On July 22, Severodonetsk Liberation Day from illegal armed groups is celebrated in Ukraine, World Brain Day and Pi Day are celebrated in the world. On this day, in different years, events took place that included wars, scientific breakthroughs, social changes and turning points in the history of states.
Severodonetsk liberation day from illegal armed formations
On July 22, 2014, Ukrainian military units entered Severodonetsk, a key city in the Luhansk region, which had been under the control of pro-Russian armed forces since May. The battles for Severodonetsk lasted for several weeks. The de-occupation operation was carried out by soldiers of the National Guard battalions, in particular “Aidar”, as well as units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The entrance to the city took place from the side of Rubizhny – at that time, the militants did not have time to prepare a full-fledged defense at the checkpoints.
Ukrainian troops took control not only of administrative buildings, but also of major transport hubs, including bridges across the Siverskyi Donets. Some of the militants were pushed out to Lysychansk and Pervomaisk. Among the things found after the liberation were a significant amount of Russian-made ammunition, documents that testified to the presence of Russian mercenaries and officers of the special services.
After July 22, 2014, the administrative center of the Luhansk region was actually transferred to Severodonetsk. The regional military-civilian administration, police, courts, part of universities, medical institutions and resettled institutions worked there. Severodonetsk became the temporary “capital” of the Kyiv-controlled Luhansk Region.
This liberation made it possible to stabilize the situation in the northern part of the region and restore control over strategic roads, in particular the Lysychansk-Severodonetsk-Slovyansk highway. In the city, it was possible to partially restore the communal infrastructure, electricity supply, functioning of hospitals and schools.
One of the units entering Severodonetsk was ordered to operate without artillery training in order to preserve the civilian infrastructure, a rare decision in a war at the time, where massed fire was often used. It was near Severodonetsk that the Ukrainian side first documented the use of thermal imaging sights by militants, which were not in service with the Ukrainian forces, but which were freely available in Russia.
After the liberation, an improvised prison was found in the city, where pro-Ukrainian activists, local journalists and those who simply publicly expressed their disagreement with the militants were kept. Documents found in the headquarters of the militants contained orders in Russian to “cleanse” disloyal residents – copies of these orders later became evidence in the investigations.
After the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022, Severodonetsk again found itself at the center of hostilities. In May-June 2022, Ukrainian troops defended the city for more than a month, despite the significant advantage of Russian forces in artillery. Military operations completely destroyed most of the buildings, destroyed industry, in particular the chemical enterprise “Azot”. At the end of June, the city was under Russian occupation.
The city was Ukrainian for more than 8 years. It became a new home for tens of thousands of immigrants from Luhansk, Alchevsk, and Krasnodon. After 2014, a new pro-Ukrainian environment was formed there, volunteer centers operated, new media and educational projects were created.
World Brain Day
This initiative was launched by the World Federation of Neurology in 2014. The main purpose of this day is to draw attention to brain health, the prevalence of neurological diseases and the need for early diagnosis.
Neurological disorders are one of the main causes of disability and mortality in the world. These include strokes, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, damage to the nervous system after trauma and prolonged stress. According to the WHO, every third person in the world faces a neurological disease during their lifetime.
The brain suffers not only from diseases, but also from lifestyle: lack of sleep, chronic stress, excessive sitting, hypodynamia, lack of sensory stimuli, alcohol, infections and constant multitasking undermine neural connections. Due to poor sleep hygiene and stress hormones, the brain literally loses its ability to be plastic—that is, to learn, adapt, and recover from trauma.
Interesting facts
One gram of brain tissue uses ten times more energy than one gram of muscle tissue—even when you’re just sitting. In an adult, the brain consumes approximately 20% of all glucose and oxygen that enter the body.
The brain has no pain receptors, which is why brain surgery can be performed without anesthesia, and the patient will be conscious.
The number of neurons in the brain is about 86 billion, but the main thing is not the number, but the strength and number of connections between them.
The brain consumes approximately 20% of the body’s energy, although it weighs only about 2% of the body’s weight.
During sleep, the brain is cleared of metabolic waste through the glymphatic system — this is important for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.
A single neuron can form up to 10,000 synaptic connections with other cells — trillions of contacts in total.
In newborns, the brain forms new neural connections at a rate of up to 1 million per second.
Memory is not stored in a fixed form — each mention of an event changes it, forming a new version.
Chronic stress literally changes the structure of the brain — the volume of the hippocampus decreases, and the amygdala becomes more active.
The brain reacts to imagination in the same way as to reality: if you imagine movement, the same areas are activated as during real movement.
During dehydration, the volume of the brain decreases, which affects attention, speed of thought and mood.
Even at the age of 80, the brain is able to form new neural connections if a person learns new things, moves and communicates.
The brain begins to lose the speed of information processing already after 25 years, but compensates for this with experience and accumulated knowledge.
In adults, new neurons are formed in the hippocampus every day, a process of neurogenesis that is activated by physical activity.
Women’s brains have more connections between hemispheres, while men’s brains have more connections within each hemisphere, which affects information processing styles.
The brain’s passive mode network is active even when we’re “doing nothing”—it’s responsible for imagination, self-reflection, and creativity.
A child’s brain has almost twice as many synapses as an adult’s, but with age there is a “cleansing” of excess connections – this is called pramization.
One second of delayed sleep (for example, after watching a movie at night) changes the level of attention in the same way as drinking alcohol.
The brain suffers not only from diseases, but also from lifestyle: lack of sleep, chronic stress, excessive sitting, hypodynamia, lack of sensory stimuli, alcohol, infections and constant multitasking undermine neural connections.
Due to poor sleep hygiene and stress hormones, the brain literally loses its ability to be plastic—that is, to learn, adapt, and recover from trauma.
The day of the approximate number Pi
This is an unofficial holiday dedicated to the number π, often written as 22/7. This fraction is one of the most famous rational approximations to the irrational number π ≈ 3.14159. In the 22/7 (day/month) date format, this expression matches the number 3.142857… which approximates pi quite closely.
The holiday originated as an alternative to the more popular Pi Day on March 14 (3/14 in the American format). But July 22 is more associated with rational approximations, calculations, precision and the development of computational mathematics.
This day is often remembered among mathematicians, teachers, and enthusiasts of exact sciences. It is used as an opportunity to once again draw attention to the role of the number π in geometry, physics, engineering — because it appears in all formulas where there are circles, waves, harmonies, oscillations, electromagnetic processes.
Interesting facts
July 22 as a date first appeared in the European mathematical tradition as early as the 18th century, when James Gregory and other scientists actively sought simple ways to calculate π without infinite series.
π is an irrational number, meaning it cannot be expressed exactly as a fraction, but 22/7 is one of the best approximations.
The number π is found not only in geometry, but also in statistics, thermodynamics, quantum physics, even in probability theory – for example, Gauss’s formula contains π, although it is not about circles.
In 2022, a supercomputer in Switzerland calculated π to 100 trillion decimal places—still a record.
Mathematicians have discovered that no particular sequence repeats itself among the digits π on a regular basis — π is considered a normal number, although this has not yet been formally proven.
π is related to Buffon’s law, a classical statistical method in which the value of π can be estimated by dropping a needle on a parallel-striped floor.
π is the only constant that appears simultaneously in Euclid’s geometry, in Fourier integrals, in wave physics, in probability, and in cryptography.
The number π appears in the physical equations with which Einstein worked constantly. For example, in his equations of general relativity, π is included in the formulas for gravitational potential, space-time energy, and integrals in spherical symmetry.
In the famous blackbody energy distribution equation (Planck’s formula), which Einstein used to justify quantum theory, π is also a component.
Historical events on this day
1653 – the 7,000-strong detachment of Tymosh Khmelnytskyi, together with the new master Giorgii Shtefan, approached the Moldavian capital of Suceava. The siege of the city began. The campaign was part of a geopolitical game between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Ottoman Empire, and Ukraine, which at the time sought to establish itself as an independent power. Tymish, the son of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, got involved in the struggle for power in Moldova, which ended tragically for him – in August, he died during the siege of Suceava.
1763 – Empress Catherine II signed the Manifesto “On Permitting All Foreigners…”, which allowed foreigners, in particular Germans, to move freely to any provinces of the Russian Empire. The document became the basis for the mass colonization of the southern Ukrainian steppes, especially after the liquidation of Zaporizhzhya Sich. Germans founded villages, engaged in crafts and agriculture, creating closed, self-sufficient communities that preserved their language and culture until 1941.
1793 – Scotsman Alexander Mackenzie became the first European to cross Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. He did it not for fame, but in search of new trade routes for the fur trading company. The route he laid is today recognized as a national historic property of Canada.
1819 – the premiere of the performance “Natalka Poltavka” by Ivan Kotlyarevskyi took place in Poltava. It was the first dramatic work of the new Ukrainian literature, written in a lively colloquial language. The production was a great success and started the tradition of Ukrainian theater.
1922 – the first smoking room of senior platoons “Forest Devils” was created. This day is considered the founding date of the most famous veteran organization of Plast. “Devils” were not only engaged in educating young people, but also took part in liberation competitions, lived in exile, and formed strata cells outside of Ukraine.
1930 – The USSR Collective Farm Center officially approved the system of payment for labor in collective farms through “working days” instead of money. This established the actual form of serfdom in the conditions of the Soviet economy: collective farm workers did not have the right to freely leave the village, worked without monetary compensation and depended on the whims of the management. The system operated until 1966.
1942 – Soviet troops left Sverdlovsk (now Dovzhansk) in Voroshilovgrad region. After that, the Wehrmacht occupied almost the entire territory of the Ukrainian SSR. This was the deepest point of the German occupation in eastern Ukraine. The city was liberated only in 1943, but it became one of the symbols of the occupation of Donbass.
1944 – the battle near Brody between the 13th Corps of the 4th Panzer Army of the Wehrmacht and the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front ended. The SS division “Halychyna” took part in the battles and suffered huge losses. From 7 to 11 thousand of its fighters died or were captured. This battle became a symbol of a bloody and controversial page in the history of the Ukrainian liberation movement.
1944 – on the same day, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established. It became an instrument of the post-war recovery of the global economy. Ukraine is one of the founding countries. The IMF would later play a key role in the macro-financial stability of many states, including Ukraine after 1991.
1960 – Cuba announced the nationalization of sugar factories that belonged to the USA. This was one of the steps that led to the severance of diplomatic relations with Washington and a complete economic blockade. The Cuban experiment became more and more radical, and the conflict with the United States was irreversible.
1968 – human rights defender Anatoly Marchenko sent a letter to the BBC and the Western press protesting against the possible introduction of Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia. This happened a few weeks before the invasion. Marchenko publicly warned about the Kremlin’s plans — and ended up in prison again. His name later became a symbol of the conscience of the USSR.
1969 – Juan Carlos I was officially declared the heir of Francisco Franco. This paved the way for him to the throne of Spain. The paradox is that, a few years after the death of the dictator, he will initiate Spain’s transition to democracy — and thus destroy the Francoist model from within.
1979 – Sony started selling the Walkman player. It was a revolution in music consumption: for the first time, a person could listen to his favorite songs on the go, regardless of his surroundings. The Walkman ushered in the era of personal electronics—what would later become commonplace with the advent of smartphones began right here.
1983 – the American Dick Smith became the first person to fly around the Earth on a rotorcraft. The journey lasted several months, its route passed through all continents. It became a technical and navigational breakthrough in world aviation.
1986 – The House of Commons of Great Britain voted to abolish corporal punishment in public schools. This decision was part of a broader reform of education and human rights that culminated in the eventual eradication of such practices throughout the country by the early 1990s.
Creation of the International Monetary Fund
On July 22, 1944, at the Bretton Woods conference of the United Nations on monetary and financial issues, the International Monetary Fund was created – a specialized institution of the United Nations with its main office in Washington. This is one of the most influential global organizations in modern world history, and for Ukraine, perhaps the most influential of all.
The purpose of the fund is officially declared to be extremely positive: promoting international cooperation, stabilizing exchange rates, providing financial assistance to countries with a balance of payments deficit, and reducing poverty. The main tools are lending, macro-financial stabilization, economic policy monitoring and consultations.
189 countries are members of the IMF, and about 2,500 specialists from 133 countries work in its structures. The USA has the largest share of votes — about 17%. It’s not enough to make decisions on its own, but it’s enough to block any decision. The US Congress can pass a law that prohibits the IMF from providing financing to certain countries — such a mechanism has already been used more than once.
Some critics call the IMF an instrument of superpower influence or even a conspiratorial body — they mention the Freemasons, the Order of the Dead Head, the “world government” and so on. However, in practice, the main feature of his policy is demandingness: the IMF almost always associates loans with reforms, cost reduction, deregulation, and liberalization of the economy.
