Mathias Rust (born 1 June 1968)^[1] is a German aviator known for his flight that ended with a landing nearRed Square in Moscow on 28 May 1987. Then a teenage amateur pilot, he flew fromHelsinki, Finland, to Moscow, without authorization. According to Russian claims^[2][3] he was tracked several times bySoviet Air Defence Forces and civilianair traffic controllers, as well asSoviet Air Force interceptor aircraft. The Soviet fighters did not receive permission to shoot him down, and his aeroplane was mistaken for a friendly aircraft several times. Also, 28 May 1987 wasBorder Guards Day, leaving many guards distracted.^[4] He landed onBolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge, next to Red Square near theKremlin in the capital of theUSSR.

Mathias Rust
Rust in 2012
Born	(1968-06-01)1 June 1968 (age 56) Wedel,[citation needed] Schleswig-Holstein,West Germany
Known for	Illegally landing a small aircraft on Moscow'sRed Square

Rust said he wanted to create an "imaginary bridge" tothe East, and that his flight was intended to reduce tension and suspicion between the twoCold War sides.^[5][6] Rust was sentenced to four years in a general-regime labour camp for violation ofborder crossing andair traffic regulations, and for provoking an emergency situation upon his landing. After 14 months in prison, he waspardoned byAndrei Gromyko, theChairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, and released.^[5][6]

Rust's flight through a supposedly impenetrable air defence system had a great effect on the Soviet military and resulted in the dismissal of many senior officers, includingMinister of Defence Marshal of the USSRSergei Sokolov and the Commander-in-Chief of theSoviet Air Defence Forces, formerWorld War II fighterpilot ace Chief MarshalAlexander Koldunov. The incident aidedMikhail Gorbachev in the implementation ofhis reforms, by allowing him to dismiss numerous military officials opposed to his policies.^[7]

Rust, aged 18, was an inexperienced pilot, with about 50 hours of flying experience at the time of his flight. On 13 May 1987, Rust leftUetersen Airport, nearHamburg and his home townWedel, in his rentedReims Cessna F172P,registration D-ECJB, which was modified by removing some of the seats and replacing them with auxiliary fuel tanks. He spent the next two weeks travelling across northern Europe, visiting theFaroe Islands, spending a week inIceland, and then visitingBergen on his way back. He was later quoted as saying that he had the idea of attempting to reach Moscow even before the departure, and he considered the journey to Iceland (where he visitedHofdi House, the site ofunsuccessful talks between the USA's and USSR's governments during October 1986) as a method of testing his piloting skills.^[5]

On 28 May 1987, Rust refuelled atHelsinki-Malmi Airport. He toldair traffic control that he was going toStockholm, and took off at 12:21. Immediately after his final communication with traffic control, he turned his plane to the east nearNummela,Vihti. Air traffic controllers tried to contact him as he was moving around the busy Helsinki–Moscow route, but Rust had turned off all his communications equipment.^[5][8]

Rust disappeared from the Finnish air traffic radar nearEspoo.^[5] Control personnel presumed an emergency and a rescue effort was organized, including aFinnish Border Guard patrol boat. They found an oil patch nearSipoo where Rust had disappeared from radar observation, and conducted an underwater search but did not find anything.

Rust crossed theBaltic coastline over Estonia and turned towards Moscow. At 14:29 he appeared onSoviet Air Defence Forces (PVO) radar and, after failure to reply to an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) signal, was assigned combat number 8255. Threesurface-to-air missile battalions of54th Air Defence Corps tracked him for some time, but failed to obtain permission to launch missiles at him.^[9] All air defences were readied and twointerceptors were sent to investigate. At 14:48, nearGdov,MiG-23 pilotSenior Lieutenant A. Puchnin observed a white sport airplane similar to aYakovlev Yak-12 and asked for permission to engage, but was denied.^[5][10]

The fighters lost contact with Rust soon after this. While they were being directed back to him, he disappeared from radar nearStaraya Russa. West German magazineBunte speculated that he might have landed there for some time, noting that he changed his clothes during his flight and that he took too much time to fly to Moscow considering his airplane's speed and the weather conditions.

Air defence re-established contact with Rust's plane several times but confusion resulted from all of these events. The PVO system had shortly before been divided into several districts, which simplified management but created additional work for tracking officers at the districts' borders. The local air regiment nearPskov was on maneuvers and, due to inexperienced pilots' tendency to forget correctIFF designator settings, local control officers assigned all traffic in the area friendly status, including Rust.^[5]

NearTorzhok, there was a similar situation, as increased air traffic was created by a search and rescue operation. Rust, flying a slow propeller-driven aircraft, was confused with one of the helicopters participating with the operation. He was detected several more times and given false friendly recognition twice. Rust was considered as a domestic training airplane defying regulations, and was assigned the least priority by air defense.^[5]

Around 19:00, Rust appeared above Moscow. He had initially intended to land in theKremlin, but he reasoned that landing inside, hidden by the Kremlin walls, would have allowed theKGB to arrest him and deny the incident. Therefore, he changed his landing place toRed Square.^[5] Dense pedestrian traffic did not allow him to land there either, so after circling about the square one more time, he was able to land onBolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge bySt. Basil's Cathedral. A later inquiry found thattrolleybus wires normally strung over the bridge—which would have prevented his landing there—had been removed for maintenance that morning, and were replaced the next day.^[5] After taxiing past the cathedral, he stopped about 100 metres (330 ft) from the square, where he was greeted by curious passersby and asked for autographs.^[11] When asked where he was from, he replied "Germany" making the bystanders think he was fromEast Germany; but when he saidWest Germany, they were surprised.^[12] A British doctor videotaped Rust circling over Red Square and landing on the bridge.^[12] Rust was arrested two hours later.^[13]

Rust's trial began in Moscow on 2 September 1987. He was sentenced to four years in a general-regime labour camp forhooliganism, for disregard ofaviation laws, and for breaching the Soviet border.^[14] He was never transferred to a labour camp, and instead served his time at the high securityLefortovo temporary detention facility in Moscow. Two months later, Reagan and Gorbachev agreed to sign atreaty to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe, andthe Supreme Soviet ordered Rust to be released in August 1988 as a goodwill gesture to theWest.^[5]

Rust's return to Germany on 3 August 1988 was accompanied by huge media attention, but he did not talk to the journalists assembled; his family had sold the exclusive rights to the story to the German magazineStern for 100,000 DM.^[12] He reported that he had been treated well in the Soviet prison. Journalists described him as "psychologically unstable and unworldly in a dangerous manner".^[12]

William E. Odom, former director of the U.S.National Security Agency and author ofThe Collapse of the Soviet Military, says that Rust's flight irreparably damaged the reputation of the Soviet military. This enabled Gorbachev to remove many of the strongest opponents to his reforms. Minister of DefenceSergei Sokolov and the commander of the Soviet Air Defence ForcesAlexander Koldunov were dismissed along with hundreds of other officers. This was the biggest turnover in the Soviet military sinceStalin's purges 50 years earlier.^[5][15]

Rust's rented Reims Cessna F172P (serial #F17202087),^[16]registeredD-ECJB, was sold to Japan where it was exhibited for several years. In 2008 it was returned to Germany and was placed in theGerman Museum of Technology inBerlin.^[17][18]

Because Rust's flight seemed harmful to the authority of the Soviet regime, it was the source of numerous jokes andlegends. For a while after the incident, Red Square was referred to jokingly by some Muscovites asSheremetyevo-3 (Sheremetyevo-1 and -2 being the two terminals at Moscow's international airport).^[19] At the end of 1987, thepolice radio code used by law enforcement officers in Moscow was allegedly updated to include a code for an aircraft landing.^[20]

AtSaka Manor Park in Estonia, there is a monument dedicated to Rust's flight.^[21]

On 24 November 1989, while doing his obligatory community service (Zivildienst) as an orderly in a West German hospital, Rust stabbed a female co-worker who had "apparently rejected him."^[22] He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, but was released after 15 months.^[23] Since then, he has lived a fragmented life, describing himself as a "bit of an oddball".^[4] After being released from court, heconverted to Hinduism in 1996 to become engaged to a daughter of anIndian teamerchant.^[24] In 2001, he was convicted of stealing acashmere pullover and ordered to pay a fine of 10,000 DM, which was later reduced to 600 DM.^[12][23] Another legal incident occurred during 2005, when he was convicted of fraud and had to pay a €1,500 fine.^[23] In 2009, Rust described himself as a professionalpoker player.^[25] Most recently, in 2012, he described himself as ananalyst for aZürich-basedinvestment bank, dividing his time between Hamburg, Switzerland and Asia, and is training to be a yoga teacher. He said he had plans to open a yoga school in Hamburg.^[4]

In October 2015,The Hindu published an interview with Rust to commemorate the 25th anniversary of German reunification. Rust opined thatinstitutional failures in Western countries to preserve moral standards and democratic ideals were creating mistrust between peoples and governments. Referring to the genesis of aNew Cold War between Russia and the Western powers, Rust suggested that India should be cautious and avoid entanglement: "India will be better served if it follows a policy of neutrality while interacting with EU member countries as the big European powers at present are following the foreign policy of the U.S. unquestioningly". He claimed: "Governments have been dominated by the corporate entities and citizens have ceased to matter in public policy".^[26]

After the 20th anniversary of his flight on 28 May 2007, international media interviewed Rust about the flight and its aftermath.

The Washington Post andBild both have online editions of their interviews.^[27] The most comprehensive televised interview available online is produced by theDanish Broadcasting Corporation. In their interviewRust in Red Square, recorded in May 2007, Rust gives a full account of the flight in English.^[28]

• 1960 U-2 incident
• Korean Air Lines Flight 007

• Excerpts of video capturing Rust's flying and landing in Moscow
• Rust in Red SquareArchived 22 September 2013 at theWayback Machine (English) about the flight and the aftermath. Interview clips are embedded in a flash presentation. (October 2007)
• TV Interview 2007 on YouTube English interview in Danish news cast eng/eng subs (28 May 2007)
• Smithsonian's Air & Space Magazine: "The Notorious Flight of Mathias Rust" Comprehensive article about the flight and the political aftermath in Gorbachev's USSR (1 July 2005)
• Guardian: interview with Mathias Rust
• Where Are They Now?: Mathias RustArchived 15 December 2018 at theWayback Machine
• The Cessna, registration number D-ECJB on display Deutsches Technikmuseum, Berlin
• Novaya Gazeta: РУСТ – ЭТО ПО-НАШЕМУ
• Washington Post: A Dubious Diplomat Washington Post article on Rust incident, aftermath, and Rust's life today. (27 May 2007)
• Mathias Rust, fly to the heart of USSR, by Jose Antonio Lozano(in Spanish)
• Danmarks Radio – "Rust in Red Square" interview, May 2007Archived 22 September 2013 at theWayback Machine
• Mathias Rust atIMDb
• BBC article including original video of the landing.
• Mathias Rust Interview from the Love + Radio podcast