Defender of the Fatherland Day

On 23 February, during the Defender of the Fatherland Day (???? ????????? ????????? Den zashchitnika Otechestva) Russia honors those who are presently serving in the Armed Forces and those who have served in the past. During the era of the Soviet Union, it was called the Red Army Day or the Day of the Soviet Army and Navy (celebrating the day of the first mass draft of the Red Army in Petrograd and Moscow or of the first combat action against the invading German forces).