One of the oldest airlines in the world, Aeroflot was established by the Soviet regime in 1923 and remains Russia’s de facto national carrier. The airline is based at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport and operates in nearly 50 countries; it remains an important carrier for connecting Moscow to the cities of the Commonwealth of Independent States. While under state control, the airline was the world’s largest. However, the firm was semiprivatized after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and today ranks as one of the most profitable carriers in operation. During the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan banned Aeroflot from operating in the United States in retaliation for the Soviet air force’s downing of Korean Air Flight 007 in 1983; service resumed in 1990. Despite a rebranding campaign, the carrier retained its iconic hammer-and-sickle logo, reminiscent of Aeroflot’s Soviet origins.
See also Abramovich, Roman; Berezovsky, Boris.
Historical Dictionary of the Russian Federation. Robert A. Saunders and Vlad Strukov. 2010.