OREANDA-NEWS. December 31, 2010. In August 2010, Volga-Dnepr Group, a leader in the Russian air cargo market and the world leader in the outsize and heavyweight airfreight market, celebrated its 20th anniversary. Today, Volga-Dnepr is ranked among the world’s top 10 air cargo companies with its aggregate fleet of ten AN-124-100s, ten B747s and three modernized IL-76TD-90VD freighters. Volga-Dnepr’s customers include major domestic and international industry groups and governmental organizations.

The company’s history began in Ulyanovsk, Russia, in the late 1980s. The initiative to establish the business belonged to a team of associates led by Alexey Isaikin, President of Volga-Dnepr Group. The team set itself an objective to preserve the production capability for AN-124-100 Ruslan transport airplanes at their Ulyanovsk-based aircraft factory and to launch Ruslans into the international commercial market. Thus, on August 22, 1990, according to its Resolution 677, the City Executive Council registered Volga-Dnepr as the first joint-stock company in the region.

Generally, companies celebrate milestone anniversaries of their formation on key individual dates but Volga-Dnepr decided to celebrate the company’s birthday throughout the whole year with a series of celebrations for staff, partners and customers. The organizers of the events planned a global celebration covering the full geography of the Group’s businesses to express the company’s deep gratitude to customers, partners and employees working for and supporting Volga-Dnepr all over the world.

The first jubilee event took place in London on July 18th to coincide with the 2010 Farnborough International Air Show. The event at the magnificent Victoria and Albert Museum in London welcomed some 200 guests from strategic partners, customers and service providers to a special drinks reception, dinner and an array of live entertainment.

Volga-Dnepr marked the 20th anniversary event by issuing a unique photo album that captured the history of the AN-124 from production to earning its place at the forefront of the worldwide air cargo freighter fleet. The album includes over 130 unique photos in four sections. Historical, Documentary and Artistic sections illustrated the air and ground operations of the airplane while a special section “People and the Airplane” is dedicated to its creators, notably the AN-124’s Designers, Pilots and Engineers. The album contains archive materials from such companies as Aviastar, Antonov DB and Volga-Dnepr Group as well as personal materials of the people who were lucky enough to have been involved in the history and operation of this remarkable airplane.

On August 4-15th, Central Artist House in Moscow hosted a special “AN-124 Ruslan, an Airplane that Outran Time” exhibition based on photographs from the jubilee album. The exposition included some 45 historical, documentary and artistic works. On August 5, the exhibition played host to a traditional Aviaport Aviation Press Club meeting attracting over 70 members of the industry press services and aviation journalists.

On August 10th, an international photographic contest was launched entitled “Volga-Dnepr Group: 20 years” which aimed to identify new images of the Volga-Dnepr fleet taken at different times around the world by both professional and amateur photographers specializing in aviation photography. The contest consisted of four categories: “AN-124-100 Ruslan (4 photos), “IL-76” (4 photos), “Boeing B747” (4 photos) and “Grand Prix” (1 photo). The judging panel, consisting of Volga-Dnepr representatives and the Group President as Chairman, chose winners in each nomination.

On August 15th, on the eve of Aviation Day in Russia, Volga-Dnepr presented the citizens of Ulyanovsk with an unforgettable holiday event that saw a gathering of over 100,000 people. The celebration was supported by the participation of Grigory Rapota, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russia President in Privolzhsky Territory, Sergey Morozov, Governor of the Ulyanovsk Region, and Alexander Pinkov, City Mayor.

The main event of the day was an outstanding record breaking attempt performed by the world’s strongest men. It saw nine of the world’s strongest athletes set a new world record by moving an AN-124-100 Ruslan weighing 195 tons for 6.39 m in 13.47 seconds. The “tugging” process was witnessed by Vadim Goryunov, Chief Referee of the Russia Committee for Registration of Planet Records, an all-Russia non-governmental organization, and Valentin Dikul, President Emeritus for Russia’s Strongest Athlete Federation. In the evening, Ulyanovsk citizens received another present from Volga-Dnepr when it hosted a rock concert by famous musicians Sinyaya Ptitsa and Garik Sukachev.

At the end of August, a series of celebrations took place for Volga-Dnepr’s own staff in Moscow, Ulyanovsk, and at its international offices in the United Arab Emirates, Germany, the UK and Japan. The festivities once again demonstrated the outstanding team spirit and friendly co-operation of Volga-Dnepr’s personnel.

On September 23rd, a reception was held at the Moscow International House of Music for over 700 guests, including partners, customers, colleagues and friends from the industry, journalists and distinguished people from Volga-Dnepr. At the event, special messages of congratulations were read out from Dmitry Medvedev, President of Russia, and Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia, which were received by Volga-Dnepr on the eve of its jubilee. The addresses were read by Andrey Denisov, First Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Bazhanov, Representative of Ulyanovsk Oblast to the Russia Federation Council, and Valery Okulov, Deputy Minister of Transport. A special guest at the celebration event was Dr. Assad Kotaite, a former ICAO Secretary-General and Council President (1976-2006), who also congratulated Volga-Dnepr on its 20 years of growth and development. During the event, the company also received congratulations from Sergey Aristov, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Transport, Alexey Ponomarev, Deputy Minister of Education of Russia, and Sergey Kravchenko, Boeing’s President for Russia and CIS. Volga-Dnepr’s President, Alexey Isaikin, was also awarded the Labour Achievements Medal. Nikas Safronov, a famous artist and a good friend of the company, gave a speech of congratulations while musical entertainment for the guests was provided by Virtuosos of the Moscow Orchestra and Valery Syutkin, a popular singer.

In line with the Group Management’s general policy of acknowledging the achievements of personnel, the contributions of several key Volga-Dnepr employees were specifically noted. Volga-Dnepr’s President stated: “Thanks to the outstanding intellect, verve and talents of our personnel, we have reached our 20th anniversary with a fleet of 20 unrivalled airplanes.” In the course of the ceremony, 15 personnel received special awards from Russia’s Ministry of Transport and Volga-Dnepr Group’s President.

Looking forward, Mr Isaikin noted that in the next 20-year period, the Group will have to arrange its businesses to also start operating in Russia’s domestic market. The President expressed the great growth potential of the Russian economy and he also highlighted the value and importance of the country supporting its aviation industry, stating: “In recent times, we have received consistent and thoughtful support and this has encouraged us to build-up our considerable strategic plans with a view to industry development.”

In co-operation with the well-known Russian journalist, Alexey Samoletov (Vesti, Vesti-Moskva, “World at the Edge” programme), a special documentary devoted to the AN-124 airplane and entitled: “The Ruslan Which has United the World” was also released. Interviews in the film confirm the high global demand for the fleet of AN-124-100s and support the resumed production project for the aircraft, which is now the primary strategic goal for Volga-Dnepr Group.

The film took over six months to make. In this time period, the filmmaking team visited industry facilities involved in the building and maintenance of AN-124s, i.e. Aviastar factory, Antonov Design Bureau, Aviadvigatel, Motor-Sich, and the Perm Engine Factory. The film also includes interviews with D.S. Kiwa, V.A. Boguslayev, A.A. Inozemtsev, and M.D. Dicheskul. The interviews were made at Volga-Dnepr’s Representative Offices in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Leipzig and Hong Kong.

The documentary includes stories about the best-known flight missions accomplished by Volga-Dnepr. Apart from outsize cargo operations, the film illustrates other businesses run by the Group, focusing on activities at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow and other locations worldwide. In the process of the filmmaking, a new digital format was used to ensure the highest picture quality.