CALENDAR

DATES. EVENTS. PEOPLE.

On March 31st, 1889, the grand opening of the Eiffel Tower took place in Paris. Today, the shape of the Eiffel Tower is the most recognisable architectural landmark of Paris. It is known all over the world as a symbol of France. The designer Gustave Eiffel himself simply called it a 300-metre tower. The Eiffel Tower was originally conceived as a temporary entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle of 1889.
 

On March 31st, 1893, the American Whitcomb L. Judson (1843–1909) invented a new zipper called ‘clasp-locker’. The invention significantly accelerated the process of fastening the boots. But despite the advantages of the zipper, it had no success for a long time. Zipper gained popularity only 20 years after its appearance.


On March 31st, 1943, the Battles of Rzhev ended during the Great Patriotic War. This name conditionally unites 4 offensive operations that were carried out by the Soviet troops of the Western and Kalinin fronts against the Army Group Centre from January 8th, 1942, to March 31st, 1943. The Battle of Rzhev was one of the bloodiest battles of the Great Patriotic War. According to various sources, from 1 to 2 million Soviet soldiers died on Rzhev land. On June 30th, 2020, the Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier was opened at the site of the bloody battles.



On March 31st, 1966, the first artificial satellite of the moon was launched in the USSR. Launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Molniya-M launch vehicle brought the Luna 10 automatic interplanetary station to the Luna. The satellite was equipped with research equipment. On April 3rd, 1966, the Luna 10 station reached orbit around the moon for the first time in the world.


April 1st is April Fools’ Day or All Fools’ Day — an international holiday celebrated all over the world. On this day, people play pranks on relatives, friends and just acquaintances. One of the versions about the origin of the feast of laughter is associated with the fact that April 1st was originally celebrated in many countries as the day of the vernal equinox and the time of Easter. The festivities were always accompanied by jokes, pranks and funny tricks.


April 1st is International Bird Day — an international ecological holiday. Its goal is to preserve the species diversity and abundance of birds. Of the approximately 10,000 species of birds of the world fauna, more than 1200 species, or every eighth species of birds on our planet, are included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.


April 2nd is International Children’s Book Day, which is celebrated on the birthday of the great Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. The holiday promotes the enduring role of children’s books in shaping the spiritual and intellectual image of new generations of the Earth. Also, the Day aims at drawing attention to literature, book art and book culture for children and the spreading of children’s reading.


April 2nd is Geologists Day in Belarus. This holiday emphasises deep gratitude and respect to all those who work directly at the drilling machine, hydrogeological well, at oil, salt, coal, iron ore fields, as well as in scientific, design and production organisations of the geological industry. Geological research in Belarus began to be carried out from the end of the 18th century.
 

April 2nd is Day of Unity of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia. It was on this day in 1996 that the Presidents of Russia and Belarus, Boris Yeltsin and Aleksandr Lukashenko, signed the Treaty on the Formation of the Community of Russia and Belarus in Moscow. Over the past years, the union project has proved its demand and vitality. Thus, a large legal framework was formed, conditions were created to ensure the equality of citizens’ rights, pursuing a joint defence policy, agreed on foreign policy interaction, and the implementation of large-scale economic and scientific and technical processes.


On April 2nd, 1833, the first complete edition of Eugene Onegin novel written by Alexander Pushkin was published. In one week, the 5,000th run of the first edition sold out in its entirety. Pushkin himself calculated the time spent on writing the novel — 7 years 4 months and 17 days. For many, the novel has become an encyclopaedia of Russian life, the most beloved brainchild of the poet’s fantasy, a work in which the faithful picture of Russian society in that era is recreated.

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