On August 22, 2017, the funeral of Peter Deinekin, the commander in chief of the Air Force of the Russian Federation , was held in the Russian capital . All his life the pilot devoted aviation and public service.
Pilot biography
Petr Stepanovich Deinekin was born on December 14, 1937 on the Sulinsky farm of the Milyutinsky district, located in the Rostov region. Coming from a Russian family of teachers. In childhood, the boy survived the German occupation, and his father, who served in the military aviation school of pilots, died while on duty on May 7, 1943. In the same year, the family moved to the city of Morozovsk, located in the same region. And in the winter of 1944, the Deinekins were forced to change their place of residence, going to Western Ukraine, to Lviv.
As a child, the boy dreamed of continuing his father’s work and conquering the air, so his choice of profession in the future was not a surprise. The boy’s mother, Zinaida Mikhailovna, did not dissuade her son from deciding to become a military, although the loss of her husband at the front left a woeful imprint in her heart. In the future, it was Zinaida who helped Peter enter the school for pilots.
After graduating from high school in Lviv in 1952, Pyotr Stepanovich went to the Kharkov Air Force Special School. It was with this training, which lasted 3 years, that Deinekin began his journey into aviation.
The beginning of the way
Then the biography of Peter Deinekin continued in the Saratov region, where he came from Kharkov. Here in the small town of Balashov there was a flying military school, on which the future pilot chose. Having become an officer, Deinekin continued his studies at the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy. So, in 1955, Peter fell into the ranks of the Soviet Army, served as part of the Long-Range Aviation. And so began the military biography of Peter Deinekin.
Military career
Having received lieutenant epaulettes at the flight academy, Deinekin found out about his first distribution. He was disbanded into one of the military units located in the Far East. Here Peter took on the duties of assistant to the commander of the ship. The regiment in which he began his service was on full alert, even bombers were in the arsenal.
In the fall of 1962, Pyotr Stepanovich graduated from special courses for ship commanders in a flight center in the Far East. After that, the leadership of the Ryazan Aeroflot appointed Deinekin as a pilot of a special group.
Having served in several more parts located on the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Yakutia and in Chukotka, the pilot decided to go to civilian life. So the biography of Peter Deinekin continued at home, where he worked as part of crews involved in servicing flights from Moscow and Leningrad.
Air Force Service
However, military service still attracted the former officer, and only a few years later, Deinekin again appeared in front of his colleagues in uniform. In 1969, Deinekin Peter Stepanovich took the post of deputy commander of a combat squadron, and after only 2 years received the same position in the regiment of bombers. Very soon, the lieutenant headed this regiment and received a promotion - he became commander of the air army and aviation division.
The next step in the military biography of Peter Deinekin was the post of Commander-in-Chief of Long - range Aviation of the Air Force of the Soviet Union. In parallel with this post, he served as deputy commander of the USSR Air Force. In 1990, Peter Stepanovich became the first deputy commander of military aviation. And just a year later, Deinekin received a new promotion and became commander in chief.
The status of Peter at that time was equated to the deputy minister of defense. And subsequently, Deinekin took such an important post officially. In 1992, after the split of the Soviet Union, Pyotr Stepanovich began to command the aviation of the armed forces of the commonwealth of the countries of the former USSR.
Achievements
Over the 40 years of his career, Army General Pyotr Deynekin accidentally flew more than 5 thousand hours as a ship commander and instructor pilot on 20 different types of aircraft: starting with piston units and ending with bombers. In addition, an experienced pilot participated in various military tests and professional operation of aircraft strike complexes and tankers. The Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force of the Russian Federation, Peter Deinekin, personally directed the air parade system, which took place on May 9, 1995 in the Russian capital in honor of the Great Victory of the Soviet Union. On this day, Pyotr Stepanovich flew a Tu-160 strategic missile carrier called Ilya Muromets.
In 1997, the army general was awarded the Gold Star and the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for courage and heroism, as well as a significant contribution to strengthening the country's defense capabilities and the development of the Russian Air Force. Over such a long career, Pyotr Stepanovich was awarded many other honorary signs and orders.
Post-Service Activities
In the winter of 1998, Pyotr Stepanovich resigned due to reaching the age limit for military service. For four years, Deinekin served as head of the presidential administration, dealing with issues of the Cossacks. In 2003, a retired general served as vice president of Avikos insurance company and chairman of the Afes board of directors. After 7 years, I received an offer to accept the position of vice president of Alfa Insurance. In the fall of 2011, he became chairman of the public council of the Federal Air Transport Agency.
Personal life
The family of Peter Deinekin is large: the general was married and raised three sons. In addition to flying, he loved fishing and water skiing. Often I got out to nature. Another hobby of the family of Peter Deinekin was visiting the theater. Together with his wife, Pyotr Stepanovich regularly went to various performances.
Last years
Upon retiring, Deinekin very often worked with young people and wrote memoirs. In one of his books Checked by the Sky, Pyotr Stepanovich told many interesting facts about important historical events and his colleagues. And the work "Wings of Our Youth" was dedicated to the beginning of the formation of the pilot, his young years and career.
At the age of 79, the great pilot last sat at the helm. He flew the American Douglas, which for the most part was rare. The flight of the former general was watched by thousands of spectators who gathered on the occasion of the 105th anniversary of the Air Force in Kubinka near Moscow.
True, doctors strictly forbade the famous pilot to fly into the sky at such an advanced age. However, Deinekin did not pay any attention to the objections of the doctors, since he considered it his duty to board the helm on such an important day for Russia. Before departure, Pyotr Stepanovich, as expected, underwent a medical examination, which only confirmed the general’s readiness to go on a flight. The amazed audience was delighted with the pilot, and he only insisted that he would fly the plane more than once. But, unfortunately, Pyotr Stepanovich’s plans were not destined to come true. On August 19, 2017, the famous pilot passed away. The reason for this was a heart attack that overtook the general just a week after his last flight on the Douglas.
The funeral of Peter Deinekin took place 3 days later at the Federal Military Cemetery in Mytishchi. Several thousand people came to say goodbye to him, among whom were all famous statesmen. And so ended the brilliant life path of the great commander, a brilliant pilot, an outstanding man.