What is behind the names of Russian aircraft, such as the MiG and others?

The most famous military vehicles and civil aircraft of the country are known all over the world thanks to their short names. But where do they come from?

9 PHOTOS

1. Fighters and interceptors of this family are known all over the world. Several MiG aircraft played an important role in the Cold War. The long list of MiG fighters includes the MiG-29, one of the finest aircraft ever produced by the Soviet Union. MiG aircraft have also been featured in popular culture, including in the movie Top Gun (1984), a testament to the brand's global influence.

2. The MiG aircraft got its name from the two chief engineers who headed the Soviet design bureau of the same name, Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich. The two aircraft designer prodigies met at Polikarpov's design bureau in Moscow and together set up their own design bureau, which became known as the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau. In 1942, the bureau was renamed MiG, a name that soon became world-famous for its excellent military vehicles.

3. Su planes are as legendary as the MiG. These combat aircraft make up the lion's share of Russian front-line aviation. In addition, many countries around the world, including China and India, have fleets of Su aircraft as part of their air force.

4. Like the MiG, the Su aircraft was named after the chief designer of the design bureau where they were produced, Pavel Sukhoi. Born in 1895 in the Russian Empire, Sukhoi was one of the world's first discoverers of aeronautics. Sukhoi's path to success was thorny: World War I, the Russian Revolution, and then the Civil War threatened his childhood dream of becoming an aeronautical engineer. Fortunately, Sukhoi, a teacher by profession, was able to win over another famous Soviet aeronautical engineer named Andrei Tupolev, who was involved in promoting the career of his protégé to such an extent that the latter founded his own workshop called the Sukhoi Design Bureau.

5. Tu bombers and airliners played an important role in World War II and became the backbone of Soviet long-range aviation during the Cold War. These aircraft were also named after their mastermind Andrei Tupolev.

6. Tupolev studied aeronautics under Nikolai Zhukovsky, the founding father of modern aeronautics and hydrodynamics. However, having gone from a student to a leading figure in the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in Moscow, Tupolev was not immune from Stalin's purges. The aircraft designer was arrested in 1937 on trumped-up charges but was able to avoid being shot, unlike many of his former colleagues.

7. Yakovlev aircraft, again named after their designer, or Yak for short, made a great contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany. During the Great Patriotic War, almost two-thirds of all Soviet fighters were Yakovlev aircraft.

8. During the Great Patriotic War, the Il-2 attack aircraft became one of the symbols of Soviet military power. When its production eventually reached over 36,000 units, the Il-2 became the most produced military aircraft in history. According to Stalin, the IL-2 was "necessary for the Red Army, like air and bread."

9. The inspiration for the iconic military aircraft was Sergei Ilyushin.