Since the early 1970s, Artur Chilingarov has been at the forefront of Russian scientific achievements. (File)
Artur Chilingarov, a Russian polar scientist and explorer and veteran member of parliament, died on Saturday, the speaker of the Duma’s lower house said. He was 84 years old.
Artur Chilingarov was born in the city then known as Leningrad to Russian and Armenian parents, and spent much of his childhood in the North Caucasus region of Russia.
Since the early 1970s, he has been at the forefront of Russian scientific achievements in the Arctic and Antarctica, participated in missions to both poles, and a proponent of emphatically staking Russia’s claim to the Arctic.
Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said Chilingarov’s achievements were “an example for all of us.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin has been friends with the scientist for years and offered his condolences.
In 1999, Chilingarov was responsible for a long helicopter flight in the Arctic to prove it was a viable means of transport. He led an Arctic expedition in 2007 in a submersible to a depth of 4,261 meters (13,979 feet), planting a titanium Russian tricolor flag on the seabed near the North Pole.
Named Hero of the Soviet Union and Russia, the country’s highest honor, he was first elected to the State Duma in 1993.
A senior member of Putin’s United Russia party and corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences, he served several terms in both houses of parliament, remaining a member of the Duma until his death.
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