All-Russia Defense Sports and Technical Public Organization (ROSTO)

On September 25, 1991, the city of Penza hosted an organizational conference, where it was decided to set up an All-Russia Defense Sports and Technical Public Organization (ROSTO). The conference adopted the Articles of the ROSTO and selected the first chairman of its Main Board Alexei Ivanvitch Anokhin, who led the organization until December 2004.

In October 1991 by a decree of the Seventh Plenary Session of the Main Board of the DOSAAF the all-Union defense society of the country (DOSAAF) was transformed into the Union of Defense-Oriented Sports and Technical Organization (Society) of Independent States. Thus, since that time the All-Russia Defense Sports and Technical Organization (ROSTO) has been the legal successor and heir of the OSOAVIAKHIM - DOSAAF on the territory of the Russian Federation. Later in October 2000 its name was supplemented with the traditional abbreviation of DOSAAF.

The ROSTO (DOSAAF) was formed under difficult circumstances. The ROSTO (DOSAAF) likewise its predecessor OSOAVIAKHIM -DOSAAF gained a reputation of a reliable and unselfish partner of the State. In 2006 the RF Law officially fixed the political decision on a stage-by-stage reduction of the term of obligatory military service in the RF Army. An effective training of highly qualified military specialists among conscripts became especially urgent. In this connection the load on the ROSTO (DOSAAF) network inevitably increased.

Military training of regular citizens within the ROSTO (DOSAAF) structure has got a number of advantages. First of all it provides a possibility to make up the armed forces of already well trained specialists thus improving the military battle readiness of the RF military units and bodies of troops.

The air department of the ROSTO (DOSAAF) has to seek new opportunities for development and improvement of its air training activity. The following organizations among air training subdivisions of the ROSTO (DOSAAF) should be specifically outlined as the best ones, namely: the Viazma based Air Force Training Center (UATs) (the head is K.E. Tikhanovitch.), the Novosibirsk Air Sports Club (led by (S.A. Osinni) and the Izhevsk Air club (headed by V.V.Kharin).

By keeping and maintaining its air training subdivisions as an integral training system of the RF Air Forces, which includes not only a number of the best in the world air engineering and flying schools but also a network of acting army infrastructure of the "small" aviation, ROSTO (DOSAAF) understands importance of further formation of its aviation - related structure under modern conditions.

The air structure of the ROSTO (DOSAAF) numbered more than 130 aviation organizations, including the Kaluga based Air Force Flying and Technical Academy and two aircraft repair plants in Moscow and in the town of Shakhtinski respectively. Taken together aviation- related organizations of the ROSTO numbered 1800 aircraft of 25 different types, including 150 units of An-2 aircrafts, at an average serviceability level of approximately 50 %. The airfield network operated by the ROSTO (DOSAAF) included 106 strips and covers the entire territory of the Russian Federation from the city of Kaliningrad to the Sakhalin Island and from the town of Arkhangelsk to the city of Makhachkala.

The ROSTO aircraft repair plants are capable of repairing up to 60 % of the entire fleet available with the small aviation and up to 80 % of all aircraft engines existing n Russia. The Moscow Aircraft Repair Plant now actively masters different techniques for maintaining foreign made aircrafts while developing new design and technical documentation. Previous experience highlights the importance of restructuring the aviation network of the ROSTO (DOSAAF) to bring its functioning in line with the Air Law of the Russian Federation. The ROSTO (DOSAAF) is ready and able to cooperate with all interested foreign organizations and departments. The ROSTO (DOSAAF) is intended and able to use its aviation both for the state and general purpose missions.

Under current difficult circumstances owing to its close cooperation with the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense and the RF Air Forces on training pilot personnel, due to corporate solidarity of all air specialists and seeking new fields for economic activity, a unique in Russia L-39- aircraft - flying aerobatic team called "the Russ" was made up in the Viazma Air Force Training Center (UATs). The Russ aerobatic team with honor represented the Russian Federation as a great country of aviation in many international air championships.

It is also necessary to get this defense organization actively involved in implementing federal programs e.g. the Federal Target Oriented Program "On Improving Traffic Safety in 2006-2012", in the framework of which approximately 1500 ROSTO (DOSAAF) driving schools and courses across all federal subjects of Russia are now training young drivers.

Development of defense- oriented sports activity, military and technical sports events have been the top priority of the Defense organization since the very first days of its formation. In Russia the ROSTO (DOSAAF) positioned itself as a specialized organization focused on spreading mass defense oriented activities, including development of air, technical and applied military sports events. The "From model gliders to real gliders, from real gliders to aircrafts" motto, put forward firstly by the OSOAVIAKHIM and then supported by the DOSAAF, has become the guiding star for thousands of young boys and girls.

In his messages to the Federal Assembly first on May 10,2006, and then on May 31,2006, at a session of the Committee for Physical Culture and Sports Activities under the RF President, the Russian president Vladimir Putin highlighted a necessity to develop technical sports event. Currently, cooperation with the RF Federal Agency for Physical Culture and Sports Activities for development of air, technical and applied military sports events is being significantly improved. The ROSTO (DOSAAF) develops both high achievement and mass sports activities, which are an integral part of general training of Russian citizens for their service in the RF Military Forces.

According to official statistics of the Rossport in 2005 in international competitions out of 868 medals won by Russian sportsmen in 73 non-Olympic sports events, 558 medals were won by the ROSTO (DOSAAF) alumnus. In 2006 our sportsmen went up to the pedestal 527 times under the sounds of hymn of Russia.

The ROSTO (DOSAAF) performed yet another international "sports mission" - to host and hold in Russia using ROSTO DOSAAF)` s sports facilities the third World Air Games in 2009. One of the key directions of the ROSTO (DOSAAF)` s business is its international activities, with the top priorities laying with further strengthening and development of cooperation with defense- oriented sports and technical organizations of the CIS.