January 23 in Russia is a professional holiday for employees of investigative agencies of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. The world celebrates Cake Day and remembers the benefits of writing by hand. Lenta.ru shows what other holidays are celebrated on January 23, 2026 in Russia and other countries, and also reminds which famous people were born on this day.

Holidays in Russia
Day employee of the investigative agency of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia

On January 23, 1928, the state fire inspectorate of the RSFSR received the right to independently investigate cases of arson. In the early 2000s, the State Fire Service became part of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. Currently, investigators are determining the cause of the fire, and also finding out where the main efforts should be to prevent the fire.
Holidays around the world on January 23
Handwriting Day (Handwriting Day)
The holiday is dedicated to celebrating the birthday of John Hancock, an American politician, the first governor of Massachusetts. On July 4, 1776, he was so well remembered by Americans that his name became a colloquial synonym for the word “signature.”
World Cake Day
According to legend, this holiday was invented by US Secretary of State Colin Powell in 1986. He, as a lover of pies, wanted to fix a day when all US states would bake this delicacy and organize culinary festivals. After that, his initiative spread throughout the world.

Other holidays are celebrated around the world on January 23
mother-in-law day; herbal tea day; Snowy day.
Church holiday is January 23
Feast day commemorating Saint Theophan the Recluse
Outstanding Russian religious thinker of the 19th century. In 1841 he visited Jerusalem, where he visited ancient holy places and monasteries, talked with the elders of the Holy Mountain of Athos, and studied the works of the Fathers of the Church from ancient manuscripts. Upon returning to Russia, Feofan first served as bishop of Tambov and then of Vladimir. Towards the end of his life, he devoted himself to literature and lived in seclusion. His most famous works are “Letters on Christian Life”, “Philokalia”, “Interpretation of the Apostolic Letters”, “Outline for Teaching Christian Ethics”.
Other church holidays are celebrated on January 23
After Epiphany; Memorial Day of St. Paul of Komel, Obnorsky; Memorial Day of Saint Antipas of Valaam (Athos).
Signs for January 23

January 23, according to the folk calendar, is the day of Gregory the Summer Guide. In the past, folk festivals were held at this time to maintain a happy mood for spring.
If the snow pile is covered with frost, it will rain in the summer. If the clouds are high, the weather will be great all week. If the magpie sits on the top of the tree, frost will come soon.
Who was born on January 23?
Tanya Savicheva (1930-1944)
A Soviet schoolgirl at the beginning of the siege of Leningrad leads to diary. It has nine complete pages, six of which date the deaths of loved ones: mother, grandmother, sister, brother and two uncles. Tanya herself passed away during the evacuation. In her medical card it was written: “Scurvy, dystrophy, nervous exhaustion, blindness…” According to one version, Tanya's diary was discovered by her sister Nina, who was returning to Leningrad after the blockade was lifted.
Edouard Manet (1832-1883)

French painter and graphic artist, one of the founders of impressionism. He is considered the founder of modern art – Manet was the first to paint the lives of his contemporaries, and not the allegorical, mythological and historical themes sold at that time at the main French exhibition – the Salon. They laughed at his paintings, the audience was indignant at the “obscenity” of Manet's work. So, the artist who dreamed of official fame and a salon career became the main revolutionary in French painting of the 19th century.
Who else was born on January 23?
Doutzen Kroes (41 years old) – Dutch model; Olga Shelest (49 years old) – Russian radio and television presenter; Stendhal (1783-1842) – French writer; Rutger Hauer (1944-2019) – Dutch actor.















