(autotranslated, could have mistakes)

Anatoly Yurchenko: I work for the idea

Image removed from public review package. Local review only · not public no-info · urchenko.jpgThis year marks the 200th anniversary of the formation of the Russian Lighthouse Service. In October, the best lighthouse keepers will gather in St. Petersburg. Each of them is not chasing awards and fame. They are simply doing their job - illuminating the sea at night.

Every day he climbs more than 300 steps to get to his workplace. And every day this man, being in his 9-meter control room, regardless of the time of day, controls the maritime space. It helps numerous ships determine their location. He is a lighthouse keeper.

Over the two-century history since the founding of the Russian Lighthouse Service, the lighthouse keeper, the regulator of time and space, has a lot to tell. My interlocutor is the head of the Gelendzhik forward gate lighthouse, Anatoly Nikolaevich Yurchenko.

**What are the features of your work? What does the working day of a person in such a specific profession consist of?

**Working hours are irregular. My main task is to ensure that the lighthouse works properly at night without interruption. That is, ensuring its uninterrupted and reliable operation... And the rest of the time there are interviews, photo shoots (laughs). An ordinary ordinary day.

**You have been in the lighthouse business since 1984, and during this time, you were probably able to learn all the intricacies of your work. Do you think being a lighthouse keeper is a profession or a calling? And what qualities should a person who works at a lighthouse have?

**My full-time position is called lighthouse chief. This business will not be taught anywhere. This is probably why we can do almost everything. Experience is passed on from father to son.

My father was the head of the main Gelendzhik lighthouse for 35 years. Now my sister is there in command of the parade, and I’m here, on the parade route. Even my mother works at the lighthouse as a technician. You don't need to have any special qualities. The main thing is to love your job and not be afraid of heights.

**How ​​many lighthouses are there on our coast?

**The area of ​​responsibility of our hydrographic service covers the section from Taganrog to Adler and there are 16 serviced lighthouses in it. Of these, 2 are in Gelendzhik. I am directly in charge of a small, gated lighthouse. It was built in 1897 by French architects and is considered a historical monument.

**Does anything about your work change over time? After all, life moves very quickly, what changes are happening in your Image removed from public review package. Local review only · not public no-info · mayak.jpgprofession?

**Nothing changes. Everything is the same, day after day. This has been a proven matter for a long time. But I don’t consider my work routine; I never get bored. I have 0.34 hectares of territory, and I need to keep an eye on everything.

**Anatoly Nikolaevich, we are now at the main lighthouse, and, to be honest, it looks more like a small mansion with a control room. The main Gelendzhik one has a completely different shape and color... What is this connected with?

**You will never find two identical lighthouses anywhere. They are all different.  After all, if they are similar, then the ships simply will not be able to distinguish them from each other. It's not just about the external form. Each lighthouse has its own fire characteristic. There are no absolutely identical lighthouses. But they have the same meaning. Lighthouses help passing ships determine their location. It's certainly good to work here in the south. But if the lighthouse is located somewhere on the northern island, then a family of two lives there. That's all. The boat only brings provisions. This is the job.

**Are outsiders prohibited from entering the lighthouse?

**Yes. We don't give tours here.

**Do vacationers interfere with the normal operation of the lighthouse in the summer, since it is located right on the embankment?

**There are also those that interfere. Every second person must take a photo next to the 1897 sign.

If you put a jar for money for photographs, then you can definitely get rich.

**Have you ever thought about changing your profession? The salary probably leaves much to be desired?

**I work for an idea. The salary is six thousand rubles. I love my job. “Lighthouses are the shrines of the seas, they belong to everyone and are inviolable, like the plenipotentiaries of powers” ​​- this is the slogan. I don’t know who said this, but the phrase, in my opinion, is eloquent.

...We approach a high tower, which seems to be about to pierce the sky. Anatoly Nikolaevich explains:

• This object will be more serious. In front of you is the Gelendzhik lighthouse, built in 1984. Its height is 42 meters. Range 21 nautical miles. Well, let's go upstairs.

A slightly rusty twisted staircase. More than 300 steps. With every flight of stairs you realize the full responsibility of this profession.

• There was supposed to be an elevator here according to the project, but, as always, there wasn’t enough money for it. This even has its advantages. “Not every check will want to go up,” the caretaker walking ahead cheerfully comments.

When we finally get to the top, the first thing that catches our eye is the huge transparent ball - the lighthouse lens.

• This is rock crystal, and the equipment is called MVM 930. A very expensive thing. They don't make things like that anymore. Today they don’t build new lighthouses at all; they use what they have. Unless they use new light bulbs that consume less electricity.

**Image removed from public review package. Local review only · not public no-info · mayak1.jpgAnatoly Nikolaevich, do you have any students? Those young guys who would like to learn your craft?

**The position of lighthouse chief is practically lifelong. We have already had so many examples - every last person in the service. If you can’t walk anymore, they may ask you to. And then, you must admit, you don’t want to give the farm, what you’ve acquired all your life, into the wrong hands. So most often the next caretaker becomes either a son or a daughter.

**Is it possible to do without a person in a lighthouse? After all, now electronic systems operate at the highest level...

**There are beacons that operate automatically. But the current generation does what it wants: the lenses themselves break and damage the lighthouses themselves. We recently had a case on the Taman Peninsula. There was a shining navigation sign there. So it was simply sold for scrap. That's it. People arrive one day, but there is no sign. Can you imagine, there was an openwork structure about 30 meters long, but no! And no one knows anything. Now we have enough automatic illuminated navigation signs along the coast. But for the most part they don't work. For one simple reason: people incapacitate them. For the sake of humor.

**In your opinion, is working at a lighthouse a man’s or a woman’s job?

**Two women work in our area of ​​responsibility, the head of the lighthouse in Temryuk and my sister Larisa Nikolaevna, the head of the Gelendzhik lighthouse. And so there are men everywhere, of course. The main thing, as I already said, is to love your job and not be afraid of heights. You need to get involved in it, and then you won’t be able to live without it.

Text: Svetlana Nemirovskaya

Photo: Ksenia Donskaya

The article was published in the magazine "Men's Club Southern Region", October 2007

Source: Men's Club Southern Region