Russia should institute a National Toilet Day on April 9, National Toilet Association head Vladimir Moksunov said on Wednesday.
"On April 9, Peter the Great signed an edict on the 'disposal of garbage and excrement,'" Moksunov told a news conference where the quality and availability of toilet services in the Russian capital were discussed.
Public toilet regulations in Russia were adopted in 1976 and have not been modified since.
"It is imperative to implement a program so that we are not ashamed or afraid [of our public toilets,]" he said.
The quality of public toilets in Moscow as well as across Russia leaves much to be desired, he added.
He said World Toilet Day is marked on November 19.
Since 2001, it has become a global platform for academics, sanitation experts, toilet designers, environmentalists, etc. to share the latest on rural and urban toilets.
World Toilet Day is also a global day to raise awareness of the global sanitation crisis.
Globally, some 4,000 children die every day from diarrhea caused by dirty water and poor sanitation and 2.6 billion people lack proper toilet facilities.
MOSCOW, November 17 (RIA Novosti)
