Today is the International Day of Older Persons, a special day for older people around the world.This is yet another occasion to show our love and respect for elderly people, who generously impart their knowledge, expertise and wisdom to us and to tell how valuable are words of advice of those whose lives, personal qualities and professional talent set the pace for the country’s progressive development helping to uphold the tradition of mentoring.
One of the representatives of this generation is our colleague, Honored Journalist of Turkmenistan Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov, who celebrated his 75th birthday not long ago.In today’s article we would like to show once again our deep reverence towards the veteran of Turkmen journalism and to thank him for his unflagging zeal and industry, energy and commitment to his beloved profession.
… When Vladimir Komarov finished school, he had a dream of many boys at that time he wanted to become a pilot.Having lost his parents in the tragic Ashgabat Earthquake, the boy had been brought up by his grandparents.
His grandfather, Pavel Petrovich, worked as a doctor at an airport medical facility and often took his grandson with him.At the age of 13, Volodya joined an aeromodeling club.
It did not come as a surprise when after finishing school the boy applied for admission to a flying school.But he was rejected by a medical examining board.
Volodya did not give up and decided wisely: “If I am not destined to become a pilot then I will be a technician!” and entered Riga Civil Aviation Specialists’ College that trained radio technicians.
For their first-job placements, the graduates could select a location: the Far North, Siberia, the Far East - technicians were sought after everywhere.However, the young man returned to Ashgabat to take care of his elderly grandparents, and got a job as a technician in the civil aviation department.
While still in college, Volodya had taken a keen interest in poetry. Inspired by fine poems by Voznesensky, Rozhdestvensky, Akhmadullina, and Dementiev, he took his first steps in writing… A year after graduating, he entered Magtymguly Turkmen State University as an evening student (the Russian Language and Literature Department). Photography was Komarov’s another passion…
Working for the radio navigation service, the young technician earned several rewards for his rationalization efforts.As part of a team of Turkmen specialists he was on assignments to the city of Ulyanovsk.
On his return to Ashgabat, the then Russian language and literature student was requested to write an article about his trip for the aviation industry-sponsored large-circulation newspaper “The Air Route”.
Not only did Vladimir Mikhailovich write the article, he also accompanied it with the photographs he had taken during the visit.A few days later, Komarov was offered a salaried job with the newspaper and he accepted it.
Apart from an editor-in-chief, there were … two staff members.They had to fill in for one another: each was capable of writing, editing and proof-reading articles, and making a dummy sheet…
As the newspaper covered the republic’s civil aviation industry, Vladimir Mikhailovich was equipped with a FED camera and was granted a permit to visit all the industry-related facilities. This is the story of how journalism became part of his life.
After completing his assignments, Vladimir Komarov always brought back vivid impressions and shared them in his lively first-hand reports and strikingly dynamic photographs of industry professionals working at large and small airports.
He has traveled by helicopter transporting drilling crews and equipment and has visited many times the most remote corners of the Karakum Desert where geological exploration activity is underway.
A visit to the city of Tyumen was the experience of a lifetime for Vladimir Mikhailovich.It was a two-day helicopter ride.And he had to travel in the cabin with a large fuel tank filled with kerosene for refueling.
The pungent smell of kerosene made Komarov ask the crew to allow him to sit in the cockpit.A panoramic view of the taiga in its full emerald-green splendor was truly breathtaking and beautifully scenic…
At that time the Soviet republics were actively helping Tyumen oilfield workers. Turkmen crews piloting MI-6 heavy lift helicopters were working there as well. Geologists, oil workers, drillers, and aviators were a breed apart: incurable romantics, enthusiasts and optimists. Conversations with them infused Vladimir Mikhailovich with energy and the spirit of discovery.
Interesting feature articles and reports about pilots, drillers and geologists authored by the correspondent for the large-circulation newspaper attracted attention of the editorial staff of the newspapers Turkmenskaya Iskra, Komsomolets Turkmenistana, and Vecherniy Ashkhabad.
In 1974 Vladimir Mikhailovich was offered a job as a correspondent for Vecherniy Ashgabat (the industry department) and he eagerly accepted it since it opened up new vistas for professional development.
Trying something entirely new, being unafraid of change, learning new things and scaling the heights are Vladimir Komarov’s personal views of life.
Vladimir Mikhailovich was well into middle age when he met members of the Agama Mountaineering Club based in Ashgabat.Writing an article about the club, he, who has always loved heights, decided to become its member.
He was not put off by the fact that his fellow climbers were half his age.Joining the club gave him an unrivaled opportunity to travel to naturally blessed corners of Turkmen land.
Komarov and his fellow members of the club have conquered Turkmenistan’s highest peak, Ayrybaba, in the Koytendag Mountains, have ascended Mts. Markou and Dushak, have seen ravines, have marveled at waterfalls and the Central Kopetdag with a lush, green carpet of glass in the spring, and have explored the country’s mysterious and amazingly beautiful karst limestone caves.
They explored the wonders of underground caverns for the first time when they descended into the Div Cave (a div is a large hairy creature in fairy tales that lives in caves) in Mt.
Dushak.Then, they had a chance to admire the astonishingly beautiful and mystery-cloaked Karlyuk Caves… His landscape photographs have graced the covers and the pages of numerous publications.
Vladimir Mikhailovich is the recipient of the President’s Türkmeniň Altyn Asyry Award and the winner of several environmental photography competitions.
Vladimir Mikhailovich has been head of the department of our online newspaper for many years.Wishing a happy birthday to him, one of his colleagues asked, “Are there unknown destinations in Turkmenistan that journalist and photo artist Komarov has not written about or has not captured on camera yet?” Vladimir Mikhailovich answered after a short pause, “Undoubtedly!
Our country is blessed with breathtaking natural beauty and an abundance of inspiring natural sports, and there are still many hidden gems awaiting discovery!”