Russia's president-elect Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered a four-day holiday in May, saying it would allow people to tend to their gardens but neglecting to mention it would also coincide with his inauguration.
Putin declared that May 6-9 would be holidays, taking in World War II Victory Day on May 9 as well as his inauguration on May 7, a Monday.
"Many people want more holidays at this time, so that people could go to their allotments, their gardens," the incumbent prime minister said at a government meeting, according to the government website.
Putin signed a decree to shift working days for the whole country in order for people to have a long weekend. "Four days off," Putin said. "I ask that production work (in heavy industry) is streamlined accordingly."
The prime minister forgot to mention that having gone to their dachas in the countryside, Russians would miss his inauguration into the presidential seat on May 7.
Putin was elected for his third term in office in a March 4 presidential election with over 63 per cent of votes, despite months of protests against his regime, the biggest since the early 1990s.
The opposition vowed to hold more demonstrations in early May to protest his inauguration.