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120-558: Mathias Rust (born 1 June 1968) is a German aviator known for his flight that ended with a landing near Red Square in Moscow on 28 May 1987. Then a teenage amateur pilot, he flew from Helsinki , Finland, to Moscow, without authorization. According to Russian claims he was tracked several times by Soviet Air Defence Forces and civilian air traffic controllers , as well as Soviet Air Force interceptor aircraft. The Soviet fighters did not receive permission to shoot him down, and his aeroplane

240-737: A treaty to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe , and the Supreme Soviet ordered Rust to be released in August 1988 as a goodwill gesture to the West . Rust's return to Germany on 3 August 1988 was accompanied by huge media attention, but he did not talk to the journalists assembled; his family had sold the exclusive rights to the story to the German magazine Stern for 100,000  DM . He reported that he had been treated well in

360-660: A December 1994 directive, the 14th Independent Air Defence Army was reorganized as the 6th Independent Air Defence Corps ( ru:6-й_отдельный_корпус_ПВО ) with the 16th Guards, 20th, and 94th Mukden Air Defence Divisions). In 1998, the force groupings and headquarters of the PVO that had remained within Russia were merged with the Russian Air Force becoming part of the Moscow District of Air and Air Defence Forces , and

480-529: A Directorate of the Chief of Anti-Missile and Anti-Space Defence ( Управление командующего войсками противоракетной и противокосмической ( УКВ ПРО и ПКО )), under Lieutenant-General of Artillery Yuri Votintsev, was formed within the Air Defence Forces. In February 1971 the 1st Division for Warning Against Missile Attack (1st Division WAMA, 1-я Дивизия предупреждения о ракетном нападении ( 1-я дПРН ))

600-773: A Soviet Air Force Su-15 fired on it. Soviet government officials finally admitted their mistake much to the anger of the South Korean and the United States governments. It even resulted in the forced and sudden resignation of the then Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff, Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov , in the following year by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (leader of

720-431: A fragmented life, describing himself as a "bit of an oddball". After being released from court, he converted to Hinduism in 1996 to become engaged to a daughter of an Indian tea merchant . In 2001, he was convicted of stealing a cashmere pullover and ordered to pay a fine of 10,000 DM, which was later reduced to 600 DM. Another legal incident occurred during 2005, when he was convicted of fraud and had to pay

840-405: A literal translation of Golgotha ), however, according to other hypotheses, it has nothing to do with a forehead, but with its location near the praise, as a steep river bank was called in medieval Russia. According to tradition, the grandstand on Red Square was originally made of wood, and the current stone building with a gate made of iron grating dates from the late 1590s. In the course of time,

960-630: A museum in the building's interior space, to designs by Meganom and Nowadays Office . The new museum is going to form a part of the UNESCO protected ensemble of Moscow Kremlin Museums, and will bring a part of the Kremlin Armoury collection outside the Kremlin walls. The Lobnoye Mesto (Russian: Лобное место) is a round, grandstand-like structure made of white stone in the southeastern part of

1080-568: A noble shopping centre characterised by boutiques in the upper price ranges. Since 2013, GUM operates a yearly Christmas fair in front of its department store, the biggest one in all of Russia. The building at the easternmost point of the square, on the corner of Ilyinka Street, stands exactly where the Middle Trading Rows stood in the 17th century. These formed, along with the Upper Trading Rows, where today's GUM store

1200-555: A number of such aircraft shot down while operating around the Soviet borders, including MiG-17s downing a US reconnaissance Lockheed C-130 Hercules over Armenia, with 17 casualties in 1958. The PVO gained an important victory on May 1, 1960, when a S-75 Dvina missile downed Gary Powers 's U-2 , causing the short U-2 crisis of 1960 . (See Strategic Air Command#Strategic Reconnaissance ) The PVO had its own chain of command, schools, radar and sound director sites. On March 30, 1967,

1320-569: A policy of neutrality while interacting with EU member countries as the big European powers at present are following the foreign policy of the U.S. unquestioningly". He claimed: "Governments have been dominated by the corporate entities and citizens have ceased to matter in public policy". After the 20th anniversary of his flight on 28 May 2007, international media interviewed Rust about the flight and its aftermath. The Washington Post and Bild both have online editions of their interviews. The most comprehensive televised interview available online

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1440-501: A rescue effort was organized, including a Finnish Border Guard patrol boat. They found an oil patch near Sipoo where Rust had disappeared from radar observation, and conducted an underwater search but did not find anything. Rust crossed the Baltic coastline over Estonia and turned towards Moscow. At 14:29 he appeared on Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO) radar and, after failure to reply to an Identification Friend or Foe ( IFF ) signal,

1560-752: A series of Mikoyan-and-Gurevich Design Bureau jet fighters. In April 1950, the regiment received its first Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15s . In May 1954, the PVO Strany was raised to a status equal to the other service branches of the Soviet Armed Forces, receiving its first commander-in-chief: Marshal of the Soviet Union Leonid Govorov . The PVO's principal role was to shoot down United States Strategic Air Command bombers if they penetrated Soviet airspace. Secondary target were U.S. air reconnaissance aircraft. There were

1680-475: A showcase for military parades from 1919 onward. Lenin's Mausoleum would from 1924 onward be a part of the square complex, and also as the grandstand for important dignitaries in all national celebrations. In the 1930s, Kazan Cathedral and Iverskaya Chapel with the Resurrection Gates were demolished to make room for heavy military vehicles driving through the square (both were later rebuilt after

1800-479: A symmetrical manner by two rectangular towers, the tops of which are strongly reminiscent of the Kremlin towers. Originally, the Resurrection Gate represented part of the architectural ensemble at the northern end of Red Square, which, in addition to the gate, included the affiliated building of the government administration (see below) and the no longer preserved pharmacy building, which had to give way to

1920-525: A total of 140 officer commissioning schools, drawn from a Krasnaya Zvezda list of 17 January 1980. That total included 15 Air Defence Forces schools (four Fighter Aviation, five radio-electronics, and six Anti-Aircraft Rocket). On 1 September 1983 the PVO shot down Korean Air Flight 007 after the civilian airliner had crossed into restricted Soviet airspace and was mistaken for a spy plane. Previously Korean Air Flight 902 had once crossed into Murmansk airspace, and had to make an emergency landing when

2040-589: A year. In addition to the actual museum building, the historical museum complex also includes Saint Basil's Cathedral and the Novodevichy Convent , which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Resurrection Gate forms one of the two entrances to Red Square from the northwest side. This structure, built for the first time in 1680, was initially part of the Kitai-Gorod fortifications. In its base part it consists of two arched portals, which are crowned in

2160-467: A €1,500 fine. In 2009 Rust described himself as a professional poker player. Most recently, in 2012, he described himself as an analyst for a Zürich -based investment bank , dividing his time between Hamburg, Switzerland and Asia, and is training to be a yoga teacher. He said he had plans to open a yoga school in Hamburg. In October 2015, The Hindu published an interview with Rust to commemorate

2280-619: Is красивая ( krasivaya ), which is derived from it. In Moscow, the name Red Square originally described the small area between St. Basil's Cathedral , the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin , and the Lobnoye Mesto herald's platform. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich officially extended the name to encompass the entire square, which had previously been called Pozhar , or "burnt-out place", reflecting that previous buildings occupying

2400-602: Is a replica from 1993; originally there was a church at this site since the 1620s, initially a wooden one, then a stone one from 1636 onwards. The Kazan Cathedral owes its name to the icon of Our Lady of Kazan , which has been venerated by the believers of the Russian Orthodox Church for centuries. According to a legend, it was precisely this icon of the Russian People's army, led by the national heroes Kuzma Minin and Dmitri Pozharsky , who defeated

2520-645: Is located, as part of the broader market trading area that helped shape the Kitay-gorod district, adjacent to the Red Square. This massive expanse of assorted market stalls and self-made wooden huts was for the first time replaced at the end of the 18th century, by a building complex specially built for trade, whose authorship is attributed to the Italian builder Giacomo Quarenghi . In the war of 1812, however, these buildings were burned down and were replaced by

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2640-534: Is located. The building standing between the Resurrection Gate and the Kazan Cathedral is one of the less conspicuous buildings on Red Square. It was built between 1733 and 1740 and since then has served as the headquarters of the administration of the city of Moscow and the Moscow Governorate (the latter partially corresponds to today's Moscow Oblast ). The government administration building

2760-605: Is produced by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation . In their interview Rust in Red Square , recorded in May 2007, Rust gives a full account of the flight in English. Red Square Red Square has an almost rectangular shape and is 70 meters wide and 330 meters long. It extends lengthways from northwest to southeast along part of the wall of the Kremlin that forms its boundary on the southwest side. In

2880-680: The Faroe Islands , spending a week in Iceland , and then visiting Bergen on his way back. He was later quoted as saying that he had the idea of attempting to reach Moscow even before the departure, and he considered the journey to Iceland (where he visited Hofdi House , the site of unsuccessful talks between the USA's and USSR's governments during October 1986) as a method of testing his piloting skills. On 28 May 1987, Rust refuelled at Helsinki-Malmi Airport . He told air traffic control that he

3000-567: The German Museum of Technology in Berlin . Because Rust's flight seemed harmful to the authority of the Soviet regime, it was the source of numerous jokes and legends . For a while after the incident, Red Square was referred to jokingly by some Muscovites as Sheremetyevo -3 (Sheremetyevo-1 and -2 being the two terminals at Moscow's international airport). At the end of 1987, the police radio code used by law enforcement officers in Moscow

3120-513: The KHL announced they would be holding their first all-star game outdoors on 10 January at Red Square. Two of the most significant military parades on Red Square were 1941 October Revolution Parade , when the city was besieged by Germans and troops were leaving Red Square straight to the front lines, and the Victory Parade in 1945 , when the banners of defeated Nazi armies were thrown at

3240-799: The Leningrad and Baku Air Defence Armies were later raised. These were the first operational formations of the Air Defence Forces. In June 1943, the Office of the Commander of Air Defence Forces of the country was disbanded. Following the reorganization in April 1944 that created the Western and Eastern Air Defence Fronts , and caused the division of the Transcaucasian Air Defence Area, which this year have been reorganized as

3360-606: The Military of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1612. A few years after the victory, the devout Prince Pozharsky founded the cathedral dedicated to this icon. This corresponded to the then usual Russian tradition of building churches in memory of historically important victories in Russia. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Kazan Cathedral on Red Square was one of the most important Moscow places of worship and

3480-658: The Moskva River , which goes down and over a bridge to the Zamoskvorechye District . Two streets branch off to the northeast from Red Square: Nikolskaya Street , which is named after the Nikolaus Tower of the Kremlin, which is directly opposite, and the Ilyinka (Ильинка), both of which have existed since the 14th century and were once important arteries of old Moscow. Today the square itself, with

3600-488: The Russian Armed Forces . At the beginning of 2007, four inner structures of the former trading rows were demolished while plans were made to reconstruct the entire building true to the original to house an exclusive hotel. These plans came under criticism from both Russian and foreign media as circumventing the preservation order by cleverly exploiting a loophole in the law. Work is currently underway to set up

3720-597: The state funeral of Joseph Stalin (9 March 1953). On Victory Day in 1945, 1965, 1985, and 1990, there were Soviet military marches and parades as well, and since 1995, the annual Moscow Victory Day Parade has been held on the square, marking anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II . In January 2008, Russia announced it would resume parading military vehicles through Red Square, although recent restoration of Iverski Gate complicated this, by closing one of existing passages along Historical Museum for

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3840-571: The 16th century, two decorative towers based on the Kremlin and a main facade reminiscent of historical Russian buildings. During the Soviet era , the new upper trading ranks had an eventful history. In 1921, they were given their current name GUM («ГУМ»), which, at the time, was the abbreviation for «Государственный Универсальный Магазин» ('State Department Store'); today it stands for «Главный Универсальный Магазин» ('Main Universal Store'). In

3960-403: The 1890s, for which a special company was founded and an ideas competition among architects was advertised. This was won by a project by the architecture professor Alexander Pomeranzewas, as well as the little-known engineer Vladimir Schuchow. The construction of the new trade rows lasted from 1890 to 1893. When they were ceremoniously opened on 2 December 1893, the new structure was able to impress

4080-465: The 25th anniversary of German reunification. Rust opined that institutional failures in Western countries to preserve moral standards and democratic ideals were creating mistrust between peoples and governments. Referring to the genesis of a New Cold War between Russia and the Western powers, Rust suggested that India should be cautious and avoid entanglement: "India will be better served if it follows

4200-710: The 4th, 5th, 6th, 11th, and 14th Armies of VVS and PVO. The Day of Air Defence Forces ( Den' Voysk PVO ) was initially established in 1975, to be celebrated on April 11. In 1980 this was changed to the second Sunday of April. It is still celebrated in the Russian Federation even after the 1998 merger of the Air Defence Forces with the Air Force. The unofficial motto of the PVO is 'Сами не летаем – другим не дадим'('Sami ne letaem – drugim ne dadim'), which can be translated as "Don't fly – don't let others" / "If we can't fly – we won't let anyone else either". The post

4320-675: The Air Force. During the 1980s, the PVO interceptor units were re-equipped with the Mikoyan MiG-31 and Sukhoi Su-27P , while missile units received new electronic countermeasures systems and the S-300 surface-to-air missile system . The modernization of the PVO prioritized units in the High North and the Far East due to the threat from American spyplane missions and United States Pacific Fleet carrier aircraft. Shelton lists

4440-809: The Baltic states and the Leningrad Oblast (a trial run for the larger re-organisation in 1980 covering the whole country). All fighter units in the PVO were transferred to the VVS, the PVO only retaining the anti-aircraft missile units and radar units – the 6th Independent Air Defence Army was disbanded, and the 15th Air Army became the Air Forces of the Baltic Military District . By 1981, the now Voyska PVO had been stripped of many command and control and training assets, which were moved to

4560-599: The Baltics and Central Asia. However, in 1960 it appears that most of the PVO regions/areas were reorganised into seven separate armies of the Air Defence Forces – the 2nd , 4th , 6th , 8th , 10th , 11th , 14th , and 19th Air Defence Army . In 1963 the 30th independent Air Defence Corps in Tashkent became the 12th Independent Air Defence Army . In 1977, the Air Forces and Air Defence Forces were re-organised in

4680-659: The Country ) was the air defence branch of the Soviet Armed Forces . Formed in 1941, it continued being a service branch of the Russian Armed Forces after 1991 until it was merged into the Air Force in 1998. Unlike Western air defence forces, V-PVO was a branch of the military unto itself, separate from the Soviet Air Force (VVS) and Air Defence Troops of Ground Forces. During the Soviet period it

4800-559: The History Museum at the end of the 19th century. During the times of the Russian Empire , the gate served as a symbolic entrance gate to the heart of Moscow, especially during major celebrations: the tsars always passed the gate at their coronation celebrations before the coronation was proclaimed in front of the people on Red Square. In 1931, the new state authorities had the gate dismantled so that it would not obstruct

4920-589: The Holy Trinity, stood exactly on the site of Saint Basil's Cathedral. In 1555, Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered a monumental church to be built on the site, which was a token of the victory of Russia over the Khanate of Kazan three years earlier. This was according to the tradition of the time to have churches built to commemorate military victories. The wooden church was then demolished and the present cathedral

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5040-504: The Italian architects involved in the building of these fortifications convinced Ivan the Great to clear the area outside of the walls to create a field for shooting. The relevant decrees were issued in 1493 and 1495. They called for the demolition of all buildings within 110 sazhens (234 meters (768 ft)) of the wall. From 1508 to 1516, the Italian architect Aloisio the New arranged for

5160-459: The Kazan Cathedral donated by the latter at the time in the northern part of the square, this monument also commemorates the liberation of Moscow from the Polish–Lithuanian occupation troops in 1612, to which the popular army led by Minin and Poszharsky made a decisive contribution. The bronze monument, which weighs 20 tons, and was financed entirely from donations at the time, was designed by

5280-677: The Kremlin towers are attached to the sides, and the shape of the roof is reminiscent of the Great Kremlin Palace in the Kremlin, a form of the Russian mansion that was particularly preferred in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today the Historical Museum is the largest and most famous history museum in Russia. In 16 specialist departments, it houses around 4.5 million exhibits on Russian history from almost all epochs and also organizes themed special exhibitions several times

5400-404: The Kremlin walls, would have allowed the KGB to arrest him and deny the incident. Therefore, he changed his landing place to Red Square . Dense pedestrian traffic did not allow him to land there either, so after circling about the square one more time, he was able to land on Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge by St. Basil's Cathedral . A later inquiry found that trolleybus wires normally strung over

5520-451: The Lobnoye Mesto was not only used as a platform for state announcements and announcements, but also as the centre of solemn events; the patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church gave speeches to the crowd here, at solemn services on Red Square. At the same time, the Lobnoye Mesto became notorious as the scene of executions, such as the one of Stenka Rasin in 1671, and many others. Although, these executions were not carried out directly in

5640-406: The Middle Trading Rows building, rebuilt by Joseph Bové , which has been preserved to this day and is located on Ilyinka Street a few hundred meters east of Red Square. The Middle Trade Rows was not built until 1894, as was the GUM store. Planned from the start as a supplement to the latter, the upper rows were supposed to accommodate retail trade, while the premises to their right were reserved for

5760-540: The New Year 2006, 2007, and 2008 celebrations, a skating rink was set up on Red Square. Paul McCartney's performance there was a historic moment for many, as The Beatles were banned in the Soviet Union, preventing any live performances there of any of The Beatles. The Soviet Union also banned the sales of Beatles records . While McCartney's performance was historic, he was not the first Beatle to perform in Russia. Former Beatle Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band performed at Moscow's Russia Hall in August 1998. On 4 December 2008

5880-490: The North, the South and the Transcaucasian Air Defence Fronts, air defence forces in the vicinity of Moscow were renamed the Moscow Air Defence Army . In the Far East in March 1945, three air defence armies were established: Maritime, Amur and Baikal. During the Second World War, the Air Defence Forces provided defensive cover to defense industry complexes and vital communication elements, and successfully minimized aerial damage to Soviet industrial and transportation capacity. In

6000-442: The PVO. During the war PVO formations were organised as Air Defence Fronts and Air Defence Armies. PVO Fronts normally covered airspace over several ground Army Fronts ; these should not be confused with each other. The Air Defence Fronts ( Russian : Фронты ПВО ) had the following service history: All the possible air components were divided (as of 1945, before the 1949 reforms of the Soviet Armed Forces ) into: The PVO Strany

6120-431: The Russian and foreign public, not only with an unprecedented range of all kinds of consumer goods, but also with a completely new glass roof construction of the three passages, designed by Schuchow and built using around 60,000 panes of glass. The building's architectural style, like the neighbouring Historical Museum a decade earlier, was in the historical "Russian style" with a roof gable based on typical boyar palaces of

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6240-508: The Soviet Union) Konstantin Chernenko . Mathias Rust 's flight to Moscow in May 1987 caused a massive shakeup within the PVO. It seems that after the KAL 007 shootdown of 1983, no one was willing to give an order to bring Rust's tiny Cessna 172 down, and modernization programmes within the PVO had led to the installation of radar and communications systems at the state border that could not effectively pass tracking data to systems closer to Moscow. PVO Commander-in-Chief Marshal A. I. Koldunov

6360-460: The Soviet military and resulted in the dismissal of many senior officers, including Minister of Defence Marshal of the USSR Sergei Sokolov and the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Air Defence Forces , former World War II fighter pilot ace Chief Marshal Alexander Koldunov . The incident aided Mikhail Gorbachev in the implementation of his reforms , by allowing him to dismiss numerous military officials opposed to his policies. Rust, aged 18,

6480-445: The Soviet prison. Journalists described him as "psychologically unstable and unworldly in a dangerous manner". William E. Odom , former director of the U.S. National Security Agency and author of The Collapse of the Soviet Military , says that Rust's flight irreparably damaged the reputation of the Soviet military. This enabled Gorbachev to remove many of the strongest opponents to his reforms. Minister of Defence Sergei Sokolov and

6600-724: The Volga. To this end, the formation of parts of the IA, IN, anti-aircraft machine gun and searchlight units were accelerated. A classic example of a major political organization of defence and industrial center was the defence of Moscow. It was carried out by the 1st Air Defence Corps and the 6th Fighter Aviation Corps PVO . As part of these formations at the beginning of German air raids had more than 600 fighters; more than 1,000 guns of small and medium calibers; 350 machine guns; 124 fixed anti-aircraft barrage balloons; 612 stations and 600 anti-aircraft searchlights. The presence of such large forces and their skilful management foiled enemy attempts to inflict massive air strikes. Only 2.6 percent of

6720-454: The arrangement of the tent roof over the clock. In mid-century, a gilded double-headed eagle was set on top of the tower. After this, the square became known as Krasivaya ( lit.   ' beautiful ' ). In the late 17th century (1679–1680), the square was cleared of all wooden structures. Then all Kremlin towers received tent roofs, except Nikolskaya. One tent was erected on the wall above Red Square (the so‑called Tsarskaya Tower, so that

6840-415: The beginning of the 20th century, however, this tower was dismantled. In the courtyard of the former government administration building, the old building of the state mint has been preserved to this day. This was built in 1697 by decree of Peter the Great and since then has housed a production facility for silver coins for almost a quarter of a century before the money issuing system of the tsarist Empire

6960-449: The bridge. Rust was arrested two hours later. Rust's trial began in Moscow on 2 September 1987. He was sentenced to four years in a general-regime labour camp for hooliganism , for disregard of aviation laws , and for breaching the Soviet border. He was never transferred to a labour camp, and instead served his time at the high security Lefortovo temporary detention facility in Moscow. Two months later, Reagan and Gorbachev agreed to sign

7080-529: The bridge—which would have prevented his landing there—had been removed for maintenance that morning, and were replaced the next day. After taxiing past the cathedral, he stopped about 100 metres (330 ft) from the square, where he was greeted by curious passersby and asked for autographs. When asked where he was from, he replied "Germany" making the bystanders think he was from East Germany ; but when he said West Germany , they were surprised. A British doctor videotaped Rust circling over Red Square and landing on

7200-481: The building's striking architecture, the GUM is the best-known shopping center in Russia. Built in 1893, it replaced an Empire style building that had housed the Upper Trading Ranks since 1815, which united a large part of Kitai-Gorod's trading activities under one roof. After this building began to deteriorate in the middle of the 19th century, there were plans for a building to replace it. However, due to organisational difficulties, these could only be implemented in

7320-455: The cathedral was an obstacle for parades and traffic. But when he jerked the cathedral out of the model, Stalin objected with his rather famous quote: "Lazar! Put it back!". However, no documented evidence exists of this encounter. In 1963, a group of African students organized a protest on Red Square in response to the alleged murder of a medical student named Edmund Assare-Addo. This was the first recorded political protest on Red Square since

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7440-408: The commander of the Soviet Air Defence Forces Alexander Koldunov were dismissed along with hundreds of other officers. This was the biggest turnover in the Soviet military since Stalin's purges 50 years earlier. Rust's rented Reims Cessna F172P (serial #F17202087), registered D-ECJB , was sold to Japan where it was exhibited for several years. In 2008 it was returned to Germany and was placed in

7560-473: The construction of a moat in front of the Eastern wall, which would connect the Moskva and Neglinnaya and be filled in with water from Neglinnaya. This moat, known as the Alevizov moat having a length of 541 meters (1,775 ft) and width of 36 meters (118 ft), as well as a depth of 9.5–13 m was lined with limestone and, in 1533, fenced on both sides with low, 4 meters (13 ft)-thick cogged brick walls. Three square gates existed on this side of

7680-433: The course of the war, the PVO destroyed 7,313 German aircraft, of which 4,168 and 3,145 were targeted by the IA antiaircraft artillery, machine guns and barrage balloons. More than 80,000 soldiers, sergeants, officers and generals of the Country Air Defence Forces were awarded state orders and medals, and 92 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and one was twice awarded the Gold Star Medal in service with

7800-419: The districts' borders. The local air regiment near Pskov was on maneuvers and, due to inexperienced pilots' tendency to forget correct IFF designator settings, local control officers assigned all traffic in the area friendly status, including Rust. Near Torzhok there was a similar situation, as increased air traffic was created by a search and rescue operation. Rust, flying a slow propeller-driven aircraft,

7920-399: The early 1930s, they were closed for two decades and served as office and residential buildings, and from the end of 1953, until the dissolution of the Soviet Union , the store was considered a model department store in the middle of the real socialist shortage economy . In the 1990s, the store was privatised and thoroughly renovated, and today, it presents itself to the locals and tourists as

8040-400: The exception of the access road leading through it to the Savior Gate of the Kremlin, is a pedestrian zone. The main squares in Russian cities, such as those in Suzdal , Yelets , and Pereslavl-Zalessky , are frequently named Krasnaya ploshchad , or Beautiful Square. Archaically, the Russian word красная ( krasnaya ) meant 'beautiful', but now means 'red'. The current word for 'beautiful'

8160-434: The fall of the Soviet Union). There were plans to demolish Moscow's most recognized building, Saint Basil's Cathedral , as well to make way for a larger Red Square, as well as the State Historical Museum . The legend is that Lazar Kaganovich , Stalin 's associate and director of the Moscow reconstruction plan, prepared a special model of Red Square, in which the cathedral could be removed, and brought it to Stalin to show how

8280-410: The first department store in Moscow. Middle lines were intended for wholesale trade. At the same time (in 1892) the square was illuminated by electric lanterns. In 1909 a tram appeared on the square for the first time. During the Soviet era, Red Square maintained its significance, becoming a focal point for the new state. Besides being the official address of the Soviet government, it was renowned as

8400-409: The first public theater in Russia was built near the Nikolsky gate. It existed until 1737, when it was destroyed in a fire. In the 1730s, a new mint building, called the Gubernskoye pravlenie (Provincial Board), was built in front of the old one. During her reign, Catherine the Great decided to make improvements to the square. In 1786, the upper floor of the market lines was made of stone. This line

8520-402: The first time in history. In the following, all of the buildings located directly on Red Square will be presented in a clockwise direction, starting with the State Historical Museum at the northwest end of the square. The striking dark red building of the State Historical Museum forms the end of Red Square from the north-western side. It was built in the years 1875–1883 and is therefore one of

8640-520: The foot of Lenin's Mausoleum . The Soviet Union held many parades in Red Square for May Day (until 1969), Victory Day , and October Revolution Day , which consisted of propaganda, flags, labor demonstration, marching troops, and showing off of tanks and missiles. Individual parades have been held on Defender of the Fatherland Day (23 February 1925), the Day of Tankmen (8 September 1946), and

8760-594: The heavy vehicles. In May 2008, Russia held its annual Victory day parade, during which for the first time since the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Russian military vehicles paraded through the square. On 9 May 2010, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the capitulation of Germany in 1945, the armed forces of France, the United Kingdom, and the United States marched in the Moscow Victory Day parade for

8880-403: The heroism of its sons. Originally, however, the sculpture did not stand in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral, but in front of today's GUM department store at the level of the main entrance. It was only moved to its current location in 1930, to make more space for military parades and large-scale demonstrations. Saint Basil's Cathedral, which delimits the square on its southern side, is undoubtedly

9000-459: The impact of the loss was reduced by the relocation of some units back to Russia. The Russian Air Defence Forces ultimately inherited about 65% of final Soviet PVO assets. In December 1994, the 4th Independent Air Defence Army at Ekaterinberg in the Urals was transformed into the 5th Independent Air Defence Corps, which in 1998 became the 5th Air and Air Defence Forces Army . In accordance with

9120-744: The late 1920s. On 28 May 1987 a West German pilot named Mathias Rust landed a Cessna F172P light aircraft at St. Basil next to Red Square, causing a major scandal in the Soviet Air Defense Forces . In 1990 the Kremlin and Red Square were among the first sites in the USSR added to UNESCO 's World Heritage List . Red Square has also served as a venue for high-profile concerts. Linkin Park , The Prodigy , t.A.T.u. , Shakira , Scorpions , Paul McCartney , Roger Waters , Red Hot Chili Peppers , and other celebrities performed there. For

9240-568: The latest 37 mm automatic and 85 mm guns. Moreover, the troops were deficient in Yak-1s and MiG-3s; 46 percent of the fleet were obsolete aircraft. Increased rates of production were initiated to provide the troops with new equipment. In July 1941, the National Defence Committee took several measures to strengthen the forces guarding Moscow and Leningrad, Yaroslavl and Gorky industrial areas, and strategic bridges across

9360-585: The name of the small Troitskaya ('Trinity') Church, burnt down in the great fire during the Tatar invasion in 1571. After that, the square held the name Pozhar , which means 'burnt'. It was not until 1661–62 that it was first mentioned by its contemporary Krasnaya name. Red Square was then the foremost landing stage and trading center for Moscow. Even though Ivan the Great decreed that trade should only be conducted from person to person, in time, these rules were relaxed, and permanent market buildings began appearing on

9480-612: The northeast, the square is bounded by the GUM department store building and the old district of Kitay-gorod , in the northwest by the State Historical Museum and the Resurrection Gate and in the southeast by Saint Basil's Cathedral . Tverskaya Street begins to the northwest of the square behind the building of the State Historical Museum , and to the southeast is the so-called Basilius slope, which leads to

9600-517: The passage of military technology during major military parades on Red Square. Today's gate is largely a replica of the original and dates from 1996. Between the two portals on the north side of the gate, the chapel of the icon of the Mother of God of Iviron , originally built in 1781, was rebuilt at the same time. A new copy of the icon was made for this chapel on Mount Athos , where the Iviron monastery

9720-546: The post of the Commander of the Air Defence Forces was created and Major General Mikhail Gromadin ( ru:Громадин, Михаил Степанович ) was appointed. In January 1942, to improve the interaction of forces and air defence systems, the fighter aircraft and crews manning them were ordered to be subordinated to the Air Defence Command. In April 1942, the Moscow Air Defence Front was founded, and

9840-533: The rise in patriotic consciousness during the war. In 1874 the historic building of Zemsky prikaz was demolished. In its place the Imperial Historical Museum was built in pseudo-Russian style. After Bové's lines were demolished, new large buildings were erected between 1888 and 1893, also in the pseudo-Russian style: upper lines ( GUM department store ) and middle lines. The upper lines were intended for retail sale and together in fact comprised

9960-514: The sculptor Ivan Martos . After almost 15 years of planning and construction, it was unveiled in a festive ceremony in February 1818. Since at the time, it had been five years since Russia successfully stopped the French invasion led by Napoleon , and the reconstruction of Moscow had just been completed, the monument was celebrated when it was erected as a symbol of the invincibility of Russia and

10080-515: The site had burned down. The history of Red Square is reflected in paintings by Vasily Surikov , Konstantin Yuon and others. The square was meant to serve as Moscow's main marketplace. It was also the site of various public ceremonies and proclamations, and occasionally a coronation for Russia's Tsars would take place. The square has been gradually built up since that point and has been used for official ceremonies by all Russian governments since it

10200-513: The site of current Historical Museum ) was then known as the Main Pharmacy, founded under orders of Peter The Great . In 1755 the first Russian University was originally housed in the building of Zemsky prikaz, before moving to the better known building on Mokhovaya street further across Manege Square . At the same time the (by then already drained) Alevizov moat was used as a state Pharmacy's garden for growing medicinal plants. In 1702,

10320-624: The square began after the Napoleonic invasion and fire in 1812 . The moat was filled in 1813 and in its place, rows of trees were planted. The market Line along the moat, dilapidated after the fire, had been demolished, and on the Eastern side, Joseph Bové constructed new building of lines in the Empire style. In 1818 the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky , was erected; its construction symbolized

10440-479: The square's most famous building, and one of Russia's cultural icons. Once, the church was the main place of worship in Moscow, but today the cathedral mainly functions as a museum that is part of the complex of the State Historical Museum in the opposite. Since the early 1990s, services have been held in the cathedral at irregular intervals. In the middle of the 16th century, the wooden Church of

10560-480: The square, in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral. At the same time, it is one of the oldest buildings on the square that has been documented to this day. Lobnoye Mesto was first mentioned in 1549, when the then 19 year old tsar Ivan The Terrible gave a speech there. Thus, it must have been conceived from the beginning as a platform from which, above all, tsar decrees were announced to the people. The name Lobnoye Mesto could literally mean 'forehead' or 'skull' (and thus

10680-637: The square. After a fire in 1547, Ivan the Terrible reorganized the wooden shops that lined its eastern side into market lines. The streets Ilyinka and Varvarka were divided into the Upper lines (now GUM department store ), Middle lines and Bottom lines, although Bottom Lines were already in Zaryadye . After a few years, the Cathedral of Intercession of the Virgin, commonly known as Saint Basil's Cathedral ,

10800-524: The square. In memory of this event, he built the Kazan Cathedral in honor of the "Kazan Icon of the Mother of God", which had followed his army in a campaign. At the same time (1624–1625), the Spasskaya tower received contemporary tent roofs. This was done on the proposal and subsequent draft of Christopher Galloway from Scotland, who was summoned to design the new tower's clock and suggested

10920-552: The stand, but a few meters away. After Saint Petersburg became Imperial Russia's capital, the Lobnoye Mesto lost its function as the tsar's tribune and has been a monument ever since. In 1786, it was rebuilt according to a design by the architect Matvey Kazakov , and moved a few meters to the east. The monument to the two Russian national heroes Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitri Poszharsky, erected between 1812 and 1818, stands directly in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral. Just like

11040-486: The total number of Axis aircraft flew in the outskirts of Moscow as a result of their efforts. Air defence forces defending Moscow destroyed 738 enemy aircraft. Assaults by the 6th Fighter Aviation Corps inflicted heavy blows, destroying 567 enemy aircraft on the ground. The Air Defence Forces destroyed 1,305 aircraft and in combat with the armies of Nazi Germany and its allies, alongside the Air Force, destroyed 450 tanks and 5,000 military vehicles. On November 9, 1941,

11160-575: The tsar could watch from this spot the ceremonies in the square). Tent roofs were also constructed at Voskrerensky (Iberian) gates , arranged in the wall of Kitai-gorod . These were the fortified gates at Voskresensky Bridge over the River Neglinnaya. In 1697 and 1699, gates on both sides of Voskresensky Bridge were rebuilt into large stone buildings: the Mint and Zemsky prikaz (department in charge of urban and police matters). Zemsky prikaz (on

11280-595: The wall, which in the 17th century, were known as: Konstantino-Eleninsky, Spassky, Nikolsky (owing their names to the icons of Constantine and Helen, as well as Christ the Savior and St. Nicholas which hung over them). The last two are directly opposite Red Square, while the Konstantino-Elenensky gate was located behind Saint Basil's Cathedral. In the early 19th century, the Arch of Konstantino-Elenensky gate

11400-555: The wholesale trade, which is why both of the buildings look very similar architecturally. The building's architect was Roman Klein , who also designed numerous other well-known Moscow structures in the late 19th century, including the Pushkin Museum . After the Bolsheviks came to power, the building was no longer used as a trading house, but became the headquarters of various public bodies. Until recent times, it belonged to

11520-422: The younger components of the architectural ensemble of Red Square. Before it was built, the first pharmacy building in Moscow stood on this site from the beginning of the 18th century, which was rebuilt in 1755 and served as the first campus of the then newly founded Moscow State University for two decades. Today's museum building was built especially for the historical museum, which was newly founded in 1872, and

11640-451: Was allegedly updated to include a code for an aircraft landing. In Estonia at Saka Manor Park there is a monument dedicated to Rust's flight. On 24 November 1989, while doing his obligatory community service ( Zivildienst ) as an orderly in a West German hospital, Rust stabbed a female co-worker who had "apparently rejected him." He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, but was released after 15 months. Since then he has lived

11760-409: Was an inexperienced pilot, with about 50 hours of flying experience at the time of his flight. On 13 May 1987, Rust left Uetersen Airport , near Hamburg and his home town Wedel , in his rented Reims Cessna F172P , registration D-ECJB, which was modified by removing some of the seats and replacing them with auxiliary fuel tanks. He spent the next two weeks travelling across northern Europe, visiting

11880-439: Was assigned combat number 8255. Three surface-to-air missile battalions of 54th Air Defence Corps tracked him for some time, but failed to obtain permission to launch missiles at him. All air defences were readied and two interceptors were sent to investigate. At 14:48, near Gdov , MiG-23 pilot Senior Lieutenant A. Puchnin observed a white sport airplane similar to a Yakovlev Yak-12 and asked for permission to engage, but

12000-403: Was built on the moat under the rule of Ivan IV. This was the first building which gave the square its present-day characteristic silhouette (pyramidal roofs had not yet been built on the Kremlin towers). In 1595, the wooden market lines were replaced with stone. By that time, a brick platform for the proclamation of the tsar's edicts, known as Lobnoye Mesto , had also been constructed. Red Square

12120-549: Was built on the opposite side of the square, near a moat between the Spasskaya and Nikolskaya towers. Then architect Matvey Kazakov built (in the old forms) the new Lobnoye mesto of hewn stone, slightly West of the place where it was before. In 1804, at the request of merchants, the square was paved in stone. In 1806 Nikolskaya Tower was reconstructed in the Gothic style, and received a tent roof. The new phase of improvement of

12240-723: Was built on this site by 1561, making it one of the oldest buildings on the square. The name of the cathedral, which is still more common today, was given in memory of Basil the Blessed , who was venerated by tsar Ivan at the time, and after his death in 1522, he was buried near the cathedral. Ivan Barma and Postnik Yakovlev were among the most popular architects of the church. Soviet Air Defence 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 Defence of

12360-517: Was ceremoniously handed over to its destination in May 1883. Its architect was Vladimir Osipovich Sherwood , who is considered to be one of the main representatives of the "Russian style", a variant of historicism based on traditional Russian architecture , which was widely used at the time. The museum building looks correspondingly "Old Russian": the facades are decorated with arched windows and ornaments reminiscent of traditional Russian Orthodox churches, several decorative towers reminiscent of some of

12480-457: Was completed in 1993. This made the Kazan Cathedral one of the first places of worship in Moscow to be destroyed during the Soviet era, to be rebuilt in the 1990s. The GUM department store, situated at the eastern side of the square, occupies the entire section between Nikolskaya and Ilyinka streets. Due to its location directly on Red Square, and its considerable size, the sales area is around 35,000 square metres (380,000 sq ft). Owing to

12600-421: Was confused with one of the helicopters participating with the operation. He was detected several more times and given false friendly recognition twice. Rust was considered as a domestic training airplane defying regulations, and was assigned the least priority by air defense. Around 19:00, Rust appeared above Moscow. He had initially intended to land in the Kremlin , but he reasoned that landing inside, hidden by

12720-461: Was considered a sacred place. Various festive processions were held there, and during Palm Sunday , the famous "procession on a donkey" was arranged, in which the patriarch, sitting on a donkey, accompanied by the tsar and the people went out of Saint Basil's Cathedral in the Kremlin. During the expulsion of the Polish army from Moscow in 1612 , Prince Dmitry Pozharsky entered the Kremlin through

12840-679: Was denied. The fighters lost contact with Rust soon after this. While they were being directed back to him, he disappeared from radar near Staraya Russa . West German magazine Bunte speculated that he might have landed there for some time, noting that he changed his clothes during his flight and that he took too much time to fly to Moscow considering his airplane's speed and the weather conditions. Air defence re-established contact with Rust's plane several times but confusion resulted from all of these events. The PVO system had shortly before been divided into several districts, which simplified management but created additional work for tracking officers at

12960-458: Was essentially relocated to Saint Petersburg. After the end of minting, the lower part of the building, which had no windows, was temporarily used as a Debtors' prison for insolvent merchants. Today, both the former government building and the old mint belong to the neighbouring historical museum. The Kazan Cathedral is to the right of the former government administration building, on the corner of Red Square and Nikolskaya Street. Today's cathedral

13080-414: Was established. The East side of the Kremlin triangle, lying adjacent to Red Square and situated between the rivers Moskva and the now underground Neglinnaya River was deemed the most vulnerable side of the Kremlin to attack, since it was neither protected by the rivers, nor any other natural barriers, as the other sides were. Therefore, the Kremlin wall was built to its greatest height on this side, and

13200-689: Was formed with HQ in Solnechnegorsk, the 57th Separate Radiotechnical Nod in Olenegorsk, Murmansk Oblast and the 129th Separate Radiotechnical Nod in Skrunda, Latvian SSR. Organisationally, there were two main PVO districts for most of the USSR's postwar history, the Moscow Air Defence District (formed 1950) and Baku (formed 1954). The rest of the country was initially divided into PVO regions covering Belarus, Ukraine,

13320-567: Was generally ranked third in importance of the Soviet services, behind the Strategic Rocket Forces and the Ground Forces. Preparations for creation of the air defence forces started in 1932, and by the beginning of Operation Barbarossa , June 1941, there were 13 PVO zones within the military districts . At the outbreak of war, air defence forces were in the midst of rearmament. Anti-aircraft artillery teams had few of

13440-491: Was going to Stockholm , and took off at 12:21. Immediately after his final communication with traffic control, he turned his plane to the east near Nummela , Vihti . Air traffic controllers tried to contact him as he was moving around the busy Helsinki–Moscow route, but Rust turned off all his communications equipment. Rust disappeared from the Finnish air traffic radar near Espoo . Control personnel presumed an emergency and

13560-463: Was mistaken for a friendly aircraft several times. Also, 28 May 1987 was Border Guards Day , leaving many guards distracted. He landed on Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge , next to Red Square near the Kremlin in the capital of the USSR . Rust said he wanted to create an "imaginary bridge" to the East , and that his flight was intended to reduce tension and suspicion between the two Cold War sides. Rust

13680-415: Was not spared from the war against Napoleon in 1812 , in which large parts of Moscow were destroyed. In the 1810s it was then rebuilt, under the direction of the architect Joseph Bové , who was instrumental in the reconstruction of the city at that time. In the course of this reconstruction, a tower was added to the roof of the house, which for a long time served as an observation tower for a fire station. At

13800-502: Was only among the first to be removed from his position. Over 150 officers, mostly from the PVO, were tried in court and removed from their posts. A large-scale changeover of senior officers of the force more generally followed as well. When the Soviet Union dissolved , the air fleet of the PVO included roughly 2,200 fighters and interceptors. The personnel and equipment of many units were left in newly independent republics, although

13920-603: Was paved with bricks, but the Spassky Gate was the main front gate of the Kremlin and used for royal entrances. From this gate, wooden and (following the 17th century improvements) stone bridges stretched across the moat. Books were sold on this bridge and stone platforms were built nearby for guns – "raskats". The Tsar Cannon was located on the platform of the Lobnoye mesto . The square was called Veliky Torg ('Great Market') or simply Torg ('Market'), then Troitskaya by

14040-465: Was sentenced to four years in a general-regime labour camp for violation of border crossing and air traffic regulations, and for provoking an emergency situation upon his landing. After 14 months in prison, he was pardoned by Andrei Gromyko , the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet , and released. Rust's flight through a supposedly impenetrable air defence system had a great effect on

14160-473: Was separated from the other Soviet Armed Forces services in 1949. In June 1949, the 15th Guards Fighter Aviation Division and 180th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO , among its regiments, were transferred to the PVO Strany, becoming part of the 20th Fighter Air Defence Army at Oryol . There, the regiment became one of the first equipped with the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9 , the first of

14280-491: Was the scene of solemn cross processions led by the patriarch and the tsar, especially on the anniversary of the victory over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . In 1936 the cathedral, like many other Moscow places of worship, was demolished at the approval of Joseph Stalin . It was not until the early 1990s that the reconstruction, which was called for by the public on several occasions, began and

14400-529: Was then disestablished with the merger of the PVO and VVS in 1998. The PVO structure during the Cold War and in Russia until 1998 consisted of three specialized branches: the Radiotechnical Troops (радиотехнические войска), Surface-to-Air Missile Troops (зенитно-ракетные войска), and Fighter Aviation (истребительная авиация; istrebitel'naya aviatsiya; IA-PVO ). Armies, corps, and divisions of

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