Geologist Day in Tajikistan Date in the current year: December 9, 2024

Geologist Day is celebrated in many countries of the former USSR. Its history began in 1966, when the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet established a professional holiday honoring Soviet geologists in order to recognize their contribution to the creation of the country’s mineral reserve base. It was decided to celebrate the holiday on the first Sunday of April, since it is the time when geologists begin to prepare for summer field work and expeditions.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some countries (for example, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Ukraine) continued to celebrate Geologist Day in April, while some moved it to another date and/or changed the name of the holiday. For example, Turkmenistan has Petroleum Industry and Geology Workers’ Day celebrated on December 14, while Tajikistan celebrates Geologist Day on December 9.

This date was chosen to commemorate the opening of the Geological Museum of Tajikistan after restoration and reconstruction on December 9. On the opening day, President Emomali Rahmon met with the museum employees and suggested to move Geologist Day from the first Sunday in April to the museum’s reopening anniversary. Subsequently, the Law on Holidays was amended to reflect the change of the date.

Geologist Day is the professional holiday of all Tajikistani geologists and other specialists working in the mining industry such as geological engineers, mining engineers, safety engineers, surveyors, drillers and blasters, extraction workers, shaft sinkers, vehicle operators and technicians, etc., as well as scientists from related fields including geophysicists, geomorphologists, physical geographers, and seismologists.

On the occasion of Geologist Day, the Main Directorate of Geology under the government of Tajikistan, as well as various industry organizations and enterprises, hold various celebratory events where geologists are congratulated on their professional holiday and presented with various awards for their hard work and dedication.

In addition, Geologist Day aims to emphasize the importance of the development of the mining industry for the economy of Tajikistan. According to the head of the Main Directorate of Geology, the country has significant reserves of oil and gas, as well as gold, silver and other metals, gems, and uranium. For example, Tajikistan has the richest reserves of boron, lead and silver among the CIS countries, and its reserves of antimony are second only to China.

However, only about a quarter of Tajikistan’s mineral and non-mineral reserves are mined and processed. Due to this, the development of the mining and processing industries should be one of the top priorities in the development of the state economy in general.