Polar Explorer's Day has been marked in Russia on May 21 since 2013, when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order instituting this holiday.

The date was not chosen by chance: the research expedition of the North Pole 1 polar drifting station was launched on May 21, 1937. That station was intended for oceanographic, meteorological and geophysical research to promote the Far North's economic development, including navigation along the Northern Sea Route, and for supporting planned Soviet trans-Arctic flights.

The North Pole 1 station's crew collected research data that was considered unique during that time. The material made it possible to obtain authentic information about the North Pole's environment and processes for the first time in history. The North Pole 1 station provided short-term weather forecasts and helped draw important conclusions on the nature of Central Arctic atmospheric processes. Reliable experimental data about atmospheric and oceanic parameters in the Central Arctic was obtained for the first time.