Daily monotonous snowy landscape outside the window, cold, snowstorm, everyday work and very few entertainments. Who is ready for months, and sometimes years, to live in such conditions? Polar explorers. Perhaps this title may not be everyone.
Life beyond the Arctic Circle
You just won’t get into polar explorers - mostly trained people are taken here. And all the same, it takes a long time to adapt to unusual conditions - up to about three months. But those who decided to conquer the Arctic and Antarctic are ready for any trials, including severe weather conditions. The day of the polar explorer begins ( for reference : the length of the day at the poles is up to 187 days), more precisely, a working morning, like an ordinary person, with a cup of coffee, or maybe with a smoked cigarette. But then not like everyone else. Outside the window, in the summer in Antarctica the temperature is 30-50 below zero, and in winter it can reach minus 89! How to go outside in such a cold? And work sometimes requires you to leave the room several times a day. They are saved by special clothes, and on especially frosty days and by a special mask with holes for the eyes on the face. And if there is a snowstorm on the street, you have to move by holding on to taut ropes or wire.
When celebrate
Despite the difficult working conditions, the conquerors of the poles until recently did not have their professional holiday. Polar Day in Russia was celebrated in different regions in its own way. In some places it was June, in others - September. Spontaneous celebrations took place for several years. And finally, the merits of specialists in this profession were recognized at the state level, and an official holiday was established - Polar Day. This date is quite young. The decree by President Vladimir Putin was signed on May 21, 2013, immediately became available on the Kremlin website and entered into force. Moreover, the history of signing this document is quite original. The establishment of a special date was asked during the Direct Line in April 25, 2013 to the president, to which V.V. Putin advised to start celebrating. It took less than a month for the holiday calendar to be replenished with another.
Holiday Background
Polar Explorer Day - a symbolic date. It was on this day - May 21 - in the distant 1937 that the work of the first research expedition began at the drifting center "North Pole-1" in the Arctic. The tasks posed to the polar explorers working at the station were numerous: conducting geophysical, meteorological, oceanographic studies in order to learn the
Far North and expand the sea route. The ice floe on which the station was located drifted for 274 days. Although food reserves on it would have been enough for a year, but the rapid current began to carry polar explorers to the region of Greenland, the ice began to break and melt. In time, the approaching ships removed the expedition from the floating station. At that time, the ice fragment was no more than a
football field. Four fearless scientists sailed a total of about 2 thousand km and returned as
Heroes of the Soviet Union, not suspecting that in the future, thanks to their courage, Polar Day will be established.
The work of the polar explorer
The first polar expedition collected unique material, which at that time was of great value to science. The first reliable data were obtained on the nature of the Arctic Pole, the processes inherent in this territory. This was the discovery of a new era in the study of the Far North, and the current polar explorers are worthy successors of the great deeds of their historical colleagues. Modern “pole workers” have no less concerns and responsibilities. The working day of the polar explorer is often irregular and due to objective circumstances includes frequent processing. As for research, they are carried out in the fields of meteorology, oceanology, aerology, ice science, hydrophysics and hydrochemistry and in many other aspects of scientific activity. For this, the stations are equipped with the most modern equipment, apparatus, and the necessary buildings have been erected. It is not necessary to say how much knowledge scientists of stations of both poles should possess.
Gen. polar explorer
When the day of the polar explorer comes to an end, the work is done - you can relax a bit and relax. It must be said that the station itself is, in fact, a village where working and residential premises are combined. By the way, houses are mostly bright - red or orange, in appearance they often resemble containers. The food is the same as ours, and they cook it in the usual way - on an electric stove or in the microwave. Water is obtained by melting ice and snow, household waste is transported by airplanes and ships. Without entertainment, the brave inhabitants of the cold latitudes can not do. Almost everything is celebrated here: New Year, birthdays and, of course, Polar Explorer Day. What month of Baptism - at the stations of the Arctic and Antarctic they know perfectly well, but you can feel the cold of an ice wormwood here year-round. Nevertheless, swimming among the ice floes in the lake on this great holiday is one of the traditions of strong courageous polar explorers. On public holidays, the stations have the usual entertainment: Internet, billiards, checkers and chess.
Who celebrates the holiday
But do not forget people of other professions related to polar explorers. The Ministry of Nature of the Russian Federation ranks among polar explorers, in addition to specialists who have worked at the poles of the Arctic and Antarctic for many years, residents of the Far North, geologists and oceanologists, military personnel, gas and oil producers. Today it is about two million people. Polar Explorer Day is a recognition of the work of many people who have dedicated their lives to serving Russia.