In the life of

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, air shows were a highly regarded type of

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

, almost always of

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

nature. They happened on various occasions and anniversaries, in many locations across the country. A notable

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...

was the

Tushino Tushino ( rus, Тушино, p=ˈtuʂɨnə) is a former village and town to the north of Moscow, which has been part of the city's area since 1960. Between 1939 and 1960, Tushino was classed as a separate town. The Skhodnya River flows across the ...

Air Show held annually in August.

Dates

Soviet Air Fleet Day

The most frequent date of air shows was the Soviet Air Fleet Day (russian: День Воздушного Флота). It was also known as the Soviet Air Forces Day (russian: День Военно-воздушных Сил), or Soviet Aviation Day.Pre-history of MAKS
- provides the complete information on Russian and Soviet air shows. It was established in 1933 and was most usually held on the third Sunday of August, weather permitting. The initial exhibition on 18 August 1933, was a result of

Yakov Alksnis Yakov Ivanovich Alksnis (russian: Яков Иванович Алкснис, lv, Jēkabs Alksnis; – 28 July 1938) was a Soviet military leader and the commander of the Red Army Air Forces from 1931 to 1937. Biography Jēkabs Alksnis was b ...

initiative, and was held in

Khodynka Aerodrome Khodynka (russian: links=no, Ходынский, ''Khodynskiy''), officially Frunze Central Aerodrome, often referred to as Tsentralny (), was an airport in Moscow, Russia, located northwest of the centre of the city. History The founding of the ...

(the Central Moscow Aerodrome), but since the next year the show became located on Tushino airfield near

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, where it remained for entire decades. In 1937, the parade was attended by nearly a million people, observing the masses of aircraft spelling in the sky "

LENIN Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

", "

STALIN Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

" and "

СССР The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

". The celebrations repeated until the fall of Soviet Union, and continue in Russia (location is now Zhukovskiy airport, see

MAKS airshow MAKS (russian: МАКС, russian: label=short for, Международный авиационно-космический салон, Mezhdunarodnyj aviatsionno-kosmicheskij salon, "International Aviation and Space Show") is an international air ...

May Day

1 May was dedicated to multitude of parades throughout the Soviet Union. They often included large-scale

flypast A flypast is a ceremonial or honorific flight by an aircraft or group of aircraft. The term flypast is used in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. In the United States, the terms flyover and flyby are used. Flypasts are often tied in w ...

s. - May Day of 1954.

Other

The Soviet Air Fleet Day became primarily associated with

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

(VVS), so a separate day has been established for

Soviet Air Defense Forces The Soviet Air Defence Forces (russian: войска ПВО, ''voyska protivovozdushnoy oborony'', ''voyska PVO'', ''V-PVO'', lit. ''Anti-Air Defence Troops''; and formerly ''protivovozdushnaya oborona strany'', ''PVO strany'', lit. ''Anti-Air De ...

(PVO) a second arm of Soviet military that employed numerous fighter squadrons. It was called Soviet Air Defence Forces Day (russian: День войск противовоздушной обороны СССР), occurred on the second Sunday of April, and was celebrated with air parades of lesser scale. The

October revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

anniversary usually included air parade, but as it was held on 7 November, the aircraft were often cancelled because of weather conditions. The same problem pertained to 19 November, the Soviet Rocket Forces and Artillery Day. Notably, the 50th anniversary of October revolution air show was held in the summer, on 9 July 1967 at

Domodedovo airport Domodedovo Airport ( rus, links=no, Домодедово аэропорт, p=dəmɐˈdʲɛdəvə) ( IATA: DME, ICAO: UUDD), formally Domodedovo Mikhail Lomonosov International Airport, is an international airport serving Moscow, the capital of ...

. In an unprecedented display of air power, it featured twelve new types or variants of military aircraft, and prompted concern in the West.

Notable first appearances

The Soviet air shows conveyed more than entertainment. In the atmosphere of harshly enforced clandestinity, these air shows were frequently the main source of information about the recent aviation achievements of Soviet design bureaus (OKBs). Both Eastern and Western public opinion benefited from it, as well as foreign military intelligence.

References