The exhibition Wings of Victory at the Victory Museum presents exhibits related to Vyacheslav Balashov, deputy commander of the Sheremetyevo IL-76 squadron, who took part in the operation to free schoolchildren taken hostage by terrorists in Ordzhonikidze (now Vladikavkaz) on 1 December 1988. One of the exhibits is a drawing by Misha Plotnikov. At that time the 4th grade pupil was among the hostages.
The boy drew a picture of the Il-76 aircraft on which Vyacheslav Balashov was flying, and later presented this work to the pilot. The drawing was donated to the museum of Moscow school No. 2010 named after Hero of the Soviet Union M.P. Sudakov by the pilot’s wife. In addition, a gift cornucopia and a greeting card from the rescued students and their parents can be seen in the exposition.
“Vyacheslav Vasilyevich Balashov at the time of the events that took place had a flying experience of 35 years. He started with the Rostov aeroclub, served 15 years in the Magadan civil aviation department, flew to the Arctic, Kamchatka, Chukotka. For two years he trained local aviators in Syria to fly cargo planes. He was not once in Cuba, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Afghanistan,” noted in the Victory Museum.
The exhibition also includes Vyacheslav Balashov’s belongings and awards, which are evidence of his many years of flying experience and professionalism. Among them are his uniform, certificate and badge Excellent Aeroflot Pilot, badge For accident-free flight hours, as well as a certificate of honour for courage and heroism during a special flight in December 1988.
In 2024, the film Commander was released in cinemas, which tells about the operation Thunder to free the bus with children in Ordzhonikidze on December 1, 1988. During this operation, the terrorists freed the children but took the crew of the transport Il-76 hostage. At gunpoint, the crew was forced to fly to Tel Aviv while handcuffed and travelling on an unfamiliar air route.
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