This photo taken during the middle of the Great Patriotic War portrays Stepan Pavlovich Titov, the father of the world’s second cosmonaut Gherman Titov, with his comrades-in-arms. He stands between them full of optimism and zest for life. According to people who knew both Stepan and Gherman, they smiled in exactly the same way.
Stepan Titov wears an outfit that differs from that of the two other people in the photo. Moreover, he rests upon the running board as if the car belongs to him. In fact, Stepan Titov served as a driver in aviation maintenance units. Between 1943 and 1945, he serviced American Flying Fortress bombers at an airfield near Poltava.
Having trained at an automobile regiment, Titov Senior spent a long time riding on frontline roads. Stepan Titov was awarded many times for his military service: he received the medal “For the Victory over Germany”, the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class, and the commemorative medals “Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War”, “Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War”, “Sixty Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR”, and “Seventy Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR”.
His activities in times of peace are also worth mentioning, as Stepan Titov made an important contribution to history, at least, of his homeland. A student of the May Morning commune in the Kosikhinsky District and the famous teacher Adrian Mitrofanovich Toporov, Stepan Titov had numerous talents.
Before the war, he studied at the workers’ music department of the Moscow Conservatory and worked as a teacher in Polkovnikovo where he taught not only Russian and literature but also engineering drawing, painting, music, and foreign languages. He was a talented painter, played various musical instruments (including the violin, accordion, mandolin, and piano), and wrote poetry. Stepan Titov was a true enlightener who promoted culture. It is no wonder that his name was given to the Governor’s Award established in 2007 to celebrate the best innovative teachers of Altai Krai villages.
Having returned from war, Stepan Titov continued working as a school literature teacher. Later, he graduated from the four-year State Central Correspondence Courses in Foreign Languages and started teaching German. An avid participant of artistic activities, he set up a choir and an orchestra in his home village. Stepan Titov continuously demonstrated to his students that everything was possible for a passionate, hard-working, curious, and enthusiastic person. He also received various awards as a teacher.
Stepan Titov wears an outfit that differs from that of the two other people in the photo. Moreover, he rests upon the running board as if the car belongs to him. In fact, Stepan Titov served as a driver in aviation maintenance units. Between 1943 and 1945, he serviced American Flying Fortress bombers at an airfield near Poltava.
Having trained at an automobile regiment, Titov Senior spent a long time riding on frontline roads. Stepan Titov was awarded many times for his military service: he received the medal “For the Victory over Germany”, the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class, and the commemorative medals “Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War”, “Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War”, “Sixty Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR”, and “Seventy Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR”.
His activities in times of peace are also worth mentioning, as Stepan Titov made an important contribution to history, at least, of his homeland. A student of the May Morning commune in the Kosikhinsky District and the famous teacher Adrian Mitrofanovich Toporov, Stepan Titov had numerous talents.
Before the war, he studied at the workers’ music department of the Moscow Conservatory and worked as a teacher in Polkovnikovo where he taught not only Russian and literature but also engineering drawing, painting, music, and foreign languages. He was a talented painter, played various musical instruments (including the violin, accordion, mandolin, and piano), and wrote poetry. Stepan Titov was a true enlightener who promoted culture. It is no wonder that his name was given to the Governor’s Award established in 2007 to celebrate the best innovative teachers of Altai Krai villages.
Having returned from war, Stepan Titov continued working as a school literature teacher. Later, he graduated from the four-year State Central Correspondence Courses in Foreign Languages and started teaching German. An avid participant of artistic activities, he set up a choir and an orchestra in his home village. Stepan Titov continuously demonstrated to his students that everything was possible for a passionate, hard-working, curious, and enthusiastic person. He also received various awards as a teacher.
