Alexander Nikolayevich Zelin (russian: Александр Николаевич Зелин; born 6 May 1953) served as Commander-in-Chief of the

Russian Air Force " Air March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 12 August , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , bat ...

from 9 May 2007 until 27 April 2012. Zelin holds the Air Force rank of

colonel-general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

. Since May 2012 Zelin has been an adviser to the

Russian Defence Minister The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...

Biography

Vladimir Putin and Alexander Zelin, MAKS-2011-2

Alexander Zelin was born on 6 May 1953, in

Perevalsk Perevalsk (; ) is a city in the southwestern part of the Luhansk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Perevalsk Raion. Population: , . Perevalsk was founded in 1889 as Seleznyovsky Quarry, for the workers in coal minin ...

, Voroshilovgrad region (now

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast ( uk, Луга́нська о́бласть, translit=Luhanska oblast; russian: Луганская область, translit=Luganskaya oblast; also referred to as Luhanshchyna, uk, Луга́нщина) is the easternmost oblast ...

eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khark ...

). He graduated from Kharkov Higher Aviation School of Pilots in 1976,

Gagarin Air Force Academy Gagarin Air Force Academy () is a Russian military aviation academy located in Monino, Moscow Oblast. The academy prepares high-ranking military personnel for the Russian Air Force. Among the academy alumni are around 700 Heroes of the Soviet ...

in 1988, and General Staff Academy in 1997. From August 2002 to May 2007 he served as Chief of aviation – Air Force Deputy Commander-in-Chief for aviation. On May 9, 2007, he became the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, replacing

Army General Army general is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the General officer#French (Revolutionary) system, French Revolutionary System.　 In countries that adopt the general officer four rank system, it is rank of genera ...

Vladimir Mikhaylov. On April 27, 2012, he was dismissed from his post and military service. No reason was given.http://www.armstass.su/?page=article&aid=106155&cid=25 He was succeeded by

Viktor Bondarev Viktor Nikolaevich Bondarev (russian: Виктор Николаевич Бондарев; born 7 December 1959) is a Colonel General and former Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces (1 August 2015 – 26 September 2017), and the former Comm ...

Honours and awards

Russian Federation

Honoured Military Pilot of the Russian Federation The Honorary Title of "Merited Military Pilot of the Russian Federation" (russian: Заслуженный военный лётчик Российской Федерации) is a state award of the Russian Federation that can trace its history to ...

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

, 2nd class *

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, 4th class * Order of Military Merit * Medal For Strengthening Military Cooperation (Min Def) * Medal "200 Years of the Ministry of Defence" (Min Def) * Medal "For Distinguished Military Service" 1st Class

Soviet Union

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «60 лет Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established and bestowed to m ...

Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (russian: Юбилейная медаль «70 лет Вооружённых Сил СССР») was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on January 28, 198 ...

* Medals "For Impeccable Service" 2nd and 3rd classes

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20071204223315/http://www.mil.ru/eng/1862/12068/12088/12221/24062/index.shtml {{Russia-mil-bio-stub 1953 births Living people People from Perevalsk Commanders-in-chief of the Russian Air Force Russian Air Force generals Soviet Air Force officers Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Russian colonel generals Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni