Russia Names Moscow Military Music School After Director of Alexandrov Ensemble

Lt. Gen. Valery Khalilov, the artistic director of the famous Alexandrov Ensemble, died in the crash of a Tu-154 plane on December 25.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday signed a decree to name the Moscow Military Music School after Lt. Gen. Valery Khalilov, the artistic director of the famous army choir of the Russian Armed Forces, the Alexandrov Ensemble, who was among the passengers of the Tu-154 aircraft that crashed in the Black Sea, a statement published on the government website said Tuesday.

"The signed decree names the Moscow Military Music School after Lt. Gen. Valery Khalilov, the outstanding military musician," the statement said.

The Cabinet of Ministers added that naming after Khalilov had also highlighted achievements of the school in the preparation of specialists with musical education for the needs of the Russian Armed Forces.

A Tu-154 plane of the Russian Defense Ministry crashed on December 25, 2016, less than two minutes after taking off at the Adler airport in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi where it had stopped for refueling on the way from Moscow to a military base in Syria.

The plane was carrying 92 people, including eight crew members, 64 musicians of the Alexandrov Ensemble, nine reporters, head of Spravedlivaya Pomoshch (Fair Aid) charity Elizaveta Glinka, and two federal civil servants.