Svetlana Protasova

Personal Data

Age: No comment.

Marital status: Single.

Education: Parachute and flying school (DOSAAF), Moscow Aviation Institute, Professional Technical School for Turners. Attended courses in: cosmetology, hairdressing, painting, basic French and English.

Favorite way of celebrating Women’s Day: With her parents, Vadim and Valentina (her father is also a officer in the Russian army). Svetlana also attends the traditional Women’s Day reception organized by Air Force Commander Pyotr Deynekin, where she loves to talk to the legendary female pilots, Heroes of the Great Patriotic War.

Best gift received to date: Her sheep-dog Mashka, found in 1994.

Attitude towards aviation: “It’s no longer a profession, it’s a way of life.”

Attitude towards the situation in the Russian army: She said she swallows it with “a bitter taste,” but believes in “a better future for the Armed Forces and the Air Force in particular.”

Salary: “It’s enough to live on.”

Housing conditions: A room in the officer’s dormitory in Borisoglebsk Aviation Center

Favorite pastime: Alpine skiing, Aikido, dog, driving her Lada-8.

Attitude towards WWII veterans: She said she regards them “with tremendous respect” and regrets that “these sainted people don’t have what they should.”

Knowledge about other women pilots in the world: Reads about them in specialized magazines, namely about Americans; would like to get acquainted.