Viktor Nikolaevich Bondarev (7 December 1959-) was Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force from 2012, succeeding Alexander Zelin.
Biography[]
Viktor Nikolaevich Bondarev was born on 7 December 1959 in Voronezh, Soviet Union, and he joined the Soviet Air Force in 1977. He was a senior pilot in the Attack Aviation Regiment of the USSR during the Soviet-Afghan War, and he commanded the 899th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment during the Chechen Wars in the 1990s-early 2000s. In 2012, he was appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force under President Vladimir Putin, and Bondarev's tenure saw the Russians give air support to the Syrian Arab Republic against the Syrian Opposition, including United States-backed moderate rebels like the Free Syrian Army.