On May 23, Heroes’ Day and Marine Corps Day are celebrated in Ukraine, and in the world – World Wrestling Day and World Fish Migration Day. It is also a day when, in different centuries, events took place that changed political regimes, religious doctrine, borders of countries and the course of national liberation movements.
Day of Heroes of Ukraine
This is a memorable date that honors those who in various periods of Ukrainian history fought for independence and the right to self-determination. For centuries, among Ukrainians there were those who deliberately sacrificed themselves for the sake of the future of their country. From the soldiers of Kievan Rus and the Cossack times, through the hetman era and the Zaporizhzhya Sich, to the fighters of the period of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the soldiers of the Ukrainian insurgent army — they were all part of a long and unequal struggle.
In the last decade, during the war in the east and after the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia, new names have joined the ranks. Their memory is not limited to one era – it continues to live, being supplemented with new stories.
This date was chosen in the 1940s by members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. It was associated with the day of the death of Yevhen Konovalts, the leader of the Ukrainian liberation movement in the interwar period, who was killed on May 23, 1938 in Rotterdam by an agent of the Soviet NKVD, Pavlo Sudoplatov. Later, other names were added to this date – Mykola Mikhnovskyi, who died in May 1924, Simon Petliura, who was killed in May 1926.
The holiday was pushed out of Ukrainian historical memory in the USSR, and only after 1991 it began to be gradually restored in Western Ukraine – first within the boundaries of youth nationalist organizations, later at the community level. It has not acquired the status of an official holiday, but in some communities this day is part of the local calendar of remembrance. With the beginning of the war in 2014, Heroes’ Day became an occasion not only to remember the figures of the beginning of the 20th century, but also to remember by name the modern dead – soldiers, volunteers, medics, chaplains.
Marine Corps Day of Ukraine
Every year on May 23, the professional holiday of the marines is celebrated in Ukraine. This is a relatively new date in the Ukrainian military calendar, however, the marines as a type of military has a long history, dating back to the times of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, and in recent history it gained special importance after the war in eastern Ukraine.
The holiday was established by presidential decree in 2018, when it was decided to move the celebration of Marine Corps Day from November 16 to May 23. It was on this day in 1918 that the formation of the first marine units of the Ukrainian State began, which became the historical basis for choosing a new date. The transfer of the date had not only a historical, but also a symbolic meaning – the rejection of Soviet markers and the consolidation of Ukrainian military strength.
After the start of the war in 2014, the marines became one of the key elements of defense in the south and east of the country. It was the marines who were among the first to enter the battle in Donbas, holding positions in Shyrokyn, Mariupol, Vodyan, Mykolaivka, and Granit. During the full-scale invasion of 2022, marine units took part in the fiercest battles — in particular, in the defense of Mariupol and Azovstal, in the battles for the Kherson region, in the Zaporozhye region, in the Vugledar and Avdiivka areas.
Unlike many other military formations, the Marine Corps of Ukraine was formed not in the conditions of a stable army, but in conditions of military threat and real loss of territories. It went from the symbolic black berets to the real nucleus of combat resistance. Its fighters are not just representatives of a certain type of army, but people who bear responsibility for strategic directions at the front, often in extremely difficult conditions.
Today, the marines are a full-fledged component of the Naval Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which includes not only combat units, but also separate brigades that perform tasks in the hottest spots. This is one of those units that are spoken about with respect in Ukrainian society – not because of PR, but because of real losses and victories.
World Wrestling Day
This date appeared in the calendar of the international sports movement recently, but it has already become important for thousands of athletes, coaches and fans in different countries. Its introduction was initiated by the united organization United World Wrestling (UWW), which is an international federation that unites all styles of wrestling – Greco-Roman, freestyle, women’s wrestling, as well as newer trends such as beach wrestling, grappling, etc.
The holiday was officially introduced in 2013 as a response to the crisis at the time, when wrestling was at risk of losing its status as an Olympic sport. In February 2013, the International Olympic Committee unexpectedly excluded wrestling from the main program of the 2020 Olympic Games. This decision caused a strong wave of protest among athletes and federations around the world. In May of the same year, as a sign of support and protection of wrestling, an international campaign was organized, and May 23 was symbolically declared the Day of wrestling. Thanks to the pressure of the world community, it was possible to return wrestling to the Olympic program in the fall of 2013.
In Ukraine, wrestling has a long tradition and is constantly included among those sports where Ukrainian athletes win medals at the World, European and Olympic championships. In particular, the Ukrainian school of women’s wrestling has long held a leading position in the world, and students from Kharkiv, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, and Ternopil are among the leading athletes at international competitions.
Interesting facts
The day of wrestling appeared thanks to the threat of exclusion from the Olympics. In 2013, the International Olympic Committee unexpectedly excluded wrestling from the list of major sports at the 2020 Games. This shocked the sports community, because wrestling was represented at the first ancient Olympic Games in 708 BC. In response, a global campaign “Save Olympic Wrestling” was organized. It gathered support from more than 180 countries — and it was within its framework that the Day of Struggle was launched on May 23.
The oldest artefacts related to wrestling date back more than 5,000 years. On the territory of Ancient Egypt, frescoes have been found in tombs depicting fighting techniques similar to modern Greco-Roman techniques. These frescoes from Saqqara are over 4,500 years old.
Ukraine is one of the few countries that has consistently had representatives in the finals of the Women’s World Championships for more than 15 years. Iryna Merleni, Yulia Tkach, Alla Cherkasova, Oksana Gergel are not just champions, but athletes who paved the way for the recognition of women’s wrestling in Europe.
One of the youngest world champions in Greco-Roman wrestling is a Ukrainian. Zhan Beleniuk won his first world championship title at the age of 24. By that time, he already had the titles of European champion and finalist of the Olympics. He combined a sports career with political activity, which is still an exception in world wrestling.
Wrestling is the only sport where Olympic gold was awarded twice to one athlete for the same fight. At the 1912 Games in Stockholm, the final grapple in Greco-Roman wrestling lasted 11 hours. The two finalists were so exhausted that the judges could not determine the winner. As a result, both of them were awarded a gold medal – a unique case in the history of the Olympics.
The UWW officially recognized beach wrestling as a separate discipline. Beach wrestling is not just a show for tourist resorts. It has its own rules, ratings, championships, judging system. This style is developed as an alternative to traumatic types of wrestling for younger age groups.
There is no system in wrestling where one style “beats” the other. Unlike mixed martial arts, wrestling is a system of parity styles. Freestyle, Greco-Roman, women’s, beach, grappling – each has its own logic, weight categories, technical evaluations. And all of them are recognized as full-fledged at the international level.
World Fish Migration Day
This is an informal but important environmental holiday, which has been celebrated every two years since 2014. Its purpose is to draw attention to the state of river ecosystems, in particular to the problems associated with the migration of fish through barriers – dams, locks, dams. It is on May 23 that hundreds of events related to science, environmental protection and environmental education are organized around the world. This day has become a global channel of communication between ecologists, government institutions, local communities and scientists.
The emergence of this day is connected with the initiative of the International River Foundation (World Fish Migration Foundation), which is based in the Netherlands and since 2013 has been coordinating efforts to improve the passability of river routes for migratory species. Migration is a vital cycle for many fish, including salmon, eel, and sturgeon, which are born in fresh water, mature in the sea, and then return to rivers to breed. Each dam or artificial barrier can interrupt this cycle and endanger an entire species.
Interesting facts
Sturgeons, which migrate thousands of kilometers, are not able to overcome even one concrete barrier. In Europe, 90% of the historic sturgeon habitat is currently inaccessible due to dams. Even if the water in the river is clean, the fish cannot reach the spawning grounds. This is the main reason for the critical decline of the Danube sturgeon population.
Europe has more than 1 million (!) small dams in rivers. Most of them are not used, but they still block the migratory paths of fish. Projects to dismantle such barriers are currently being implemented in Spain, France, Poland, and from 2023 — in Ukraine on the Dniester.
World Fish Migration Day is celebrated in more than 60 countries at the same time. These are not only the EU and the USA, but also Ghana, Peru, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Brazil. For example, in the Amazon on this day, the movement of migratory species is recorded using GPS tags.
Ukraine joined this initiative in 2020. The first events were held on the Dniester and Tisza rivers — with the participation of scientists, communities, and fishermen. The issues of barriers, regulation of flow, ecological locks were discussed. In 2024, actions were also held on Siversky Dinka and at the mouth of the Danube.
The European eel travels more than 5,000 km from the Baltic to the Sargasso Sea. This is one of the longest migration routes among freshwater fish. But due to hydrotechnical structures, only a small part of the young eel is able to complete the migration. The eel population has fallen by more than 95% over the past 40 years.
As part of the day in the Netherlands, the “night of fish migration” is opened every year. Night vision cameras are installed in special fish crossings built into dams. People come at night to watch the fish overcome the barriers. It turned into a national tradition.
The oldest fish passage in the world has been operating in Germany since the 18th century. In the city of Passau, a stone passage built in the 1700s for the passage of salmon has been preserved. Today, it has been restored and integrated into the modern system of passages on the Ilc River.
Historical events on this day
1430 — on the territory of France, near the town of Compiègne, the Burgundian troops captured Joan of Arc, an 18-year-old peasant who led the French army in the fight against the British. Her capture was a turning point: within a year, the girl was handed over to the English side, and in 1431 she was executed in Rouen. A few centuries later, the Catholic Church canonized Joan as a saint.
1592 — in Venice, the ecclesiastical court of the Inquisition arrested the Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno. He was accused of heresy for rejecting the dogmas of Catholicism, in particular for supporting the idea of the infinity of the universe. The arrest was the beginning of a long imprisonment and interrogations, which ended with the execution of Bruno in 1600 in Rome.
1877 — Romania, which until then was a vassal dependency of the Ottoman Empire, declared its full independence. The event took place in the context of the Russo-Turkish war and was recognized internationally only in the following years, but already from that moment Romania began to exist as a separate state with a claim to its own geopolitical course.
1938 — in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, an agent of the Soviet NKVD, Pavlo Sudoplatov, killed Yevgeny Konovalts, the head of the Ukrainian Nationalist Movement and one of the key organizers of the national movement in exile. Sudoplatov handed Konovaltsy a box with an alleged souvenir, inside which there was an explosive. The murder was part of an operation to physically eliminate leaders of the emigration environment outside the USSR.
1949 — in the city of Bonn in western Germany, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany was officially announced, the state that became the political heir of the western occupation zone after the Second World War. This event marked the beginning of the “German question”, which remained open until German reunification in 1990.
1984 — the chief sanitary doctor of the United States has officially declared that passive smoking (staying next to those who smoke) poses a serious threat to health. This statement was a turning point in the fight against tobacco companies and the basis for numerous bans on smoking in public places.
1987 – in the Soviet Union, they stopped jamming the Western radio stations “Voice of America” and the BBC. Before that, the signal of these broadcasters was systematically blocked with special jammers in order to prevent the spread of information alternative to the official Soviet one. The abolition of jamming became a symbol of the thaw in the information policy of the USSR during the period of perestroika.
2004 — a man-made incident occurred at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris: the roof of one of the terminals collapsed. As a result of falling structures, 4 people died, dozens were injured. The incident sparked a serious debate about the architectural safety of modern buildings.
2006 — Serbia officially recognized the results of the referendum in Montenegro, where the majority of citizens supported the idea of independence. This meant the end of the formal existence of the state formation of Serbia and Montenegro. From that moment, Montenegro became a sovereign state.
2008 — a new, 46th metro station was opened in Kyiv — “Chervonnyi Khutir”. It became the southernmost point of the Kyiv metro and, at the same time, the first to serve a sparsely populated area without residential buildings nearby.
2021 — there was an accident on the cable car on Mount Mottaroni in Italy: the cable of the cabin with passengers broke. 14 people died, including children. The investigation revealed that the accident was caused by the deliberate refusal of the personnel to activate the emergency brake to avoid system stoppages.
2021 — Belarusian special services organized the forced landing of a Ryanair passenger plane flying from Athens to Vilnius under the pretext of a mine attack. The goal was to detain journalist Roman Protasevich, who was on board. The incident caused an international scandal and a wave of sanctions against the Lukashenko regime.
