illuminates the world with the light of kindness and love, giving millions of people hope and the joy of communion with the spiritual traditions of our forebears, passed down from generation to generation.
I would like to note with deep appreciation the immense and truly unique contribution made by the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations to strengthening social unity, preserving our rich historical and cultural heritage, and fostering the patriotic and moral upbringing of young people.
Religious organisations devote tireless attention to works of mercy and charity, care for those in need, support participants and veterans of the special military operation, and do much to promote harmonious interfaith and interethnic dialogue in our country. This important and much-needed work deserves the most sincere recognition.
I wish Orthodox Christians and all those who celebrate Christmas good health, success and all the very best.
✍️ Vladimir Putin: This wonderful holiday illuminates the world with the light of kindness and love, giving millions of people hope and the joy of communion with the spiritual traditions of our forebears, passed down from generation to generation.
I would like to note with deep appreciation the immense and truly unique contribution made by the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations to strengthening social unity, preserving our rich historical and cultural heritage, and fostering the patriotic and moral upbringing of young people.
Religious organisations devote tireless attention to works of mercy and charity, care for those in need, support participants and veterans of the special military operation, and do much to promote harmonious interfaith and interethnic dialogue in our country. This important and much-needed work deserves the most sincere recognition.
I wish Orthodox Christians and all those who celebrate Christmas good health, success and all the very best.
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
The German command was convinced that the main Soviet forces had already been crushed and therefore did not anticipate a major counter-offensive. As a result, the enemy faltered and was forced into retreat. The Red Army went on to liberate Kalinin, Klin, Istra, Volokolamsk, and other towns near Moscow.
The counter-offensive involved more than 1 million Soviet soldiers, supported by thousands of artillery pieces, tanks, and aircraft, despite severe winter conditions reaching –30°C. Already on January 8, 1942, the maneuver expanded into a full-scale general offensive – the Rzhev-Vyazma strategic operation began.
As a result of the Battle of Moscow, the Wehrmacht suffered heavy losses – up to 500,000 casualties – marking its first major strategic defeat in World War II and shattering the myth of its invincibility. The enemy forces were pushed back 100-250 km from the Soviet capital.
#Victory81
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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
⚔️ On January 8, 1942, the #BattleOfRzhev commenced – one of the most large-scale and brutal battles of the Great Patriotic War, lasting 438 days.
The chronology of the battle includes four offensive operations carried out by Soviet forces of the Western Front (Commander – Georgy Zhukov) and the Kalinin Front (Commander – Ivan Konev) against Germany’s Army Group Centre. Their objective was to liberate Rzhev, Sychevka, and Vyazma, thereby eliminating the Rzhev-Vyazma salient.
In the Rzhev sector, the Wehrmacht deployed one of its largest groupings – 1,569,000 personnel, around 13,000 artillery pieces, and 1,100 tanks. These forces were tied down in prolonged fighting with the Red Army and could not be redeployed to other key sectors of the front – the Caucasus and Stalingrad.
In the winter of 1943, following the crushing defeat of Nazi forces at Stalingrad, when the strategic initiative finally shifted to the USSR, the German command decided to abandon the Rzhev-Vyazma salient. The pursuit of the retreating enemy, from March 2-31, 1943, pushed the front line 130-160 kilometres farther away from Moscow.
On March 3, 1943, Rzhev was fully liberated.
🕯 The offensive and defensive operations conducted by the Western and Kalinin Fronts were of decisive strategic importance in achieving the turning point in favour of the Red Army across the entire Soviet-German theatre of war. The feat of Soviet soldiers is eternal and shall never be forgotten.
In 2020, at the initiative of Great Patriotic War veterans and the Russian Military Historical Society, and with the participation of President of Russia Vladimir Putin, the Rzhev Memorial was unveiled at the site of the fierce battles of 1942-1943 – a 25-metre figure of a soldier, rising above the field and seemingly dissolving into a flock of cranes, symbolising the souls of fallen soldiers – perished, yet never forgotten.
#Victory81 #WeRemember
The chronology of the battle includes four offensive operations carried out by Soviet forces of the Western Front (Commander – Georgy Zhukov) and the Kalinin Front (Commander – Ivan Konev) against Germany’s Army Group Centre. Their objective was to liberate Rzhev, Sychevka, and Vyazma, thereby eliminating the Rzhev-Vyazma salient.
In the Rzhev sector, the Wehrmacht deployed one of its largest groupings – 1,569,000 personnel, around 13,000 artillery pieces, and 1,100 tanks. These forces were tied down in prolonged fighting with the Red Army and could not be redeployed to other key sectors of the front – the Caucasus and Stalingrad.
In the winter of 1943, following the crushing defeat of Nazi forces at Stalingrad, when the strategic initiative finally shifted to the USSR, the German command decided to abandon the Rzhev-Vyazma salient. The pursuit of the retreating enemy, from March 2-31, 1943, pushed the front line 130-160 kilometres farther away from Moscow.
On March 3, 1943, Rzhev was fully liberated.
🕯 The offensive and defensive operations conducted by the Western and Kalinin Fronts were of decisive strategic importance in achieving the turning point in favour of the Red Army across the entire Soviet-German theatre of war. The feat of Soviet soldiers is eternal and shall never be forgotten.
In 2020, at the initiative of Great Patriotic War veterans and the Russian Military Historical Society, and with the participation of President of Russia Vladimir Putin, the Rzhev Memorial was unveiled at the site of the fierce battles of 1942-1943 – a 25-metre figure of a soldier, rising above the field and seemingly dissolving into a flock of cranes, symbolising the souls of fallen soldiers – perished, yet never forgotten.
#Victory81 #WeRemember
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📆 #OTD, in 1797, Ferdinand Wrangel, the outstanding Baltic German-Russian polar explorer and navigator, was born.
🌐Ferdinand Wrangel circumnavigated the globe three times, was famous for mapping Siberia’s Arctic coast and played a key role in exploring polar regions. He was a progressive statesman and served as Governor of Russian America (Alaska).
Ferdinand Wrangel explored the Arctic extensively and co-founded the Russian Geographical Society (RGS), solidifying his legacy in polar research and geography.
Today, many geographical locations are named after him, including a Russian island in the waters of the Arctic Ocean. Wrangel Island, a core part of the Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve in Russia, is a #UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized for its unique Arctic biodiversity, and its role as a refuge for ancient species like woolly mammoths, showcasing the stunning harsh beauty of polar nature and evolutionary development.
#OutstandingRussians
🌐Ferdinand Wrangel circumnavigated the globe three times, was famous for mapping Siberia’s Arctic coast and played a key role in exploring polar regions. He was a progressive statesman and served as Governor of Russian America (Alaska).
Ferdinand Wrangel explored the Arctic extensively and co-founded the Russian Geographical Society (RGS), solidifying his legacy in polar research and geography.
Today, many geographical locations are named after him, including a Russian island in the waters of the Arctic Ocean. Wrangel Island, a core part of the Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve in Russia, is a #UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized for its unique Arctic biodiversity, and its role as a refuge for ancient species like woolly mammoths, showcasing the stunning harsh beauty of polar nature and evolutionary development.
#OutstandingRussians
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