Alexander Nikolayevich Zelin (; born 6 May 1953) served as Commander-in-Chief of the

Russian Air Force The Russian Air Force () is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reb ...

from 9 May 2007 until 27 April 2012. Zelin holds the Air Force rank of

colonel-general Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a rank above full , but be ...

. Since May 2012 Zelin has been an adviser to the Russian Defence Minister.

Biography

Alexander Zelin was born on 6 May 1953, in Perevalsk, Voroshilovgrad region (now

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast (; ), also referred to as Luhanshchyna (), is the easternmost Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the n ...

eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or East Ukraine (; ) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts (provinces). Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are often also regarded as ...

). He graduated from Kharkov Higher Aviation School of Pilots in 1976,

Gagarin Air Force Academy Gagarin Air Force Academy () is a Russian military aviation academy located in Monino, Moscow Oblast. The academy prepares high-ranking military personnel for the Russian Aerospace Forces. Among the academy alumni are around 700 Heroes of th ...

in 1988, and General Staff Academy in 1997. From August 2002 to May 2007 he served as Chief of aviation – Air Force Deputy Commander-in-Chief for aviation. On May 9, 2007, he became the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, replacing

Army General Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

Vladimir Mikhaylov. On April 27, 2012, he was dismissed from his post and military service. No reason was given.http://www.armstass.su/?page=article&aid=106155&cid=25 He was succeeded by

Viktor Bondarev Viktor Nikolayevich Bondarev (; born 7 December 1959) is a retired Russian colonel general and former Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces (1 August 2015 – 26 September 2017), and the former Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force ...

Honours and awards

Russian Federation

* Honoured Military Pilot of the Russian Federation *

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

, 2nd class *

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

, 4th class * Order of Military Merit * Medal For Strengthening Military Cooperation (Min Def) * Medal "200 Years of the Ministry of Defence" (Min Def) * Medal "For Distinguished Military Service" 1st Class

Soviet Union

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" () was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established and bestowed upon military personnel to denote the sixtieth anniversary of the creation of the armed forces of ...

Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" The Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" () was a state military commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established on January 28, 1988 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote the seventieth anni ...

* Medals "For Impeccable Service" 2nd and 3rd classes

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20071204223315/http://www.mil.ru/eng/1862/12068/12088/12221/24062/index.shtml {{Russia-mil-bio-stub 1953 births Living people People from Perevalsk Commanders-in-chief of the Russian Air Force Russian Air Force generals Soviet Air Force officers Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Russian colonel generals Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia alumni Gagarin Air Force Academy alumni