Ishiya Aizenshtein
Tashkent watchmaker and Second World War veteran; the clock mechanism he brought from East Prussia became the heart of the Tashkent Chimes, and he was named an honorary citizen of the city.
- Occupation:
- Artisan
- Born:
- December 22 1905(80 years old) ♑ — December 17, 1986
Biography
Ishiya (Aleksandr) Abramovich Aizenshtein was born on 22 December 1905. He was a watchmaker by trade and served in the Red Army during the Second World War, holding the rank of sergeant.
In the spring of 1945 his army service ended in Allenstein in East Prussia (today Olsztyn in Poland). The tower of the town hall there was in danger of collapse, and Aizenshtein took down its only slightly damaged tower-clock mechanism and repaired it with his own hands.
On behalf of his regiment he presented the mechanism to the city of Tashkent. The city’s architecture office held a competition for a building to house the clock, and a thirty-metre tower was raised to the winning design, with the master ganch carver Shirin Muradov taking part in its decoration. The Tashkent Chimes began keeping time on 9 May 1947, and a marble plaque bearing Aizenshtein’s name was fixed to the building.
As a professional watchmaker he serviced the chimes’ mechanism for many years and took an active part in getting it running again after the Tashkent earthquake of 1966.
Aizenshtein died in Tashkent on 17 December 1986 and was buried in the Botkin Cemetery. He is an honorary citizen of Tashkent and was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honour and the Medal “For the Defence of Moscow”. The chimes remain one of the city’s symbols.
Awards
Life path
- 1905Birth
Born on 22 December 1905; a watchmaker by trade.
- 1941–1945Second World War
Served in the Red Army as a sergeant.
- 1945The Allenstein clock mechanism
In East Prussia he removed a slightly damaged mechanism from a town-hall tower, repaired it himself and gave it to Tashkent on behalf of his regiment.
- 1947The Tashkent Chimes begin to run
On 9 May the tower clock started keeping time; a marble plaque with Aizenshtein’s name was fixed to the building.
- 1966Restoration after the earthquake
Took an active part in bringing the chimes back into service after the Tashkent earthquake.
- 1986Death
Died in Tashkent on 17 December and was buried in the Botkin Cemetery.
Legacy
The Tashkent Chimes, built around the mechanism Aizenshtein brought, became one of the city’s symbols. A plaque with his name is fixed to the building, and he is recognised as an honorary citizen of Tashkent.
Era: Post-war Tashkent- Clock mechanism taken from Allenstein (1945)
- Tashkent Chimes begin to run (1947)
- Tashkent earthquake and restoration of the chimes (1966)