From the early 1970s, Artur Chilingarov was at the forefront of Russian scientific achievement. (File)
Artur Chilingarov, a Russian polar scientist and explorer and veteran lawmaker, died on Saturday, the speaker of the Duma’s lower house said. He was 84.
Artur Chilingarov was born in the city then known as Leningrad to Russian and Armenian parents and spent much of his childhood in Russia’s North Caucasus.
From the early 1970s, he was at the forefront of Russian scientific achievements in the Arctic and Antarctic, participating in missions to both poles and championing 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 had been friends with the scientist for years and expressed his condolences.
In 1999, Chilingarov led an extensive helicopter flight in the Arctic to prove it was a viable means of transportation. He led a polar expedition in a submarine to a depth of 4,261 meters (13,979 feet) in 2007, planting a Russian tricolor titanium flag on the seabed near the North Pole.
Named a Hero of the Soviet Union and Russia, the country’s highest honor, he was first elected to the State Duma in 1993.
A leading member of Putin’s United Russia party and corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences, he served several terms in both houses of parliament and remained a member of the State Duma until his death.
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