Soviet-Era Airliners: The Final Three Decades

When the Soviet Union fell in December 1991, there were close to 3,500 assorted Soviet-built airliners that could be deemed operational — more than there had ever been before. The vast majority of these Antonovs, Ilyushins, Tupolevs, and Yaks flew for Aeroflot, and were scattered far and wide at bases across the Soviet Union. Thirty years later, they have almost all disappeared. Now dominated by state-of-the-art Airbuses and Boeings, the world’s airports and airways will never be the same a...