Welder Day in Russia

One can only guess why Welder Day is celebrated in Russia on the last Friday in May, but it is impossible to understand why the holiday has not yet received any official status confirmed by regulatory documents. Where else but in Russia can we honor welding and every representative of this most complex profession, without which it is impossible to imagine life in the modern world. The work of a welder is necessary in heavy and light industry, in the everyday life of every citizen. Pipelines, bridges, transport, buildings would not be built without welding and welders. Industrial equipment would not have been created. The welding process produces permanent connections. The strength of the structure depends on the quality of the equipment, technology and skill of the welder. The safety of life of every person depends on the strength of structures. People have been trying to obtain durable metal structures ever since metal began to be used in everyday life (decorations, water pipes). But it was possible to achieve reliable strength of connections in metal devices and buildings only in the 19th century. Russian inventors became the founders of electric welding, which can quickly and efficiently transform metal parts into strong structures. Among them is the first Russian electrical engineer Vasily Vladimirovich Petrov, academician of the Medical-Surgical Academy of St. Petersburg. On May 17, 1802, he demonstrated to members of the medical board the phenomenon of an electric arc. He spoke about the possibilities of using an electric arc for melting and welding metals, and about its use as a source of electric lighting. It was the electric arc that was used by the inventor of the arc lamp (“electric candle”), the famous P.N. Yablochkov, who received the world’s first patent for the invention of the electric lamp. The electric arc was also used by the Russian engineer N.N. Benardos to create a method for connecting and separating various metals by the direct action of electric current. Benardos, in a chronological list of his inventions, indicated that he created electric arc welding (“electrohephaestus”) in Paris in the spring of 1881. At this time, Nikolai Nikolaevich, as part of the Russian delegation, was preparing an exhibition for the Russian branch of the International Electricity Exhibition. In Paris, Benardos's "Electrohephaestus" received a gold medal at the International Exhibition and became its most significant exhibit. Another Russian engineer Slavyanov received a gold medal at the World Electrical Exhibition in 1893 in Chicago. For the first time in the world in November 1888, he put a metal (consumable) electrode into practice. Benardos' invention (electric arc welding) revolutionized metal processing. The 100th anniversary of this event was celebrated throughout the world at the initiative of UNESCO in 1981. Probably, it was after the celebration initiated by UNESCO that Russian welding professionals began to celebrate Welder Day. May is the month of major discoveries and inventions related to welding. The work of welders is hard, unhealthy, dangerous, but so necessary for all humanity. Health to you, welders, long happy years of life!