Aviodrome receives bust of pilot Ivan Smirnoff from Russian museum

Aviodrome Aviation Museum has received a bust of Russian-Dutch pilot Ivan Smirnoff. Smirnoff flew for KLM and other airlines at the beginning of the last century and is considered one of the pioneers of aviation.The museum in Lelystad received the statue as a gift from the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum.

Born in Vladimir, Russia in 1895, Smirnoff was one of the first pilots in the Russian Air Force and flew during World War I, among other times. Via the British Royal Air Force and the Belgian SNETA, he joined KLM in 1922. There he helped build the development of the Dutch airline.

In the fall of 1928, Smirnoff flew as captain his first Amsterdam-Batavia test flight, which route later became known as the India Line, the world's longest connecting route. He retired from active flying in 1947 and served as a KLM inspector for two more years. He died in 1956.

Smirnoff was immortalized in bronze by artist Victoria Tishchenko last year. This was done as part of an exhibition at the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum about residents of Vladimir who left the country during the "Russian exodus. Smirnoff was one of them. The bust has a weight of eighty kilograms.

Grateful"We are extremely grateful to receive this beautiful image of Smirnoff from the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum. These contacts originated when the then director of this museum opened a large temporary Smirnoff exhibition at Aviodrome in September 2017. The donation of this bust emphasizes the fine cooperation we have had with this museum ever since," said general manager Coen Hoozemans, who received the bust from the hands of Grigory Orlov, the minister-advisor of the Russian embassy.

He continued: "Smirnoff made an enormous contribution to the development of Dutch aviation. The statue will therefore be given a fitting place in our museum," Hoozemans said.

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