On this day: Russian Air Force celebrates holiday

Young pilot school students Valery Terpugov and Sergey Suchkov pictured in the YAK-40 aircraft cabin, 1977. Source: TASS

The Day of Russia’s Air Fleet is a holiday for all pilots and employees who work in Russia’s aviation industry. It’s been celebrated annually on the third Sunday of August since 1992.

On Aug. 12, 1912 the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II ordered the formation of the country's first Air Force. Two decades after, Joseph Stalin set the Soviet tradition of celebrating its Air Fleet and the tradition is continued today.

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