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Since one ‘memorable Il-76 sighting‘ that took place almost a year ago in Toronto, some more information regarding the situation with the type’s future has trickled through. And some more sightings happened since then as well.

In the beginning of February my friend Dave was lucky to get a shot at another sister-ship from the ‘Volga-Dnepr’s Il-76 stable. This time it was the RA-76950’s ‘closest sibling’ registered as ‘RA-76951′.

‘Volga-Dnepr’ is keen on getting more aircraft of the type, and expecting a third unit of this modification (Il-76TD-90VD) to join their fleet this year. However, speaking of this plane’s production in Russia, - it has been virtually nonexistent to date. The Il-76s were built at the type’s only production plant located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which, after the Soviet Union demise, has become an independent entity, foreign to Russia.

It is known from recent history that the system of Soviet industrial might has gone through a painful process of disintegration, and thousands of vital ties connecting its parts into a well-oiled and functioning mechanism were severed almost at once, - at least in terms of ‘historical time’. As it turned, the Soviet aircraft manufacturing industry was among the most suffered from such an abrupt halt.

However, after having absorbed a shock of initial impact, and fledgling for a while on a brink of total collapse, units of the former Soviet ‘Aviaprom’ (an integrated structure within the Soviet government responsible for the entire aircraft manufacturing) under the jurisdictions of the newly independent states have eventually set on course for recovery. Naturally, they have made themselves the ‘blocks of foundation’, on which these countries’ own national aerospace industries were formed. Most notable examples in this respect are the ‘Antonov’ holding and ‘AVIANT’ in Ukraine, and the ‘Tashkent Aircraft Production Corporation named after V. P. Chkalov’ of Uzbekistan.

A new post-Soviet reality, along with remapping the industrial landscape over the territory of CIS-countries, brought about a necessity to rewrite the rules of conducting businesses. Having done away with the Soviet system of ‘command and planned economy’, these subjects of newly emerged markets began a painful job of accumulating experience in ‘practicing capitalism’.

Many of those lessons have been learned ‘hard way’, and there are still a number of ‘friction areas’ existing between partners - who are now in essence the ‘competing agents’ in this tough environment. As each party is now ‘on its own’, and primarily takes care of each one’s own well being and interests, they act now accordingly. Nobody would argue that doing business in the CIS-countries’ environment is a ’somewhat formidable challenge’. And so far it seems some long-established and recognized virtues, such as ‘cooperation and mutual trust’ that maybe routinely ‘finesse’ business practices somewhere else, aren’t on the top list of ’soft power issues and agendas’, influencing and driving executive minds there, - as they make their crucial decisions. You may put it in other way though: ‘they are very cautions and conservative’..

And it might sound just as one of a proof, if you give a more thorough look at the decision by Russians to set up the production of Il-76 in their own country.  In one of the next posts I’m going to explore into this undertaking.