Legendary Russian aerobatic team the ‘Swifts’ celebrates its 35th anniversary! ✈

The team’s story began at the Kubinka military airfield near Moscow on May 6, 1991, when the team performed for the first time at an air show. The original name (‘Strizhy’ in Russian) was coined by the pilots themselves, who were all recruited from the 234th Guards Aviation Regiment, one of the best in the Soviet Air Force.

In 1992, the ‘Swifts’ performed abroad for the first time – they were invited to France to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Normandie-Niemen Air Regiment. The following year, they were awarded the title of ‘Best Aerobatic Team in the World’ at the International Aviation and Space Show at Zhukovsky airfield (MAKS-1993). Since then, the pilots have visited 28 countries.

Flying MiG-29 fighter jets painted in the colors of the Russian flag, the ‘Swifts’ masterfully perform a wide range of aerobatic maneuvers, including the Nesterov loop, the barrel roll and the oblique loop. They change formations precisely and harmoniously, moving from the classic ‘peleng’ to the ‘hammer’, ‘star’, ‘arrow’, ‘cross’ or ‘spear’.

The ‘tulip’ maneuver is particularly impressive: aircraft in a tight formation synchronously spread out and release heat flares – a kind of fireworks display. The outline of a flower then becomes visible in the sky.

The ‘Swifts’ often perform alongside the ‘Russian Knights’ aerobatic team, which flies Su-27 fighter jets. The signature formation flight of both teams is the ‘Cuban Diamond’, named after their home airfield, Kubinka. The aircraft fly at high speed, at low altitude and very close to each other. Deviating more than half a meter to the side is strictly prohibited!

📷 Alexey Filippov/Alexander Wilf/Grigory Sysoev/Sputnik; Donat Sorokin/TASS; Legion Media

🔔 Gateway to Russia

⭐ 6 мая в школе при Посольстве России в Нигерии прошёл яркий и трогательный квест «Дорогами войны…» для школьников и воспитанников детского сада.

📃 Дети прошли по станциям, где узнали о подвигах советского народа, о мужестве солдат, тружениках тыла и детях войны. Через викторины, творческие задания и командные испытания ребята прикоснулись к истории своей страны, почувствовали гордость за предков и осознали важность сохранения исторической памяти.

#Victory81

🌟 On May 8, 1949, the iconic monument in the Soviet War Memorial in #TreptowerPark in Berlin — aka the Soldier-Liberator — was unveiled, right there, at the sacred site of the mass grave of 7'000 Red Army soldiers and officers who perished in the fierce Battle of Berlin in April-May 1945.

This iconic #WW2-era memorial is one of the most worldwide recognizable symbol of the Soviet people’s Great Victory over Nazism. The bronze statue of a Soviet soldier, carefully holding a rescued German girl to his chest and breaking the Nazi swastika with his sword, embodies the noble mission of the Red Army, which liberated Europe from the shackles of Hitler's occupation and put #WWII to its final end.

Inside the foundation of the #LiberatorSoldier monument, there is a memorial hall crowned with images of the Order of Victory. Adorning the wall, there is an inscription:

Today, it is globally acknowledged that, through their selfless struggle, the Soviet people saved European civilisation from annihilation by fascists.

This stands as the Soviet peoples' historic feat for humanity.

***

The architectural design of the memorial in Treptower Park commemorates the heroic deed of Red Army soldier Nikolay Masalov. On April 30, 1945, during the fierce street combat in Berlin, the Red Army soldier risked his life to rescue a three-year-old German girl from Nazi gunfire.

The memorial complex took three years to build, from 1946 to 1949. The project was coordinated by famous Soviet monumental sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich, architect Yakov Belopolsky and artist Anatoly Gorpenko.

The very site for the future monument in Berlin was chosen for a particular reason. Treptower Park, located along the Spree River, had been a cherished public park for Berliners. The architects envisioned the memorial as an enduring testament to remind to future generations of who had truly defeated the Third Reich and brought back freedom to the German people and all European nations.

The historical importance of the memorial in preserving the memory of the Soviet soldiers’ heroism can be seen in the architects' note for the initial sketches for the Soviet monuments in Berlin. The note reads, in part:

When designing the projects, the objective must be to create enduring, monumental structures that embody the idea of commemorating the glorious memory of the Soviet Army’s liberating mission, for which these soldiers gave their lives…

The TREPTOWER monument must be especially grand.

German sculptors also contributed to its creation, while the choice of building material — the granite taken from the ruins of the defeated Hitler's Reichskanzlei — was imbued with powerful symbolism.

🎖 The monument was officially unveiled on May 8, 1949. During the ceremony, Berlin’s military commandant, Major General Alexander Kotikov, delivered his famous address:

This monument in the heart of Europe, in Berlin, will forever remind the peoples of the world when, how, and at what cost Victory was achieved, our Motherland was saved and the present and future generations of humanity were preserved.

***

Each and every year on May 9, despite the authorities’ ongoing efforts to stifle our sacred #VictoryDay commemorations, thousands of compassionate citizens — our compatriots, and Germans alike — gather at Treptower Park to cherish the memory of Liberators who saved the world from Nazism.

💬 Russian MFA Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (excerpt from briefing of April 24, 2026):

This memorial features the statue of a Soviet soldier holding a German girl.

Not a Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Tajik, Armenian, Azerbaijani, or Jewish girl, but a German girl.

This, I believe, represents the highest expression of humanism: a Soviet soldier is portrayed as a liberator, first and foremost, of the German people from Nazism, even though his own family had been destroyed, his home obliterated, and Soviet towns and villages burned down.

Yet he protects a German girl.

#WeRemember

🔥9 мая в школе при Посольстве России в Нигерии состоялся праздничный концерт, посвящённый Дню Победы.

С приветственным словом выступил Посол России А.Л.Подъёлышев. Он отметил, что 9 Мая — это священный праздник для всего российского народа, день всенародной гордости и глубокой скорби. Посол пожелал присутствующим никогда не забывать цену Победы, с уважением относиться к великому Подвигу ветеранов.

Ученики школы с большим волнением и трепетом читали стихотворения, отдавая дань памяти всем, кто отдал свою жизнь в борьбе с фашизмом.

С Праздником Великой Победы!
#Победа81