Cadets of the Irkutsk Higher Military Aviation Engineering School are planned to be transferred to the Voronezh Military University by January 1, 2009. The transfer has already been approved, and this may mean the de facto closure of the only Air Force military school in the vast area from the Urals to the Far East. Meanwhile in Irkutsk they await a liquidation commission, and teachers and veterans fear the unique training base and traditions of the school will be lost.

Cadets of the Irkutsk Higher Military Aviation Engineering School are to be transferred to the Voronezh Military University by January 1, 2009.
The possible closure of IVVAIU became known in early December. But no official documents had arrived in the capital of the Angara region. As the program "Vesti Irkutsk" learned, the Commander-in-Chief of Russia's Air Force, Alexander Zelin, nevertheless approved the action plan for transferring the personnel of the Irkutsk school and sent it to the head of the university. The official document has been received. IVVAIU is the only military higher education institution of the country's Air Force from the Urals to the Far East. It has trained more than 70,000 specialists. Among its graduates are the heads of the Air Force engineering and aviation service, 27 generals. Young people from Kamchatka, the Far East, and Yakutia come here to study. There are now about two thousand students in four faculties. Not all of them are planning to leave for Voronezh. It is also still unclear what will happen to the military town and its residents - there are more than 10,000 of them. It is planned that a liquidation commission will begin work in Irkutsk.
- I do not agree, I am a little departing from tradition, but I cannot - I am upset today, because of these events. Outraged by this, outraged by this desire to liquidate our school! - said IVVAIU veteran, retired Colonel Viktor Shprakh.
- The Irkutsk training and laboratory base, the teaching staff, reorganization, transfer, whatever you want to call this procedure that we are about to go through, will undoubtedly lead to the fact that all of this will be destroyed. And it will be difficult to restore it, - said Acting Head of IVVAIU Sergey Saltykov.