Geologist's Day (03/04)

Traditionally, Geologist's Day is celebrated in a number of countries in the post-Soviet space annually on the first Sunday of April. This professional holiday was established by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 31, 1966 in commemoration of the merits of Soviet geologists in creating the country's mineral resource base.

The beginning of April, as the time of the holiday, was chosen because this is the end of the winter cold and snow melting, when industry specialists begin preparing for summer field work and expeditions.

The initiators of the appeal to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR were a group of outstanding Soviet geologists led by Academician A.L. Yanshin. And the reason for the appeal was the discovery in 1966 of the first fields of the West Siberian oil and gas province.

Geology is the science of the structure of the Earth and the history of its development. The main objects of study are rocks in which the geological record of the Earth is captured and traced. Geology also studies modern physical processes and mechanisms operating on the surface of the planet and in its depths. Studying various processes allows us to understand how the development of planet Earth occurred in the past.

In Russia, the first state search and exploration institution was the Order of Mining Affairs, created by Peter I in 1700. After 20 years, it was transformed into the Berg College, and in 1807 it was reorganized into the Mining Department. In 1882, the Geological Committee was created, which became the main state geological institution of the Russian Empire.

Geological work received rapid development in the USSR after the October Revolution of 1917 and the establishment of Soviet power, when new territories were being developed and new deposits of minerals and other subsoil were being sought. In 1946, on the basis of the Central Directorate of Industrial Intelligence and the Geological Committee, the Ministry of Geology of the USSR was created, in the system of which all geological survey and prospecting work carried out in the country was concentrated and intensively developed.

Today, Geologist's Day is celebrated in almost all geological and mining organizations in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine. In addition to geologists, people of all professions related to the search and extraction of minerals consider it their professional holiday.

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