History of the Holiday

The Miner’s Day is one of the most popular and widespread professional holidays that is celebrated on the last Sunday of August. Just like many other professional holidays, it has its own historical roots and background.

The holiday commemorates the labor feat of Aleksey Stakhanov who exceeded the anthracite production rate by 14 times in a shift. The achievement did not only become a reason for pride for the whole country but also led to popularization of the miner profession which was considered to be one of the most dangerous ones at that time.

The famous Soviet miner Aleksey Stakhanov’s real name was Andrey. The Pravda journalists who wrote about Stakhanov’s record confused the name and the famous miner had to change his name and passport.

The Miner’s Day was first officially celebrated on August 29, 1948. On October 1, 1980, the holiday was formally approved by Decree of the Supreme Soviet Presidium of the USSR No. 3018-Kh.

In 2019, the Miner’s Day will be celebrated on August 25 in Russia and other countries.

Profession of Miner

Miner is one of the most dangerous civil professions. Miners have to be courageous, enduring, hard-working and brave enough to work under extreme conditions. Without miners’ daily selfless labor our houses would not be provided with electricity and heating and lots of smelter and chemical enterprises would shut down. Miners’ hard work is a key factor for successful economic development.

The Miner’s Day is not only to celebrate achievements and success in the coal industry. It is also to honor the memory of people who gave their lives to mining. It should be remembered that it is dangerous and hard work which has claimed many lives. Although contemporary mines are high-tech facilities, accidents are not uncommon in underground workings.

How do miners work? What are the world’s deepest mines? What is the temperature inside them? What do canaries have to do with the miner profession? What are “horse drivers” and “gas burners”? See the infographics to find out all these and many other things.