New Year in Russia: Nostalgia for Decades
Automatic translation. Read the Russian original
Music service Sound conducted a study to find out how Russians celebrated the New Year in different decades, from the 1960s to the 2010s. Within the framework of the interactive project “Remember everything”, users could remember their favorite hits, traditions and attributes of the holiday. A poll conducted in December 2025 found that the 1990s (30%) were more nostalgic, followed by the 2000s (19%) and the 1980s (15%).
Most respondents are nostalgic for television musical tales, street festivities, Soviet Christmas toys, discos and old New Year's cards. Popular songs are Russian pop music, children's songs, Soviet pop music and music from Soviet films. The main symbols of the holiday are gifts, tangerines, Christmas tree, Santa Claus and Snow Maiden, as well as champagne. A third of respondents consider decorating a Christmas tree their favorite New Year ritual.
The study revealed favorite New Year songs in every era, from "A Snow Is Coming" in the 1960s to "New Year's Eve" by Disco Crash in the 1990s and "New Year's Song" by the group "The Brilliant" in the 2000s. It was also determined which films Russians preferred to watch on New Year's Eve, with "Wizards" in first place.