The Russian government has officially established a professional holiday - Geographer's Day. It will be celebrated on August 18. On this day in 1845, the Russian Geographical Society was founded. The order on the establishment of Geographer`s Day was signed by the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Maxim Reshetnikov, in accordance with the order of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Mishustin.
The holiday can be celebrated by both geographers and people from related professions that contribute to the popularization of geography in Russia and abroad. There are a lot of such people. The following groups can be distinguished among the Russian geographers:
- representatives of the scientific and educational community (about 65 thousand people; and together with students, up to 140 thousand people);
- specialized employees of federal ministries and departments, regional and municipal authorities (40 thousand people);
- production and office workers, employees of commercial and non-profit organizations (about 30 thousand people).
We would like to remind you, that on May 15, 2019, President of Russia Vladimir Putin approved a list of instructions on popularizing geography. In addition to the establishment of Geographer’s Day, the head of state instructed to establish the honorary title “The Distinguished Geographer of the Russian Federation”; to develop a professional standard “Geographer”; to take measures aimed at improving the quality of teaching geography in schools; to expand the list of university specialties, that require an entrance exam in geography.
According to the professional community, this set of measures will draw public attention to the problems of territorial development of Russia, increase the prestige of domestic geography and the demand for geographical knowledge about Russia. Over the past year, the Russian Geographical Society, in collaboration with public authorities, has been actively working on the implementation of these instructions. In particular, the honorary title " The Distinguished Geographer of the Russian Federation" was established on December 6, 2019 by a corresponding decree of the President of Russia.
The Society is actively working on the development of a professional standard "Geographer". In September - November 2019, the Russian Geographical Society conducted a survey of specialists to develop a list of obligations and responsibilities of specialists in the field of geography. Currently, proposals are being collected for the draft standard in the professional environment. In autumn 2020, it is planned to propound the draft of the professional standard "Geographer". According to the instructions of the President, the professional standard must be approved by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation by December 1, 2020.