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,” 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 (US$430).

“It’s expensive,” he said, “but it’s a Soviet tradition that I think is 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 said.

International Women’s Day is also a public holiday, so office celebrations are held the day before.

This year’s events were expected to be relatively low-key in comparison to the oil-boom years, when many companies spared no expense.

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.

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, 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.

在俄罗斯各地的办公室，妇女节的临近意味着最后关头的紧急会议和跑来跑去地买礼物，因为俄罗斯男人要争分夺秒地为女同事们准备妇女节的庆祝活动。

在罗斯银行工作的男士谢尔盖•克拉克马尔耶夫透露说：“我们会发出大量邮件、分析市场行情、集思广益，还会在妇女节行动日前夕召开会议。”

他说：“今年我们决定不花钱买没用的礼物了，而是组织一场自助餐。”

现年40多岁的克拉克马尔耶夫在一个包含8名男性和35名女性的团队里工作。他估算今年的妇女节庆祝活动将花费约2.5万卢布

（430美元）。

他说：“是挺烧钱的，但这是一项源于苏联时期的传统，我认为保持这一传统很重要。”

他介绍说，1965年妇女节在前苏联成为公休假日，自那以后，3月8日就成为俄罗斯男人“铭记女人在社会中的重要性”的一个机会。

国际妇女节在现在的俄罗斯也是公休假

日，所以办公室的庆祝活动提前一天举行。

今年的庆祝活动预期将比石油荣景年代相对低调些，那些年许多公司都是不惜血本地砸钱搞庆祝活动。

在俄罗斯，妇女节还被普遍视为和祖国保卫者日（2月23日）对等的节日。祖国保卫者日名义上是那些军人的节日，但现在已被视为男人的节日。

为女同胞们组织庆祝活动的压力从小就开始了，小学男生就要开始为班里的女同学庆祝节日。

11岁的萨沙•库兹涅佐夫为女同学准备了蛋糕、气球、贺卡甚至音乐会等一系列节目。

他说：“我认为这个节日应该存在，但不应该如此大张旗鼓地庆祝。”

　 (Chinadaily.com.cn)

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

   【对应物】duìyìngwù counterpart a person or thing closely resembling another, especially in function

    【浮夸的】fúkuā de pompous characterized by an ostentatious display of dignity or importance