Artur Nikolaevich left us on June 1, 2024, passing several months before his anniversary. Meanwhile, today many people in our country, primarily his colleagues and associates in the Russian Geographical Society and the Association of Polar Explorers, celebrate Chilingarov's 85th birthday, September 25.
Despite the fact that he was already a very elderly man, the news of his death was like a bolt from the blue for all of us. For several generations of Russian polar explorers, Artur Chilingarov was a symbol of continuity and hope that the former achievements of the USSR did not go to waste. Thanks to people like him, Russia did not lose the Arctic in troubled times but today continues to study and carefully develop it.
In the life of Arthur Nikolaevich, there were many situations in which he could have died heroically. And no matter what, he always turned out to be on top. Fate kept him safe, his skills, experience and firmness of character helped. But, probably, this was the ultimate sense of responsibility when it came to another particularly important task that his homeland gave him, whether it was a flight on an An-2T to the South Pole, rescuing people from the “Mikhail Somov” ship or diving to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean to the location of the North Pole.
And we also knew Chilingarov as a wise, kind, and bright man. That's exactly what real Heroes are like in life.
We remember you, Artur Nikolaevich!