There’s no private aviation in the Soviet Union

November 12, 2015 8:50 AM

In a daring attempt to ease cold war tensions, the 19-year-old amateur pilot had flown a single-engine Cessna nearly 550 miles from Helsinki to the center of Moscow—probably the most heavily defended city on the planet—and parked it at the base of St. Basil’s Cathedral, within spitting distance of Lenin’s tomb. Newspapers dubbed the pilot “the new Red Baron” and the “Don Quixote of the skies.” The stunt became one of the most talked-about aviation feats in history. But it was politics, not fame, that motivated Rust.
posted by veedubya (21 comments total)

Insane. I first heard about his story from a great Love + Radio episode, which I highly recommend.
posted by cerbous at 9:01 AM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

This is great, thanks for posting it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:25 AM on November 12, 2015

Thanks for posting this!

For some reason, I thought of this incident the other day (can't remember why it came to mind) - I remember seeing this on the news as a kid.

This footage of the landing is a vivid memory, for some reason.

Likely because, as the Smithsonian article notes, it was indeed a big deal:

“I thought my chances of actually getting to Moscow were about 50-50,” Rust says, noting that in 1983, the Soviets blew Korean Airlines flight 007 out of the sky after it strayed into Soviet airspace near the Kamchatka Peninsula; all 269 persons aboard were killed. “But I was convinced I was doing the right thing—I just had to dare to do it.”
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:26 AM on November 12, 2015

The incident also made a bit of a scandal in the video game world as well - the attract mode of Atari's arcade Tetris cabinet had an animation of the landing. Needless to say, the Soviets were less than happy about that.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:29 AM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

If you were around in 1987 and aware of the political tension back then, take a second and imagine what would have happened if Rust was shot down.

Between this and the story of Stanislov Petrov, it's a miracle we ever made it to the 1990s.
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:32 AM on November 12, 2015 [6 favorites]

He should've tried buying Gorbachev's phone number on the black market. I hear you can do that.
posted by XMLicious at 9:40 AM on November 12, 2015

I remember this well. Can't believe it has been almost 30 years. I don't recall ever reading that the USSR had no general aviation; that makes the accomplishment even more impressive. It was interesting to see how his flight helped give Gorbachev cause to shake up the military and thus helped accomplish what he set out to do.

I wonder why he gave up flying?
posted by TedW at 9:43 AM on November 12, 2015

The article makes it sound just the reckless/state-controlled Soviet media were printing crazy stuff like "he did it to impress a girl." That was what I read in the US media at the time and that's what I've believed for 30 years!

Great article. Really brings home how abstract the Cold War was to Americans compared to kids like Matthis Rust who were basically traumatized by it.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 10:24 AM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

All that money we spent on a B-2, and all we needed was a Cessna.
posted by MrGuilt at 10:24 AM on November 12, 2015 [6 favorites]

The video, linked by mandolin conspiracy above, near the end, says that Rust was convicted of attempted manslaughter, shoplifting and fraud but currently works as a financial analyst.
posted by AugustWest at 10:28 AM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

His later life was quite ugly - he stabbed a woman.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:33 AM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

Here is an interview with Rust in english.
posted by AugustWest at 10:43 AM on November 12, 2015

Here's a discussion of the flight and related items on a Finnish flight forum.

I want to know more about the "series of incidents in which airliners mysteriously disappeared from Tampere radar screens." I assume it was some weird technical issue, but that odd note is like an itch that I want to scratch.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:48 AM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

But if I landed in the square, plenty of people would see me, and the KGB couldn’t just arrest me and lie about it.

Wow. That is spectacularly naive.
posted by The Tensor at 11:15 AM on November 12, 2015

Wow. That is spectacularly naive.

To his credit, he was right in the end. He was indeed arrested, even if it took them two hours, but they certainly couldn't lie about what happened. It was unambiguously clear to the whole world what he had done in a way that might not have happened were he to have landed in the Kremlin.
posted by Blasdelb at 11:46 AM on November 12, 2015

I remember it well, and while it was an amazing feat, he seemed to be totally crazy. In a way, he is an example of how it was paradoxically a more naive and gentle world, because he seemed to be motivated by the same impulses as school shooters and suicide bombers - vaguely political but mostly attention-seeking. His later life seems to confirm the perception I had that he is not sane.
posted by mumimor at 11:47 AM on November 12, 2015

Born with a shirt, indeed! I have dim memories of this. The entire story is one of profound good fortune, from how so many fighters and radar installations let him pass, to his extreme good fortune in landing on a bridge the one day all the wires were down, but most of all that the embarrassment he caused the military resulted in weakening their power, greater openness and individuals losing their power. It seems to me that this incident could equally have led to an increase in secrecy, consolidation of military fiefdoms and institutional resistance to Gorbachev and other reformers. Still, what a remarkable story.
posted by meinvt at 12:09 PM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

Arrested politely and without violence. Questioned without mistreatment. Given a fair trial on fairly reasonable charges (he did not contest that he had entered the country illegally and broken flying laws). Imprisoned under humane conditions upon conviction. Subsequently released to his home country.

Now imagine what would happen to a Cuban civilian who landed on the Washington Mall in 2015.

Now imagine what would happen to an Iranian civilian.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 12:45 PM on November 12, 2015 [14 favorites]

I lived in Moscow at that time and I remember the talk about what a terrible embarrassment it was, about the air defense chain of command being broken on that day in multiple places on account of festivities (read: heavy boozing), about a general being later executed for this fiasco. Nobody questioned such gossip despite Gorbachev being considered a lenient or even soft leader. I wonder if anything of that (apart from embarrassment) was true,
posted by hat_eater at 1:06 PM on November 12, 2015 [3 favorites]

I remember this and thought: 'imagine a German kid my age landing a plane in Moscow.'

I had no doubt they would treat him well. Huh.
posted by clavdivs at 1:11 PM on November 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

I remember this being talked about a lot in the Seattle-area Russian Orthodox churches. It was a sign that the edifice truly was crumbling, and everyone who'd run away feared it might not. That line from The Good Shepherd about "Soviet power is a myth: it's all just so much painted rust" was true, but that rust still had plenty of sharp points on it.

I remember in my Commodore 64 magazines there was a contest to send in a log file from a particular version of Flight Simulator to prove you'd flown a cessna-equivalent from Helsinki to Red Square. I forget what the prize was.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 4:24 AM on November 13, 2015