General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Anatoly Mikhailovich Kornukov (; 10 January 1942 – 1 July 2014) was a

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in 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 ...

and the former fighter pilot in the

Soviet Air Defence Forces The Soviet Air Defence Forces (; ) was the air defence branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Formed in 1941, it continued being a service branch of the Russian Armed Forces after 1991 until it was merged into the Air Force in 1998. Unlike Western ...

. From 1998 until 2002, he served as the Commander-in-Chief of the

. He is remembered for ordering

Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (KE007/KAL007)In aviation, two types of Airline codes, airline designators are used. The flight number KAL 007, with the ICAO code for Korean Air Lines, was used by air traffic control. In ticketing, however, IAT ...

to be shot down, resulting in the deaths of all 269 aboard.

Early life

Kornukov was born in the city of

Kadiivka Kadiivka () or Stakhanov (), is a city in Alchevsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Residence of Kadiivka urban hromada. It is located on the Komyshuvakha River, a right tributary of the Luhan (river), Luhan. Ukraine renamed the ci ...

in Ukrainian SSR in 1942. His father was a miner from

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

, who took part in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Military career

He joined the

Soviet Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

in 1959, and sent to study at the

Kremenchug Kremenchuk (; , , also spelt Kremenchug, ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The city serves as the administrative center of Kremenchuk Raion and Kremenchuk urban hromada within ...

Military Aviation School for the initial pilot training. However, in 1960 it was disbanded, and some of the cadets, including Kornukov, were transferred to the Chernigov Military Aviation School of Pilots named after the Lenin Komsomol, which he graduated with honors in 1964. After college, he was assigned to the 54th Guards Kerch Red Banner Fighter Aviation Regiment of the

, where he served as a pilot and deputy commander of a fighter squadron. In 1970, he was transferred to the 47th Fighter Aviation Regiment in the

Soviet Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Eastern Fe ...

as deputy commander of an aviation squadron for political affairs. From 1971, he commanded a fighter aviation squadron. On 1972, he was appointed as deputy commander and from 1974 to 1976, he served as commander of the 777th Fighter Aviation Regiment in

Sakhalin Island Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

. During his period of service with the Soviet Air Defense Forces, Kornukov made over 150 missions which included reconnaissance, interception of air targets, prevention and suppression of violations of the Soviet airspace. From 1976, he was appointed as deputy commander of the Air Defense Corps in the Far East. On 1978, he was appointed as deputy chief of aviation of the 11th Air Defense Army in the Far East. In 1980, he graduated in absentia from the Military Academy of Air Defense named after Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov. On 1980, Kornukov was appointed as commander of the 40th Fighter Division in Air Defense Forces in the Far East. The regiments of the division were stationed in

Sovetskaya Gavan Sovetskaya Gavan () is a town in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, and a port on the Strait of Tartary which connects the Sea of Okhotsk in the north with the Sea of Japan in the south. Population: It was previously known as Imperatorskaya Gavan (Им ...

, Sakhalin and

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

Shootdown of Korean Air Lines Flight 007

On 1 September 1983, while en route from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

with stopover in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

, a Boeing 747-230B carrying 246 passengers and 23 crew, went astray and entered Soviet airspace, first over Kamchatka. Kornukov was serving as commander of Dolinsk-Sokol Air Base and subordinate to commander of the

Far Eastern Military District The Far Eastern Military District () was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific Fleet and part of the Siberian Military District to form the new Eastern Military District. Histo ...

Air Defense Forces, General Valeri Kamensky. Kornukov received the command from Kamensky to shoot down the airliner, while it was over the international waters of Okhotsk, having exited Kamchatkan air space.

Kamensky: "...simply destroy teven if it is over neutral waters? Are the orders to destroy it over neutral waters? Oh, well."

Though Kamensky had ordered KAL 007 to be shot down while over international waters, he insisted that it first be verified as not civilian. Kornukov insisted that there was no need.

Kamensky: "We must find out, maybe it is some civilian craft or God knows who.

Kornukov: What civilian? thas flown over Kamchatka! It
ame #REDIRECT AME {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
from the ocean without identification. I am giving the order to attack if it crosses the State border."

Kornukov gave the order for the shootdown as KAL 007 was about to pass out of the Soviet airspace over Sakhalin Island into International air space:

"Oh (obscenities) How long
oes it take him Oes or owes were metallic O-shaped rings or eyelets sewn on to clothes and furnishing textiles for decorative effect. Made of gold, silver, or copper, they were used on clothing and furnishing fabrics and were smaller than modern sequins. They were ...
to go to attack position, he is already getting out into neutral waters. Engage after burner immediately. Bring in the MiG 23 as well. while you are wasting time, it will fly right out."

The aircraft was shot down by a

Su-15 The Sukhoi Su-15 (NATO reporting name: Flagon) is a twinjet supersonic interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union. It entered service in 1965 and remained one of the front-line designs into the 1990s. The Su-15 was designed to replace t ...

interceptor flown by pilot Major Gennady Osipovich. The Korean airliner eventually crashed in the sea near Moneron Island west of Sakhalin in the Sea of Japan. All 269 passengers and crew aboard were killed. Kornukov, who had retained his position even when, in 1976, a pilot under his command,

Victor Belenko Viktor Ivanovich Belenko (; February 15, 1947 – September 24, 2023) was a Soviet-born American aerospace engineer and pilot who defected in 1976 to the West while flying his MiG-25 "Foxbat" jet interceptor and landed in Hakodate, Japan. Ge ...

, had defected to Japan with his MiG-25—the most advanced Soviet fighter of the time—also survived the KAL 007 incident, eventually attaining the highest appointment possible in his field of service. Kornukov was neither awarded nor punished for the KAL 007 shootdown. Asked how he felt about the victims on board KAL 007, Kornukov said the downing left him with some "unpleasant feelings"Los Angeles Times, January 23, 1998 but suggested that casualties were simply the price that had to be paid. Kornukov never shied away from questions on this topic, always emphasizing that his order was based on the norms of international and Soviet law. He believes that KAL 007 was a provocation from the United States, designed to identify the weaknesses of the Soviet air defense and to worsen Soviet-American relations. On ''Hero of the Day,'' a Russian television interview show, Kornukov commented:

"I will always be convinced that I gave the right order. Sometimes, in strategic operations, we had to sacrifice battalions to save the army. In the given situation, I am quite sure that this was a pre-planned action that pursued quite obvious goals."

Further career

From 1985, he was assigned as the commander of the 71st Fighter Aviation Corps, stationed with the

Group of Soviet Forces in Germany The Western Group of Forces (WGF), previously known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOFG) and the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG), were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany. The Group of Soviet Occupation ...

. The corps consisted of two divisions and six separate air defense regiments. In 1988, he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces named after K. E. Voroshilov. In 1988, Kornukov was appointed as first deputy chief of aviation of the Soviet Air Defense Forces. From 1989, he was assigned as first deputy commander and in 1990 he was commander of the 11th Separate Air Defense Army based in

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( ) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, about north of Vladivostok. As of the 2021 Russian c ...

. The unit was the largest air defense army in the USSR, covering a huge territory and included four air defense corps, two separate air defense division and large number of separate units. In August 1991, he was appointed as commander of the Moscow Air Defense District, which covered military and civilian facilities on the territory of 29 constituent entities of the Soviet Union and later of the Russian Federation.

Russian Air Force

On January 22, 1998,

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

appointed Kornukov as Commander of the

. This appointment by Yeltsin came on the heels of Yeltsin's dismissal of General Pyotr Deynekin, who had headed the air force since 1992. Deinekin was pressed to resign after a Russian Air Force

Antonov An-124 The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (; ; NATO reporting name: Condor) is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union (USSR). The An-124 is the ...

cargo plane crashed after takeoff at

Irkutsk Airport Irkutsk International Airport (Russian: Международный Аэропорт Иркутск) is an international airport on the outskirts of Irkutsk, Russia, at a distance of 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Lake Baikal. Operations The air ...

and landed on a nearby apartment complex, killing over 60 people. In January 2002, Kornukov resigned as Commander of the Russian Air Force and advised the Russian Federation in matters of missile defense and defense against aerial hijacker terrorist attacks against Russian cities.The Russian Military Reform, F. Pantelogiannis (2003) Against the terrorist threat from the air, he believed Russia is unprepared considering the Russian air defense commanders often absentee, "passing the buck", and lacking coordination. The following is an example of his firm stance as reported in Pravda of March 31, 2004:

"Former commander of Russian Air Force, General Anatoly Kornukov calls Russian authorities to be tough in dealing with NATO aircraft which would appear near Russian borders after Baltic countries" joining the alliance, the Russia Journal said. NATO gained seven new allies nnew Russian borders. "Because of NATO expanding we should apply tough policy, including tough measures to NATO aircraft. If an aircraft violated the state border, it must be shot down. International law allows this", said General Kornukov. "To begin with, the Baltic states should be reminded that good-neighbor relations have nothing to do with military aircraft barraging along the neighboring country borders. They are flying not just for pleasure, they are likely to be well-armed".

Later life

After his retirement from the Air Force, Kornukov worked as deputy general director of the Almaz Scientific and Production Association for Military-Technical Policy, which is responsible for the development of anti-aircraft missile systems and other air defense systems, and is the head enterprise of the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation. He died at the age of 72 on 1 July 2014.

Honours and awards

Order For Merit to 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 * H ...

3rd class *

4th class * Order of Military Merit *

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 ...

(USSR) *

Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR 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 * H ...

2nd class (USSR) *

3rd class (USSR) *

Jubilee Medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

(USSR) * Jubilee Medal "50 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" * Jubilee Medal "300 Years of the Russian Navy" *

Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" The Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" () is a commemorative medal of the Russian Federation created to denote the 850th anniversary of the city of Moscow. It was established on 26 February 1997 by Presidential Decree � ...

* Medal "For Diligence in Engineering Tasks" (Min Def) * Medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (USSR) * Jubilee Medal "50 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" (USSR) *

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 ...

(USSR) *

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 ...

(USSR) * Medal "For Strengthening Military Cooperation" (MVD) * Medal "For Military Valour" 1st Class (Min Def) * Medal "For Strengthening Military Cooperation" (Min Def) *

Medal "For Impeccable Service" The Medal "For Impeccable Service" () was a Soviet Union, Soviet military award for long service awarded to deserving members of the military personnel of the Soviet Armed Forces, of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Soviet Union), Interior Minist ...

1st, 2nd and 3rd classes USSR) *

State Prize of the Russian Federation The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...

* Order "Danaker" (

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kornukov, Anatoly 1942 births 2014 deaths People from Kadiivka Ukrainian emigrants to Russia Russian Air Force generals Commanders-in-chief of the Russian Air Force Soviet Air Force generals Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (Russia) Recipients of the Order "For Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR", 2nd class State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Generals of the army (Russia) Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Zhukov Air and Space Defence Academy alumni Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Soviet mass murderers