Valentine's Day banned in Russia's Belgorod province

Valentine’s Day banned in Russia’s Belgorod province – Russia’s Belgorod province has officially banned Valentine’s Day. This came as a bit of a surprise to people outside the region, but many of the locals understand. The local governor said the holiday goes against Russian cultural traditions as reported by Rusnovosti.ru.

 It is still unclear what traditions the valentine’s holiday intrude on, but we are going to take their word moving forward. The ban was actually introduced last year with the blessing of the local archbishop, Ioann, by Yevgeny Savchenko. It appears that many of the people are just against the holiday and don’t want anything to do with it. Which is fine because everyone is free to love themselves however they see fit. If not participating at all is what you want to do, then that is your choice.

Valentine’s Day banned in Russia’s Belgorod province

The officials are worried about the “spiritual safety” of their people. This is the reason they feel the ban is necessary. Oleg Polukin, Savchenko’s first deputy, is behind bringing the law and ban back to the forefront. Here is what they had to say about it.

“The society has to think about the consequences” of St. Valentine’s Day celebrations, Grigory Bolotnov, a spokesman for the governor’s office, told the news agency Friday.

He did not elaborate on the consequences, but added that “we could just as well have introduced a Vodka Day.”


But the officials are telling people not to panic and worry too much about the ban. The reason is because it only applies to state agencies, said Bolotnov. The local zoo had to cancel some of its programs. They even had to cancel the discounts they give to couples in celebration of St. Valentine’s Day, which was a bit harsh, but it is a state regulated agency.
There seems to be some good intentions behind this ban. Unfortunately, the state and the officials are not giving us much information about it.

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