On August 1, the history department of the Irkutsk Regional Museum of Local Lore will open the exhibition Under the Banner of Elijah the Prophet, timed to Russia Airborne Forces Day. Visitors will see more than 40 photos and 11 armored vehicle models, telling the history of the Airborne Forces from the first units of 1930 to the present. The exhibit will also recall the Airborne Forces birthday, linked to the first landing near Voronezh, and traditions honoring the paratroopers patron saint, the prophet Elijah.
The exhibition, timed to coincide with Russia’s Airborne Forces Day, “Under the Banner of Elijah the Prophet,” will open on August 1 in the History Department of the Irkutsk Regional Museum of Local Lore.The exhibition will feature more than 40 photographs and 11 models of armored vehicles, illustrating the history of Russia’s airborne forces from the creation of the first units in 1930 to the present day.
The exhibits are provided by the museum’s collections and the archive of P. V. Chichkanov, chairman of the board of the regional branch of the “Union of Russian Airborne Troops.”
The birthday of the Airborne Forces is considered to be August 2, 1930. On this day, during exercises of the Moscow Military District near Voronezh, an airborne unit of 12 people was parachuted for the first time to carry out a tactical mission. On the territory of the former USSR, these troops were involved in all armed conflicts. The same day is the feast day of the prophet Elijah, who is considered the patron saint of the airborne troops; liturgies are held and a religious procession is organized in his honor.