Nuclear Workers Day is celebrated every year on September 28th. On this holiday, people are honored whose creative work is associated with the energy of the peaceful atom and is aimed at improving the lives of Russians.
The order on the establishment of the Day of Nuclear Industry Workers was signed on July 3, 2005 by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. The date of the holiday - September 28 - was not chosen by chance, in 1942 on this day the USSR State Defense Committee issued an order "On the organization of work on uranium." It contained an appeal to the USSR Academy of Sciences demanding the resumption of work on the study of the possibility of using atomic energy in order to create uranium fuel or a uranium bomb.
For the implementation of the assigned task, the above-mentioned order ordered the defense committee to organize a laboratory of the atomic nucleus at the Academy of Sciences. Until April 1, 1943, the staff of the committee obliged scientists to conduct practical research in the new laboratory on the possibility of fission of uranium-235 nuclei. By November 1, 1942, it was planned to transfer 1 gram of radium to the Academy of Sciences of the USSR so that scientists have a constant source of neutrons, and 30 grams of platinum for the manufacture of a laboratory centrifuge. That is why September 28, 1942 is considered the birthday of nuclear power in Russia.
Currently, there are ten nuclear power plants operating in the Russian Federation. The percentage of electricity generated at nuclear power plants reaches 15-16%. By 2030, this figure is planned to be increased to 25%. The largest Russian NPPs include Kalininskaya, Balakovskaya, Kurskaya, Novovoronezhskaya, Leningradskaya and Smolenskaya.
Over the past decades, the united labor of several generations of scientists, highly qualified specialists and engineers in Russia has formed a powerful production and technological base that ensures the defense capability and energy security of Russia.
The nuclear industry is rightfully considered one of the strategically important sectors of the economy; priority state attention is given to its development. On this holiday, the President of the Russian Federation for special merits awards certificates and honorary signs to outstanding workers in the nuclear industry, honors workers in this industry and in the field. Festive events are held in Russian institutions related to the work of nuclear scientists: boards of honor are opened, solemn meetings are held. Presentations of new projects are held in educational and exhibition centers, concerts are organized with the participation of famous musicians and performers.
Much attention is paid to fostering respect for the work of workers in the nuclear industry and the younger generation. In schools on this day, teachers in chemistry and physics lessons tell schoolchildren about the enormous importance of atomic energy for human life, about the power and creative power of the atom. Teachers express the hope that nuclear energy will never be used for destructive purposes.
