Today is a rather quirky holiday in Russia, called Tatiana's Day. Though it does fall on the name day of Saint Tatiana, an early Christian martyr, it is not in the traditional sense a name or a saint's day holiday, which I've written about before. And it's not in honor of the in-country rep who helped me with my first adoption in Vladivostok, in 1999--though some sort of lasting recognition for that would certainly be in order.

A clue to the day's reason for being is pretty plain when you learn its other name: Student Day.

Tatiana, for the record, was neither a Russian nor a scholar. A third-century Roman citizen who was raised a Christian, Tatiana was denounced for her faith and then tortured when she declined to renounce it. Legend says she was thrown into the den of a hungry lion and then beheaded (on January 25) when the lion did not eat her.

So how did all that come to be associated with students? Well it seems that the key consort of the Russian Empress Elizabeth, who ruled from 1741 to 1762, was one Ivan Shuvalov. His relatives had helped Elizabeth claim the throne after her father, Peter the Great, died (and yes, I am skipping over great big chunks of Russian history here). Shuvalov came to court with his older brothers and cousins and, despite being 27 years younger than the Empress, um, impressed her.

OK, I'm not being entirely fair here. Shuvalov was well educated and decided that it would be good for other Russians to be well educated too. Named Russia's first minister of education, Shuvalov asked the Empress for permission to set up a western-style university in Moscow. Empress Elizabeth granted his petition in 1755 on the name day of Shuvalov's mother, whose name was, you guessed it, Tatiana. Moscow University is one of the world's biggest these days, with more than 300,000 students enrolled and a main building that, thanks to Stalin, is one of Moscow's signature landmarks.

So how do students celebrate Tatiana's Day? Mostly by giving thanks that they are done with their big exams, which typically end by the 25th.

It's been a long time since I've heard about my Tatiana. But whether or not she's still out there helping Russian orphans, she has my eternal thanks.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons