Just in time for its 80th anniversary the " Valery Khalilov " honorific title was bestowed on December 26 , 2016 , by the Minister of Defense General of the Army Sergei Shoygu - a day after the tragic crash that killed Khalilov and 91 others off Sochi while the Alexandrov Ensemble was on its way to perform for Russian troops deployed in Syria . The decision was made public by the spokesperson of the MoD Major General Igor Kinashenkov
tragic crash
2016 Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 crash
Military academies in Russia