Presentation of a historical and documentary photo exhibition «Born in the skies of the Tien Shan» dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War

On May 28, 2025 at 14.00 in the large assembly hall of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University there will be a presentation of a historical and documentary photo exhibition «Born in the skies of the Tien Shan» dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the participation of Kyrgyz pilots in the defeat of Nazi Germany and its allies.  

The exhibition is the result of scientific research work carried out by the Center for Historical and Cultural Heritage of the KRSU in the state archives of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, while familiarizing themselves with the personal funds of the descendants of front-line aviators, studying newspaper materials of the war period and historical evidence obtained by search teams of the city Malaya Vishera Novgorod region of Russia «Red Star» and «Memory».

The exhibition presents information about the Frunzensky Aero Club Osoaviakhim, the 24th Military Aviation School of Initial Training Pilots, and the Odessa War Aviation School of Pilots who trained aviation personnel for the Red Army on the eve and during the Great Patriotic War that has not previously received proper disclosure. It describes for the first time the history of the formation of three aviation regiments in the Kyrgyz SSR in 1941 and the participation of the 660th Light Bomber Aviation Regiment in the defense of Leningrad. The exhibition is based on archival documents and historical photographs, including portraits of all pilots awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and who underwent flight training on the territory of Kyrgyzstan.

The authors of the exhibition are – Doctor of Historical Sciences Olga Sumarokova and Candidate of Historical Sciences Leonid Sumarokov.

The opening of the exhibition will be attended by historians of Kyrgyzstan, military aviation veterans, members of Russian search clubs, descendants of front-line pilots, military personnel of the Ministry of Defense of the Kyrgyz Republic, military aviation base «Kant», students of the Kyrgyz Aviation Institute named after I. Abdraimov and the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University, students of the Kyrgyz National Military Lyceum named after Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General D. Asanov, cadets of the Military Institute of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic named after Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant General K. Usenbekov, representatives of public organizations, employees of museums of the Kyrgyz Republic.