On 25 December 2016 , its artistic director , Valery Khalilov , and 63 other members of the Ensemble were killed in the Russian Defence Ministry aircraft crash of a 1983 Tupolev Tu-154 into the Black Sea just after takeoff from the southern resort city of Sochi , Russia . The Red Army Choir singers and dancers were en route to Syria to entertain Russian troops there for Orthodox Christmas celebrations
Russian Defence Ministry aircraft crash
2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash
Alexandrov Ensemble