Magomed Omarovich Tolboyev (; born 20 January 1951) is a former high-profile

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-era

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

who initially came to public attention as a test pilot for the

Buran space shuttle ''Buran'' (, , ; GRAU index serial number: 11F35 1K, construction number: 1.01) was the first spaceplane to be produced as part of the Soviet/Russian Buran program. The Buran orbiters were similar in design to the U.S. Space Shuttle. Buran c ...

. He is from

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

. He continued his career after the collapse of the Soviet Union, working on both civilian and military aircraft in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and held several governmental appointments including in the Aviation Ministry. He was decorated with the title

Hero of Russia Hero of the Russian Federation ( rus, Герой Российской Федерации, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ), also unofficially called Hero of Russia ( rus, Герой России, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲiɪ), is ...

and other honors before retiring from active service. He continues to be a part-time consultant and commentator on aviation issues. In 2004 Tolboyev was the focus of media attention due to an attack on him by police officers in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. They brutally beat him because of his name that sounded like he was a Chechen, although he in fact was a member of

Avar people Avar(s) or AVAR may refer to: Peoples and states * Avars (Caucasus), a modern Northeast Caucasian-speaking people in the North Caucasus, Dagestan, Russia **Avar language, the modern Northeast Caucasian language spoken by the Avars of the North ...

. Tolboyev's younger brother, Taygib, was also a test pilot, and a Hero of the Russian Federation.

References

1951 births Living people People from Gunibsky District Avar people First convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) Soviet Air Force officers Heroes of the Russian Federation Soviet test pilots Buran program {{astronaut-stub

See also

References