Today is Saturday, August 31st: day 244 of the Gregorian year. The year will end in 122 days.
The sun will rise at 5:34 Moscow time, and will set at 19:28. At 12:31 the sun will be at its zenith.
Daylight hours will last 13 hours 54 minutes, and darkness will last 10 hours 6 minutes.
Church holidays
Week 10 after Pentecost. No fast. Afterfeast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos. Commemoration Day of the Martyrs Florus and Laurus.
Secular holidays
Today Russia celebrates Veterinary Worker Day and Truck Driver Day.
The world celebrates Blog Day on August 31.
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Malaysia celebrate Independence Day today.
Events of August 31
In 1907, Russia, England and France officially founded the Entente as a counterweight to the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy).
In 1914, St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd.
In 1939, the armed conflict between the USSR and Japan at the Khalkhin Gol River (Mongolia) ended. On the same day, Germany staged an attack on itself in order to obtain a pretext for declaring war on Poland. This began World War II.
In 1944, the Soviet army entered the capital of Romania, Bucharest.
In 1974, Greece announced its decision to join NATO.
In 1994, the withdrawal of Russian troops from Germany was completed.
The First Chechen War ended in 1996.
Princess Diana died in 1997.
In 2021, Afghanistan declared victory over the Western coalition after 20 years of war.
Who was born on August 31st
In the year 12, the Roman Emperor Caligula was born.
In 1853, Russian and Soviet general Alexei Brusilov was born.
In 1872, the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya was born.
In 1949, actor Richard Gere was born.
In 1951, director Alexei Uchitel was born.
In 1961, singer and composer Sergei Chelobanov was born.
Folk omens
Moderately warm and damp air during the day and at night in the absence of rain foretells bad weather.
It will rain if the sun is hidden behind clouds on a hot day.
If on Frolov's day the air above the forest turns blue, it will be warm.
