March 18, on the day of anniversary of Crimea’s reunification with Russia, an air balloon "Russia" was hoisted in the square of Konstantinovsky battery in Sevastopol (with assistance from the Russian Geographical Society).
Konstantinovsky battery is a monument of Russia’s fortification works and military architecture. The citadel was built at the very entrance to Sevastopol bay in the XIX century to close the bay from enemy ships. Since 2014 the Russian Geographical Society has been reconstructing and restoring the fort to adapt the battery for placing exhibitions, a scientific library, and an archive in it.
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The event started with consecration of the balloon with painting icons of (Voino-Yasenetsky), the patron saint of Crimea, on it (St. Luke’s memory is celebrated on March 18). The balloon surface also depicts a national flag of Russia and flags of all Russian regions, which symbolizes the unity of the country.
Although the balloon has an impressive size (4,000 m3), this is a smaller copy of another balloon that is being manufactured at the moment. The "Russia" balloon will be 25 times larger (100,000 m3); it will be the largest one in the history of aeronautics. In the autumn of 2018, the well-known traveler, member of the Russian Geographical Society Fedor Konyukhov will use this balloon to make a solo flight into the stratosphere. This expedition is planned to solve a number of research tasks, and the trip itself will be an unprecedented event in the history of aeronautics.
The balloon and its smaller copy are produced by an order of the Foundation of St. Luke.