MOSCOW: In offices across Russia, the countdown to International Women’s Day is a whirl of last-minute meetings and dashes for gifts as men race to prepare festivities for their female colleagues.
“We’ve sent out loads of emails, we’ve analyzed the market, we’ve pooled ideas, and we’ve just got one more meeting ahead of the launch of Operation Women’s Day today,” confided Sergei Krakhmalyev, who works at Rosbank, a major Russian bank.
“This year we’ve decided not to spend money on gifts that are useless, shall we say, but to organize a buffet,” he said.
Krakhmalyev, who is in his 40s, works in a team of eight men and 35 women. He calculates that this year’s celebration will cost about 25,000 rubles ($430).
“It’s expensive,” he says, “but it’s a Soviet tradition that I think it’s important to keep up.”
A public holiday in the Soviet Union since 1965, March 8 is an opportunity for Russian men to “remember the importance of women” in society, he says.
International Women’s Day is also a public holiday, so office celebrations are held the day before.
This year’s events are expected to be relatively low-key in comparison to the oil-boom years, when many companies spared no expense.
“The company used to allocate a big budget for this holiday and took as many as 500 women out to a restaurant,” recalled Irina, who works in human resources at a major Russian company.
“That was before the 2008 economic crisis,” said Irina, 40, who asked not to disclose her surname. “Now the men have a whip-round to buy us flowers and chocolates.”
Nevertheless the holiday “cheers up the atmosphere in the team,” she said.
In Russia, it is also widely seen as a counterpart to the Day of the Defender of the Fatherland, on Feb. 23, which is nominally for those who served in the army but is considered the male equivalent.
In offices, this holiday is often an occasion for celebrations that take an unreconstructed approach to gender roles.
“This year we organized a fake army recruitment drive” for the defender holiday, Irina said. “We gave our colleagues a medical and some of us were dressed up as sexy nurses.”
“Now the men are under pressure. They have to try to do better than us, even if we know that’s impossible,” she added with a smile.
Some men, however, including Vitaly Konyayev, a project manager in the southern Russian city of Saratov, find it hard to get into the holiday spirit.
“This year my colleagues didn’t give me anything for Feb. 23, so they can whistle for a gift on March 8,” he said.
The March 8 holiday “only means something if you give flowers to a woman you love and respect — not those you are forced to rub along with at work,” he said.
He complained that he had to pay almost 1,000 rubles for a bunch of flowers for the holiday, which brings a bonanza for florists.
Flower prices often double ahead of the March 8 holiday — and orders double as well, said Florence Gervais d’Aldin, a French flower grower and importer who has worked in Russia for more than 20 years.
Her business, which specializes in scented roses, sells more than 8,000 roses on March 7 and 8, compared with her usual sales of 600 per day.
“It’s a day for mothers, for sweethearts, for colleagues, all together,” Gervais d’Aldin said, with its popularity “far higher” than that of St Valentine’s Day, on Feb. 14.
The stress of organizing a celebration for female counterparts starts early, with boys in elementary school expected to throw celebrations for the girls in their class.
Sasha Kuznetsov, 11, has put together a program of cakes, balloons, greeting cards and even a concert.
“I think this holiday should exist, but it shouldn’t be celebrated in such a pompous way,” he said.
“In any case, soon it will be pointless because women’s rights will be respected,” he added.
For foreigners working in Russia, the full-on approach is a culture shock, said Samuel, a French national working for Sberbank, the country’s biggest lender.
“Russians get used to this holiday from childhood, but for us, it’s always a bit strange,” he said.
He found himself designated a “volunteer” to organize this year’s celebrations, a role that he said requires “endless meetings and spreadsheets.” Last year, the party ended up costing more than 150,000 rubles.
“For my Russian colleagues, it’s a time to make a gesture,” he said. “Even if it is often corny and some things would make a French woman scream.”
In Russia, Women’s Day piles on the pressure for men
In Russia, Women’s Day piles on the pressure for men
Ukraine’s Zelensky urges US to speed up weapons deliveries
Zelensky told a joint news conference in Kyiv alongside visiting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg that the situation on the battlefield directly depended on the speed of ammunition supplies to Ukraine.
“Timely support for our army. Today I don’t see anything positive on this point yet. There are supplies, they have slightly begun, this process needs to be sped up,” he said.
Scotland’s Humza Yousaf quits in boost to Labour before UK vote
- Yousaf quit after a week of chaos triggered by his scrapping of a coalition agreement with Scotland’s Greens
- He then failed to secure enough support to survive a vote of no confidence against him expected later this week
LONDON: Scotland’s leader Humza Yousaf resigned on Monday, further opening the door to the UK opposition Labour Party regaining ground in its former Scottish heartlands during a national election expected to be held later this year.
Yousaf said he was quitting as head of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) and first minister of Scotland’s devolved government after a week of chaos triggered by his scrapping of a coalition agreement with Scotland’s Greens.
He then failed to secure enough support to survive a vote of no confidence against him expected later this week.
Resigning little over a year after he replaced Nicola Sturgeon as first minister and SNP leader, Yousaf said it was time for someone else to lead Scotland.
“I’ve concluded that repairing our relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm,” Yousaf said, adding he would continue until a successor was chosen in an SNP leadership contest.
Yousaf abruptly ended a power-sharing agreement between his pro-independence SNP and the Green Party after a row over climate change targets. The SNP’s fortunes have faltered over a funding scandal and the resignation of Sturgeon as party leader last year. There has also been infighting over how progressive its pitch should be as it seeks to woo back voters.
Caught between defending the record of the coalition government and some nationalists’ demands to jettison gender recognition reforms and refocus on the economy, Yousaf was unable to strike a balance that would ensure his survival.
The SNP is losing popular support after 17 years of heading the Scottish government. Earlier this month, polling firm YouGov said the Labour Party had overtaken the SNP in voting intentions for a Westminster election for the first time in a decade.
Labour’s resurgence in Scotland adds to the challenge facing British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party which is lagging far behind Labour in UK-wide opinion polls.
The Scottish parliament now has 28 days to choose a new first minister before an election is forced, with former SNP leader John Swinney and Yousaf’s former leadership rival Kate Forbes seen as possible successors.
If the SNP is unable to find a new leader to command support in parliament, a Scottish election will be held. Yousaf, the first Muslim head of government in modern Western Europe, succeeded Sturgeon as first minister in March 2023. Once hugely popular, Sturgeon has been embroiled in a party funding scandal with her husband, who was charged this month with embezzling funds. Both deny wrongdoing.
Iran slams crackdown on US student protesters
- The demonstrations began at Columbia University in New York and have since spread across the country
Tehran: Iran on Monday criticized a police crackdown in the United States against university students protesting against the rising death toll from the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
“The American government has practically ignored its human rights obligations and respect for the principles of democracy that they profess,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.
Tehran “does not at all accept the violent police and military behavior aimed at the academic atmosphere and student demands,” he said.
American universities have been rocked by pro-Palestinian demonstrations, triggering campus clashes with police and the arrest of some 275 people over the weekend.
The demonstrations began at Columbia University in New York and have since spread across the country.
In Iran, hundreds of people demonstrated in Tehran and other cities on Sunday in solidarity with the US demonstrations.
Some carried banners proclaiming “Death to Israel” and “Gazans are truly oppressed,” state media reported.
The Gaza war broke out after the October 7 attack by Palestinian militants on Israel which killed 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.
Tehran backs Hamas, but has denied any direct involvement in the attack.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed at least 34,488 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
“What we have seen in American universities in recent days is an awakening of the world community and world public opinion toward the Palestinian issue,” Kanani said.
“It is not possible to silence the loud voices of protesters against this crime and genocide through police action and violent policies.”
Pedro Sanchez stays on as Spain’s prime minister after weighing exit
- Sanchez had surprised foes and allies when earlier said he considers quitting
- He described the court investigation of his wife Begona Gomez for influence peddling and business corruption as orchestrated by his opponents
MADRID: Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday he had decided to continue in office, days after abruptly announcing he was considering his future following the launch of a corruption investigation against his wife.
The center-left prime minister, 52, had surprised foes and allies alike when he said on Wednesday he was taking time from public duty to consider quitting. He described the court investigation of his wife Begona Gomez for influence peddling and business corruption as orchestrated by his opponents.
Sanchez met King Felipe VI on Monday — a step that would have been necessary should he have decided to resign — but announced in a televised address that he had informed the monarch of his decision to stay on. He had been encouraged to stay by widespread expressions of support over the weekend, Sanchez said.
“I have decided to go on, if possible even stronger as prime minister. This is not business as usual, things are going to be different,” he said in a national broadcast.
His announcement that he might quit had caused further turmoil in Spanish politics, where a fractious parliament has struggled to form coalition governments after close elections. Should a new election have been required, it would have been the fourth in five years.
The opposition will try to exploit the sign of indecision from Sanchez, but the impact may be limited because Spain’s political landscape is already so polarized, said Ignacio Jurado, political science professor at Madrid’s Carlos III University.
“His credibility is already hotly contested and voters have already given it to him or taken it away,” he said. “As a leader he has shown a weakness and it’s something that the opposition will exploit a lot.”
Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf resigns
- Humza Yousaf said he would continue as first minister until a successor has been elected.
LONDON: Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf resigned as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on Monday and said he had ordered a contest be held to select a replacement.
“I’ve concluded that repairing our relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm,” Yousaf said at a press conference in Edinburgh.
“I have therefore informed the SNP’s national secretary of my intention to stand down as party leader and ask that she commences a leadership contest for my replacement as soon as possible.”
He said he would continue as first minister until a successor has been elected.
Last week, Yousaf abruptly ended a power-sharing agreement between his Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Green Party, in the hopes that he could lead a minority government — but opposition parties have tabled a vote of no confidence.
The pro-independence SNP’s fortunes have faltered amid a funding scandal and the resignation of a party leader last year, while there has been infighting over how progressive its pitch should be as it seeks to woo back voters.
Just days ago, Yousaf said he was “quite confident” that he could win the no confidence vote called by political opponents, but by Monday, his offer of talks with other parties to try to shore up his minority government seemed to be faltering.
The leadership crisis and a second no-confidence vote against the Scottish government deepens problems faced by Yousaf’s Scottish National Party, which is losing popular support after 17 years of heading the Scottish Government.
Earlier this month, polling firm YouGov said the Labour Party had overtaken the SNP in voting intentions for a Westminster election, for the first time in a decade.
The leader of the Scottish Greens, Patrick Harvie, told BBC radio there was nothing Yousaf could say to persuade his party to support the first minister in the parliamentary confidence vote, leaving Yousaf with few options.
The vote is due to take place later this week.
A victory for Labour in Scotland in Britain’s next national election — expected later this year — would significantly bolster the party’s chances of taking power from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party.
If Yousaf loses, parliament would have 28 days to choose a new first minister before an election is forced.
Former SNP leader John Swinney has been approached by senior party figures to become an interim first minister in the event of Yousaf being forced from office, the Times newspaper said, adding that Swinney was reluctant to step up because of personal circumstances.
Yousaf, who previously held health and justice ministerial briefs in the Scottish Government, succeeded former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon as first minister in March 2023.
She resigned last year and has since been embroiled in a party funding scandal with her husband, who was charged this month with embezzling funds. Both deny wrongdoing.
