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Timur Avtandilovich Apakidze (, 1954 - July 17 , 2001 ), Russian Major General , deputy commander of Naval Aviation and Hero Of The Russian Federation . Apakidze was born in Tbilisi , Georgian SSR in an ethnic Georgian family but at a very young age with his family moved to Leningrad ( Saint Petersburg ). Between 1975 and 1983 served with naval aviation of the Soviet Baltic Fleet gaining reputation as one of its best Test Pilot s. After 1983 Apakidze headed a battle group of Soviet Aircraft Carrier Kuznetsov and flew Sukhoi Su-33 aircraft on numerous missions of Black Sea Fleet . After the dissolution of the Soviet Union his naval aviation unit based in Crimea refused to join newly created Ukrainian Air Force and Apekidze also refused an offer to head Air Force of his native Georgia . Instead he and his men remained loyal to Russia and were re-deployed to Severomorsk together with aircraft carrier Kuznetsov. Serving with Northern Fleet Apakidze was in charge of Russia's only naval aviation Fleet Defense Interceptor Squadron in the 1990s . On August 17 , 1995 for his outstanding contributions to the Russian naval aviation Timur Apakidze was awarded Hero of the Russian Federation title. In 2000 Apakidze was appointed deputy commander of naval aviation and promoted to the rank of major general. On July 17, 2001 General Apakidze died near the town of Ostrov , Pskov Region when his Su-33 Flanker fighter jet crashed during an air show. In the last moments of his life he managed to steer his aircraft away from a populated area. REFERENCE |
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