OREANDA-NEWS. UTair Aviation transported more than 180 participants of the SOYUZ-2015 – Heirs of Victory project to Yerevan. The project is an international educational bootcamp for military sports organizations.

More than 500 teenagers from 12 former Soviet Republics will participate in this year's SOYUZ-2015 – Heirs of Victory event taking place at the Tsaghkadzor Main Sports Center in Armenia from August 15 through August 28. The event commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and is aimed to strengthen ties of friendship and respect between former Soviet countries. The event is organized by Armenian Ministry of Defense, by Motherland’s Valor, a Russian non-profit supporting defenders of the Motherland, and by Interregional Military Mulitsport Federation Rus’. Thanks to combined efforts of Vnukovo International Airport, UTG, Rosneft, the Main Aviation Meteorology Center of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of Russia, the State Air Transport Management Corporation and UTair Aviation, the official carrier for this project, the flag marking official start of military sports bootcamp was raised in the Armenian town of Tsaghkadzor.

At the event, Russia is represented by six teams that have made it through the rigorous competition in May 2015 at the national edition of the SOYUZ-2015 – Heirs of Victory Bootcamp in Kazan. The teams consist of teen boys and girls between 14 and 17, all members of military sport clubs and students of military lyceums, cadet corps and military sports oriented boarding schools.

During the event teams will participate in competitions in more than 10 sports disciplines, as well as a field-and-mountain hike, diplomatic games and an extensive range of various master classes. Practice of forming multinational teams distinguishes SOYUZ-2015 among other projects. A photo exhibition entitled, 'My Grandfather is a Winner' will be open during the entire event. Additionally, participants will take part in an event-filled field trip and cultural education program.

Hero of the Russian Federation and UTair Regional Director Nikolay Gavrilov praised the bootcamp as a very timely event sending a positive message. “Our nations share a common heroic past and common values and that’s why holding such events is a natural desire for both Russia and our close neighbors,” said Mr Gavrilov. “UTair Aviation helps bring people together by building routes of friendship and understanding and by providing the youth with an excellent opportunity to socialize in an international environment among their peers.”

UTair’s ongoing participation in social projects has been many times recognized by the expert community. UTair has been repeatedly ranked among top 100 socially responsible Russian companies by the Political and Economic Communications Agency. Companies on the list are ranked according to responses gathered from 40 prominent experts, including representatives of leading social-economic organizations, consulting agencies, research and media institutions. In 2014 UTair Aviation was awarded with the Made in the Russian Regions certificate for its work in supporting the implementation of government programs and socially oriented projects.

UTair Aviation is the core enterprise of UTair Group. In 2014 UTair Group fleet transported 11,204,598 passengers, achieving a 7% increase over the previous year. UTair flies to more than 150 destinations, including 70 unique destinations. UTair Group headquarters are located in Surgut. UTair maintains its main hub at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, where over 160 UTair flights are processed daily.