“I am probably the happiest person in the world”: Saima Safievna Karimova

Abstract

The article examines the life of the Hero of Socialist Labor, Honored Geologist of the RSFSR Saima Safievna Karimova (1926–2013) in a concept updated from the point of view of women's history. In the 1960s and 1980s, S.S. Karimova had All-Union fame as the head of the geological exploration complex in the South Yakut coal basin. Its success in completing the exploration of the Neryungrinsky coal deposit is now well known due to widely available information from open sources. Based on an in-depth interview conducted in 1994, this article presents exclusive material that reveals S.S. Karimova as a whole person, her worldview as a professional, wife, mother, and representative of the Tatar people. Many-hours' conversation with her led to the conclusion that the status achieved in society and a brilliant career do not give a woman a full sense of happiness. Having reached the top in professional growth and deservedly awarded valuable regalia, Saima Safievna, by her own admission, was not ready to repeat her fate if such a hypothetical opportunity presented itself. She summed up our meeting with the words: “A woman is naturally destined for something different, higher: family, home, children”.

For citation: Gallyamova A.G. “I am probably the happiest person in the world”: Saima Safievna Karimova. From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2025, vol.15, no.1, pp.100–108. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2025-15-1.100-108 (In Russian)