Gratitude enclosed from grateful power engineers to the first minister
In Almaty on December 26, in memory of Timofey Ivanovich Baturov, the first Minister of Energy and Electrification of the Kazakh SSR, a memorial plaque was installed on the house building on Zhambyl Street, 67, where he had lived for many years.
Family members, representatives of the Council of Veterans of Power Engineers of Kazakhstan, AlES and AZhK staffs, public, mass media took part in the solemn ceremony of installation of the plaque.
The solemn ceremony on installation of the memorial plaque was officially opened by the Chairman of the Council of veterans of power engineers of Kazakhstan Electric Power Association S.S.Nurpeisov. He reminded that Timofey Ivanovich Baturov was appointed to the post of the first Minister of Energy and Electrification of the Kazakh SSR by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated November 6, 1962. He had worked in this position for 18 years until his retirement in October 1980 at the age of 72 years.
The name of Timofey Ivanovich Baturov, a Minister with a long industrial experience, is one of the most honored in the industry and in the professional environment. Kazakhstani power engineers of the older generation can still refer to the “Baturov School”, which means “a responsible work attitude and understanding of the truth that we are all human beings, and it is necessary to be thoughtful and take care of people around us. The desire and ability to enthuse skilled specialists was very typical for Timofey Ivanovich.
Timofey Ivanovich Baturov was born on March 3, 1909 in the Sokolovsky village of Nizhne-Ingashsky district, Krasnoyarsk region in the family of a peasant. In 1924 he began to study at the secondary school in Kansk, which he graduated in 1929. In 1936, he graduated from the Novocherkassk Industrial Institute, Faculty of Energy, obtaining a diploma of electrical engineer. And in May of the same year he was sent to work in Ridder Combine “Altaypolymetal”, where he has worked as a foreman, then as a senior engineer of the thermal power plant. This is how fate has tied Bautrov to Kazakhstan.
From August 1937 to March 1945, he worked as chief power engineer at Altaypolymetal Combine. Then there was a short business trip to Germany, where from March to October 1945 he worked as chief power engineer of the special dismantling department. Having returned to “Altaienergo” up until September 1950, he has worked as a chief engineer, and then up to 1962 – until his appointment as Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan – he served as a manager of this company.
The list of his merits is enormous. But the most accurate count of the constructed objects appears in his published memoirs (Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, 03.03.2009): “During the years of my work in engineering and technical senior positions, 24 new power plants were built: Jambulskaya GRES with a capacity of 1,200 MW, Yermakovskaya GRES with a capacity of 2,400 MW, Ekibastuzskaya GRES-1 with a design capacity of 4,000 MW, Bukhtarminskaya GRES, Ust-Kamenogorskaya GRES, Kapchagayskaya GRES, Pavlodar CHPP-3, Karaganda CHPP-3 and GRES-2, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Leninogorsk, Sogrinsk, Guryev heat and power plants, Alma-Ata CHPP-2, Tselinograd CHPP-2.
The construction of Yekibastuz GRES-2 and South Kazakhstan GRES, the third stage of the 700 MW Shulbinsk HPP Irtysh cascade was started. Thirteen thermal power plants, including Alma-Ata CHPP-1, were significantly expanded.
In addition, about 400 thousand kilometers of power grids were built, including a 500 kV latitudinal main line from Rudnyi Altai to the Urals with a total length of 1,600 kilometers, backbone and intersystem power transmission lines…”.
Timofey Baturov continued to work even in retirement – he was the head of the zonal department for Kazakhstan of the State Inspection for Operation of Power Plants and Grids of the Ministry of Energy of the USSR. Timofey Ivanovich was repeatedly elected a candidate and then a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan, a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR of the sixth, seventh, ninth and tenth convocations.
Timofey Ivanovich was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of October Revolution, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, many medals, three Certificates of Merit of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR, was awarded the title of Honored Power Engineer of the Kazakh SSR, he is a laureate of the State Prize of the Republic, Honorary Power Engineer of the USSR. One of the most invaluable awards – Certificate of Merit of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR “For skillful and prompt management of emergency repair work in the tract Medeo on mudflow protection of the city of Alma-Ata, shown in this highly organized and commitment” in 1973. This diploma is “lightened” by gratitude of Almaty citizens to the man who showed engineering talent, expert knowledge and personal courage, protecting the city from this mudflow and all future mudflows. It is not surprising that Timofey Ivanovich Baturov was named Honorary Citizen of Almaty, and his name was assigned to Zhambulskaya CHPP.
He passed away in his beloved city of Alma-Ata on January 13, 2001. But in the new millennium the generation of power engineers, nurtured by his school, and the facilities built under his leadership will continue to serve both people and the economy of independent Kazakhstan.
The words of greeting were expressed by Musagaliyev Tolekai Khamitovich, former Deputy Minister of Energy of Kazakh SSR, honored power engineer of the republic, member of the Council of veterans of power engineers of Kazakhstan, who shared about his work in the Ministry of Energy of KazSSR under the management of Baturov Timofey Ivanovich, about his high personal qualities and professionalism as a senior leader and a talented organizer of the energy industry.