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In Photos: Muscovites Celebrate Halloween in Defiance of Officials

Nov 03, 2025 - 09:34 pm

Halloween was a day of costumes, candy and all things spooky — even, to a more subdued degree, in Russia.

Amid the full-scale war on Ukraine, the authorities have heavily invested in maintaining peace and calm and entertaining the populace with concerts and parties, especially in the larger cities.

Yet Halloween is a perennial irritant for Russian politicians, pro-Kremlin activists and the Russian Orthodox Church, who reject the idea of celebrating a Western holiday that is sometimes associated with paganism or the occult.

That didn't stop ordinary Muscovites from celebrating the holiday like fellow trick-or-treaters around the world:

Read more about: Holidays , Moscow

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