Metallurgist Days: History and Peculiarities of Celebration

Holidays in honor of representatives of the most demanded professions appeared in the times of the Soviet Union. After 1990, in the large CIS countries, where there is developed ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, the days of the metallurgist were legalized and enriched with new traditions. The governments of a number of post-Soviet republics have canceled this professional holiday.

Metallurgist - it sounds proudly

Were the days of the metallurgist hundreds of years ago? The story is silent. But it was in the ancient states that this craft originated , which is akin to art. In the stoves of the master melted ore, received copper, bronze, cast iron, steel. The search for a "philosopher's stone" capable of turning any mineral into gold led to the appearance of new alloys and furnaces for their production. Recipes of ancient metallurgists still generate myths, for example, about the superiority of the damask over modern steel products. The importance of ferrous metals increased in the XVIII-XIX century, for the color fractured became the era of scientific and technological revolution in the middle of the XX century.

In 1957, the Day of the Metallurgist was celebrated in the USSR for the first time. The time was hard, the country has not fully recovered from the consequences of the Great Patriotic War. Unstable was the state of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy during the world economic crisis. It took modernization and diversification, so that the industry rose to a new stage of its development.

Currently, the days of the metallurgist are celebrated in the CIS countries, which have reserves of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, coking coal, and developed industrial infrastructure. It:

• Russian Federation;
• The Republic of Kazakhstan;
• Ukraine;
• Republic of Belarus.

Whom do you congratulate on Metallurgist Days?

The nature of the work of metallurgists has changed significantly over the past decades. Gradually the blast furnaces go away, giving way to electric furnaces. Representatives of different professions (steelworkers, casters, distributors, smiths, welders and others) receive congratulations on Metallurgist Day. Honor all employees of such enterprises as:

• Mining and metallurgical works;
• Enrichment plants that produce concentrates and agglomerates;
• By-product coke;
• Blast-furnace and steel smelting shops;
• Factories and combines of non-ferrous metals;
• Combines of pig iron metallurgy;
• Hardware plants;
• Rolling shops.

How are Russian metallurgists honored?

In Russia, annually congratulate workers of metallurgical enterprises on the third Sunday of July, in 2014 - on July 20. In the days of the metallurgist, the best in profession are awarded, they are awarded the title "Honored Metallurgist of the Russian Federation". In the cities where metallurgical plants work, solemn events take place, where the results are summed up, the achievements and problems of the industry are discussed. Important is not the very production of metals, and the release of them of high-quality machinery and equipment, goods for the population. In recent years, the Metallurgist Day has been enriched with new interesting traditions. Celebration includes the holding of competitions of professional skills, concert performances, sports and family tournaments. At these events, words of gratitude are sent to the workers of the "hot" industry. Metallurgists selflessly and courageously tame the two elements - metal and fire, forcing them to serve people.