September 21, 2023

Stop My Flight If You Can


Stop My Flight If You Can
Airbus A320-214 Amsterdam schiphol EHAM (17-02-2007)
Pieter van Marion, Wikimedia 
Commons

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the West has banned Russia's import of aircraft and spare parts. This move carried significant consequences, since the majority of Russia’s airline fleet consists of foreign aircraft that would become dangerous to fly if not properly maintained.

Nevertheless, sanctions have not deterred Russian companies from procuring spare parts for aircraft through third countries. According to an investigation by Vazhnyie Istorii, between March 2022 and March 2023, Russia imported spare parts for Boeing and Airbus aircraft valued at R18 billion ($185 million) or more. Leading the list of third-party suppliers were companies from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, and Turkey.

Some of the foreign companies have close ties to Russia. For instance, the beneficiaries of the UAE-based Griffon company, Irina Gorokhovskaya and Ilya Rysev, both have ties to Russia. They are graduates of the All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade and have established two companies in Russia, Simplex and Ameritech, specializing in the supply of aircraft parts.

In addition to suppliers from the UAE, China, and Turkey, certain European Union companies are still engaged with Russia, albeit indirectly, through the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nations. One notable example is Lithuania’s Right Direction Aero, which sold spare parts for Boeings to the Kyrgyz company Cargoline and subsequently to the Russian I Fly. Intriguingly, Cargoline was registered just a month after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when Airbus, Boeing, and other Western manufacturers imposed sanctions on Russian airlines.

Journalists from Vazhnyie Istorii contacted the head of the Lithuanian company, who assured them of his strong aversion to the Putin regime and Russian aggression. He claimed not to engage in dealings with Russia and asserted that he diligently scrutinizes his clients for any connections to Russia.

Another EU company that continues to supply aircraft parts to Russia is Apram Aerospace. The owners and managers of this company did not respond to information requests from journalists.

Despite some success in procuring sanctioned components, the Russian civil aviation sector is struggling. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the number of aviation accidents in Russia has increased. In certain instances, pilots have had to make emergency landings.

You Might Also Like

Of War and Yachts
  • August 29, 2023

Of War and Yachts

Despite Russia's War on Ukraine and ongoing sanctions, the Russian state spent $32 million on a yacht linked to Vladimir Putin.
Hoppy Endings
  • August 30, 2023

Hoppy Endings

Heineken has completed its withdrawal from Russia, settling its operations for €1.
A Shortage of Drugs
  • August 23, 2023

A Shortage of Drugs

Nearly 200 medications could vanish from the Russian market due to sanctions and isolation.
A Sanctioned Flight
  • April 10, 2023

A Sanctioned Flight

Journalists discovered a scheme in which a Russian entrepreneur bought planes in the EU, bypassing sanctions.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
22 Russian Crosswords

22 Russian Crosswords

Test your knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history and society with these 22 challenging puzzles taken from the pages of Russian Life magazine. Most all the clues are in English, but you must fill in the answers in Russian. If you get stumped, of course all the puzzles have answers printed at the back of the book.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955