On November 14, 2025, the annual Vitaly Dvoretsky photo and video exhibition and competition was held at Turan University

Turan University has been in existence for 33 years, and Vitaly Dvoretsky has been and remains the university’s top student in the Tourism major.

During his studies, Vitaly traveled to 50 countries, actively participated in the university’s Tourism Research Institute’s mountain tourism team, and won bronze as part of the team at the World Mountain Tourism Championships. But this seasoned traveler and accomplished athlete had another passion.

He endlessly photographed his way through challenging mountain routes, edited videos, and possessed an engineering proficiency in more than just photo and video equipment. Vitaly was one of the first to master drone photography (unmanned aerial vehicles), regardless of the expense, and mastered five of the latest models.

Unfortunately, on July 30, 2018, our team was once again attempting a category-6 mountain route in the Kyrgyz Alatoo. A brief earthquake triggered a rockfall on the Skryabin Glacier, and all team members sustained injuries of varying severity. Vitaly died.

It’s long been known that a deceased person is considered alive if they are remembered by many people around them. In 2021, Vitaly’s family and I, as his caregiver, came up with the idea to continue his legacy. We decided to hold an annual photo and video exhibition and competition, showcasing Vitaly’s work and highlighting his accomplishments, as the best way to honor this memory.

This year marks the fifth time we’ve held this exhibition at Turan University. And each time, the number of participants and works on display has increased. In 2021, 54 photographs and 4 videos were on display, while in 2025, there were 91 photographs and 10 videos.

The winning entries in the photography competition were those of Daniyar Asauov and Alimzhan Tokhtabakiyev; the winning entries in the video competition were those of Galina Mulenkova, Elena Khalanskaya, and Temirlan Berkimbaev, and the best videos were presented by Alexander Nikiforov and Maxim Fedorenko.

The Vitaly Dvoretsky Photo and Video Competition grows annually in terms of the number of participants and entries, and the quality of the submissions improves.

The memory of this outstanding citizen of Kazakhstan lives on, and his work finds ever new admirers.