Artur Nikolaevich Chilingarov (; 25 September 1939 – 1 June 2024) was an Armenian-Russian polar explorer, a corresponding member of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

. He was awarded the title of

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

in 1986 and the title of Hero of the Russian Federation in 2008. He was the president of State Polar Academy. Chilingarov was a member of the United Russia party; he was a member of the

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

from 1993 to 2011, and again from 2016 until his death in 2024 and was the representative of

Tula Oblast Tula Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an Oblasts of Russia, oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in European Russia and is administratively part of the Central Federal District, covering an area of . It has a ...

in the Federation Council between 2011 and 2014.

Biography

Chilingarov was born in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

to Russian mother and

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

father. His father was born in

Gyumri Gyumri (, ) is an urban municipal community and the List of cities and towns in Armenia, second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th centur ...

(Leninakan) and moved to

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz, formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () or Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia. It is located in the southeast of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus, situated on the Terek (river), Terek River. ...

at a young age. In 1963, he graduated from the Arctic faculty of the S.O. Makarov Leningrad Higher Marine Engineering School (now the Admiral S. O. Makarov State Maritime Academy). As an engineer-oceanographer, he was directed to the

Tiksi Tiksi ( rus, Ти́кси, , ˈtʲiksʲɪ; , ''Tiksii'' – lit. ''a moorage place'') is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Bulunsky District in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located on the shore of the B ...

observatory of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. In 1965, he was elected first secretary of the Bulun Komsomol district committee. In 1969, he was appointed head of the drift ice station " North Pole-19" and, in 1971, Chilingarov headed the Bellingshausen Station of the 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition. Between 1974 and 1979, he worked in the Western sector of the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

as head of the Amderma Administration of

hydrometeorology Hydrometeorology is a branch of meteorology and hydrology that studies the transfer of water and energy between the land surface and the lower atmosphere for academic research, commercial gain or operational forecasting purposes. Whilst tradition ...

and environmental control. Under his direction, new forms of Arctic operative navigation support were implemented; for the first time, experimental work on cargo transfers to fast ice during wintertime were carried out in the

Yamal Peninsula The Yamal Peninsula () is located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug of northwest Siberia, Russia. It extends roughly 700 km (435 mi) and is bordered principally by the Kara Sea and its Baydaratskaya Bay on the west, and by the G ...

. Chilingarov summarized his experience in navigation support on the

Northern Sea Route The Northern Sea Route (NSR) (, shortened to Севморпуть, ''Sevmorput'') is a shipping route about long. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. Ad ...

in his dissertation for the scientific degree of a kandidat of geographical sciences. In 1985, he headed the special expedition on the research vessel , which was ice-blocked in the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

. For successful performance of the rescue operations in extreme conditions and for displayed organizational abilities and courage, Chilingarov was awarded the title of

on 14 February 1986. In January 2002, he led an expedition to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

along with 14 other tourists on an Antonov An-3 biplane. When a mechanical problem grounded the aircraft at the South Pole, Chilingarov and other VIPs were flown by American Hercules LC130 aircraft to McMurdo and then onward to Christchurch. The rest of the group arranged a pick-up from Adventure Network International, who operate tourist flights to the South Pole. In January 2007, he led a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

expedition to Antarctica, he was joined by FSB chief Nikolay Patrushev and visited the

and Amundsen-Scott station. During the 2007 Russian North Pole expedition, Chilingarov, accompanied by five other explorers from different countries, descended on two ''Mir'' submersibles to the seabed 13,980 feet below the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

in order to plant the Russian flag there and gather specimens of the seabed. In regard to the territorial claims in the Arctic, Chilingarov was quoted as saying, "The Arctic is Russian. We must prove the North Pole is an extension of the Russian landmass". In July 2008, Russia announced it was sending ''Mir'' submersibles to descend one mile to the bottom of

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the Federal subjects of Russia, federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast, Irkutsk Oblasts of Russia, Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

to conduct geological and biological tests on its unique ecosystem. Chilingarov is scheduled to join in 60 dives in total. On 29 July 2008, Chilingarov took part in a dive to a depth of 1,580 meters in Lake Baikal, just short of the record 1,637 meters. On 10 January 2008, Chilingarov was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for "courage and heroism displayed in extreme conditions and for the successful completion of the High-Latitude Arctic Deep-Water Expedition." In December 2012, Chilingarov supported the anti-Magnitsky bill to ban U.S. adoptions of Russian orphans, although he said earlier that there was no need to rush the legislation: "It concerns children, and you have to be accurate with it". Chilingarov died in Moscow on 1 June 2024, at the age of 84.

Awards

* Hero of the Russian Federation (9 January 2008) – for courage and heroism displayed in extreme conditions, and the success of high-latitude Arctic expedition *

(14 February 1986) – for exemplary performance targets for the release of the research vessel ''Mikhail Somov'' from the ice of Antarctica, leadership in rescue operations during the period of drift and displaying courage and heroism * Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 3rd class (12 June 2007) – for active participation in legislative activities and the success of high-latitude air expedition to South Pole * Order of Naval Merit (27 January 2003) – for outstanding contribution to research, development and use of the oceans *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

* Order of the Red Banner of Labour * Order of the Badge of Honour * Honoured meteorologist of the Russian Federation (11 February 2005) * USSR State Prize – for the development of methods of cargo handling on fast ice in Yamal * (Yakutia, 25 November 2002) * Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots (Armenia, 17 September 2008) – in connection with the 17th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Armenia * Commander of the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins (Chile, 2006) * , (19 June 2009) – for his great contribution to strengthening friendship and cooperation between peoples, actively promote the development of democracy and parliamentarianism in the Republic of South Ossetia and to provide practical assistance to its citizens in the implementation of voting rights * Chevalier

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(France, 2010) * Medal of Anania Shirakatsi (Armenia, 31 October 2000) – for his contribution to the strengthening and development of Armenian-Russian friendship * Order of St. Prince Daniil Moskovsky, 2nd class (Russian Orthodox Church, 2009) – in consideration of the works, for their active participation in the development of church life and in connection with the 70th anniversary of the birth * Medal "Symbol of Science" (2007)

References

External links

Biography of Chilingarov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chilingarov, Artur 1939 births 2024 deaths Knights of the Legion of Honour Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Heroes of the Russian Federation Heroes of the Soviet Union Russian geographers Members of the Federation Council of Russia (after 2000) Scientists from Saint Petersburg Recipients of the Order of Friendship (South Ossetia) Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Russian polar explorers Russian people of Armenian descent Soviet Armenians Recipients of the USSR State Prize Recipients of the Order of Naval Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Medal "For Distinction in Guarding the State Border of the USSR" Commanders of the Legion of Honour First convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Second convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Third convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Fourth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Fifth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Seventh convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Eighth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation)

Biography

Awards

See also

References

External links