You probably think about leap years as a chance for a woman to propose to a man on 29th February (watch out, the day is still young), but Russians don’t even know about such a custom. However, they have their own superstitions and meanings attached to it.

What does a leap year mean for Russians?

Apparently, for the great majority of them, nothing special!

In fact, only 78% of Russians questioned by WCIOM interviewers on 18 January 2020 knew that it was a leap year. So, 1 in 5 respondents didn’t know, obviously, they couldn’t care less.

1. The top answer in the question about the meaning of leap years was, “Nothing” (24%). 1 in 4 Russians can’t come up with one meaningful thing about years that have 366 days in them!
2. 21% of respondents stated the obvious, “It means one extra day“.
3. The first meaningful thing that survey participants collectively came up with was, “A hard year“: 10% of respondents mentioned that.
4. 8% of participants clarified, it meant “29 days in February“. Alright, we’ll take it a separate answer to “one extra day”, which 1 in 5 people mentioned.
5. 7% of people said it was, “Unlucky year“.
6. The idea of such years having “Many deaths” was mentioned by 4% of respondents.
7. 3% of users said “Superstitions“, so they obviously are aware of some negative connotations given to 366-day years, but don’t personally support them.
8. “Once every 4 years” was another clarification given by 2% of participants.
9. For 2% of Russians such years mean “Cataclysms“.
10. However, there are also 2% of people who think it’s a “Lucky year” and have high hopes for them. It’s not all doom and gloom!

Did you notice that the custom of a woman’s proposing marriage to a guy on 29 February isn’t on the list of meanings?

Do Russians really believe that leap years are unlucky?

When asked directly about the idea of leap years being the period when people face difficulties and hard time, 70% of Russians said they knew of such a view.

• The share of women knowing about this is higher: 77% as compared to 62% of men.
• Young Russians aged 18-24 don’t know about such views more often than they do: 59% haven’t heard about it.
• In the group aged 25-34 the share of informed is 66% vs. 34% of people who didn’t know about that.
• The highest share of respondents who are aware of the view about leap years as hard and unpleasant is among people aged 45-59: 77%.

The majority of respondents don’t believe in superstitions that state leap years are unlucky (64%). However, 1 in 3 Russians (33%) said they do believe it!

The share of believers is the highest among people aged 60+ (41%). The least superstitious in this regard are people aged 35-44 (22%).

Leap year superstitions

The researchers didn’t stop on that and asked about bad omens people link to the leap year. This time people managed to come up with more detail about known superstitions, which shows you cannot just take it at face value what people blurt at once. Ask once more and the responses may be very different!

Here is what Russians came up with in regard to known superstitions connected to leap years:

1. Hard year: 10%.
2. Unlucky/bad year: 9%.
3. More deaths: 7%.
4. Cataclysms: 4%.
5. Unlucky marriages: 3%.
6. Shouldn’t start building or renovating a house: 2%.

Finally, researchers got to the bottom of it. Now we know all the superstitions that Russians link to leap years.

As you can see, they didn’t even mentioned the permission for women to propose to a man! They really don’t know.

Leap years in other cultures

Apart from the permission to women to propose to men on 29 February, there are some other beliefs connected with leap years in different cultures.

• Apparently, Greeks think that marrying during such years and especially on the date of 29 February is unlucky.
• Italians support them in his belief, because, in the traditional view, such years make women erratic. They also somehow came to the idea that whales only give birth in leap years, so they call it a “whale year”.
• Taiwanese, too, don’t feel particularly good about it because they fear that parents have a higher chance of dying.
• Scottish thought it wasn’t a good year for livestock.

Is there a chance a Russian woman will propose to you on 29 February?

We’d say, given the numbers above, it’s highly unlikely.

Not only the statistics show that Russian people in general have little knowledge about such a custom, but also ladies of Russia believe that “a woman should be modest”. ‘Their definition of modesty is basically passive: Pretending she isn’t interested and waiting for the man to pursue her.

In fact, in Russia women aren’t allowed to even show interest unless the guy is strongly persistent. It may have another Russian custom glued into it, the need to repeat an offer 3 times before the person feels it’s OK to accept it. Accepting an offer when something is offered for the first time can be viewed as hasty and rude.

I hope these tips make a bit easier for you to understand what Russian girls expect from a man who is interested in a relationship.

If she doesn’t reject you outright but seems a bit shy or reserved, it is most likely because the guidelines for a ladylike behaviour in her country prescribe exactly that. She just cannot behave differently; that’s embedded on a deep cultural level. Once she believes in your genuine interest, then she will open up and become much more affectionate and sweet.

Good luck in your dating!

Read also:

• Salaries in Russia: How much do Russian women earn?
• 71% of Russians see their country as a superpower
• Do Russians drink less or more alcohol in 2020 as compared to previous decades?
• February 2020 is the top month for marriages in Russia