April 03, 2019

Natalia Filyova, aviation superwoman, dies


Natalia Filyova, aviation superwoman, dies
Natalia Filyova

One of Russia’s top female entrepreneurs, Natalia Filyova, who founded the country’s number two airline, S7, died in a plane crash over the weekend. Filyova, ranked #4 on Forbes’ list of wealthiest Russian women in 2018, and was 55 years old.

Filyova co-owned the airline, known for its neon-green insignia, with her husband, Vladisav Filyov, and together they developed it into the holding S7. Natalya was the CEO. The company, a rare example of a family-owned enterprise in Russia, has been on the brink of collapse several times over the past decades, but Filyova’s financial and managerial wisdom has kept it from being nationalized or gobbled up by Russia's flagship airline, Aeroflot.

Filyova died aboard a business jet in which she was flying with her father, who also died, along with the pilot. The plane was approaching Germany's Egelsbach Airport, near Frankfurt, and the pilot gave no indication that the plane was experiencing any problems. The aircraft crashed into an asparagus field several kilometers from the landing strip and was incinerated on impact.

In another dark twist of fate, the first police car dispatched to the scene had a terrible head-on collision en route, killing a young couple and landing all three officers in the hospital.

In 1998, the Filyovs bought Sibir, then a struggling company based in Novosibirsk, for 20 million dollars. Few believed their risky venture would be successful, considering the notoriously low profit margins in the airline industry. Yet over the next decade the couple turned the company around, joined the IATA, acquired Vnukovo Airlines to expand its route map, phased out their fleet's Soviet-made Tupolev aircraft and rebranded the company into S7 with its lime-green, Boeing planes. Today the fleet numbers over 60 planes.

Described as trailblazers in the industry, S7 famously teamed up with the band OK Go to produce the first zero-gravity music video in an Ilyushin plane flown over Moscow region’s Zhukovsky test site.

Natalia Filyova was born in Novosibirsk, where she received a degree as a radio engineer. She and her husband have four children, one of whom was adopted.

“Natalia was the center of this company, she was the idealogue, the person who set goals, selected personnel, and was the leader in their tandem,” former aviation colleague Vladimir Tasun said.  Pyotr Mironenko, a long-time Russian aviation correspondent working for business website The Bell, called Filyova one of the most decent entrepreneurs he’s ever met.

She “combined humanity and the entrepreneurial spirit, the romance of aviation and the understanding of the industry’s global development trends,” said Irkutsk airport development director Andrei Andreyev.

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
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.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

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.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

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