# Nikolai Maydanov

Kairbolat "Nikolai" Sainovich Madyonov (Kazakh: Қайырболат Сайынұлы Майданов, romanized: Qaýırbolat Saýınulı Maýdanov, Russian: Николай Саинович Майданов; 7 February 1956 – 29 January 2000) was a legendary Kazakh helicopter pilot who was awarded both the title Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of the Russian Federation, making him one of only four people awarded both titles. He fought in the Soviet-Afghan war and was later mortally wounded when his helicopter was ambushed by Chechen rebels while he was evacuating Russian soldiers from the Argun Gorge.

## Early life

He was born on 7 February 1956 in Tashuduk village, Kazakh SSR, USSR to a Kazakh father and German mother. His birth name was Kairbolat, but he is often called the Russian name Nikolai. From childhood he was very interested in aviation. When he grew up he applied to the Aktobe School of Civil Aviation, be because his friend was rejected by the school, he decided to not attend either, and joined the DOSAAF instead. A year later he was sent to Germany and worked as the driver of his regiment commander. He still dreamt of becoming a pilot, so in 1976 he entered the Saratov Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots, and graduated in 1980 as a helicopter pilot.

## Afghanistan service

He was sent to Afghanistan for the first time in 1984 and returned home in December 1985. He volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan again in March 1987 to protect less experienced pilots from being sent. The terrain and weather in Afghanistan were very difficult for flying helicopters in, but he nevertheless flew his Mi-8 very well, deploying paratroopers and rescuing wounded soldiers. He became famous for a flight in May 1987 where he delivered Soviet troopes to attack a Mujahideen caravan in a gorge, but because there were many more mujahideen than expected, the Soviet troops had to be evacuated or face certain defeat, but Maydanov defied orders to return, opting to pick up some soldiers before flying back to base. He was suspended from a flying after the incident, but he was soon unsuspended. The deputy squadron commander praised his decision, and he was later awarded the Order of the Red Banner for it. He also went on ground-attack missions, hunting for enemy caravans and firing on them. In July 1988 he flew in a special mission to rescue Soviet troops from a group of two Mi-8 helicopters that were shot down. He led the search party, which consisted of six Mi-8s and ten Mi-24s. He made runs to pick up troopes from different locations and became very overweight from so many soldiers inside, but he managed to make a safe takeoff. On 29 July 1988 he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for courage and heroism in Afghanistan. He totaled 1,250 sorties and 1,100 flight hours.
He was considered to be one of the best helicopter pilots in the war in Afghanistan.

## Chechnya

In 1992 he graduated from the Gagarin Air Force Academy and continued to pilot helicopters. For some time he served in the military of Kazakhstan, but later moved to Russia and served in the Russian Armed Forces. He was offered a desk job in headquarters in 1998, but insisted on going to the North Caucasus. He flew in counter-terrorist operations in Chechnya and Dagestan. He received many awards for his service in the Caucasus including the Medal of Suvorov and a special watch from the Minister of Defense. Terrorists put a one million dollar bounty on his head. On 29 January 2003 he was ordered to fly troops into the Argun Gorge, and due to poor intelligence information, his helicopter came under attack by terrorists. He made the decision to go and pick up paratroopers to save them from being ambushed, but the terrorist snipers were aiming at helicopter pilots, and a bullet his instruments and then ricocheted into his chest and shrapnel hit his neck. While mortally wounded he held on to the controls of his helicopter, but he bled to death before landing and his co-pilot took over. He was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation.