1988:Kremlin pilot Mathias Rust returns

"The Wedel sports pilot Mathias Rust is free again." Thus, on August 3, 1988, the 8 p.m. program of the Tagesschau begins. It goes on to say:"At the moment he is on his way home, this time as a passenger on a scheduled airliner." After 14 months in Russia, Rust returns to Germany. As surprising as Mathias Rust's flight to the Kremlin in May 1987 was for the world public, his release from prison was just as surprising - even for the German himself. The Supreme Soviet pardoned Rust and immediately expelled him from the Soviet Union. Late in the evening he sets foot on German soil again at Frankfurt Airport.

Genscher:"A humanitarian gesture"

The case of the North German had occupied the highest political levels in Moscow and Bonn for more than a year. Chancellor Kohl spoke of a "positive gesture" on the day of the pardon. Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher was also relieved:"I believe that what we have to see here is primarily a humanitarian gesture on the part of the Soviet leadership." Then he adds:"No one should be encouraged by this happy ending to attempt a similar adventure." This adventure brought Mathias Rust a lot of fame - and a lot of trouble.

The Flight to World Fame

May 28, 1987:Mathias Rust lands in Moscow with a "Cessna 172". The 19-year-old hasn't told anyone about his plan, including his parents. Everyone thought he had left on a holiday trip to collect flying lessons. However, Rust steers the machine from Helsinki towards Moscow. The Russian air defense detects the small plane, but the German enters the Russian capital unhindered. He completes three laps of Red Square and brings the machine to a halt on a nearby bridge. It is 7:30 p.m. local time.

The North German, dressed in a red pilot's suit, calmly signs autographs and talks to passers-by, who are amazed at the sight of the German plane in the middle of Moscow. Rust is only taken away two hours after landing. Later he will speak of a "peace mission". He wanted to promote relations between the Federal Republic and the Soviet Union with the flight.

Father:"There must be a mix-up"

Mathias Rust's parents found out about the news the following morning:"I just don't believe it," says father Karl-Heinz Rust. "There must be a mix-up. How is my son supposed to get to Moscow?" The Soviet Union only confirmed the case at noon. From now on, the Kremlin flight is the big topic in the news. There is a great deal of guesswork:how did Rust get to Moscow unhindered? Why he did that? Did he just get lost?

The Russian air defense quickly drew ridicule. The journalists at the seat of government in Bonn are skeptical:NATO no longer needs to afford the expensive Jäger 90 combat aircraft, but can convert to the "Cessna 172". Secretary General Gorbachev acts:he dismisses the defense minister and the air defense chief.

The trial in Moscow

Rust doesn't get off scot-free either. The Soviet Union put him on trial in Moscow in September 1987. The charges are:illegal border crossing, violation of international flight regulations and hooliganism. The public prosecutor demands eight years in a labor camp for the German. On September 4, the judges announce the verdict:four years in a labor camp. Mother Monika Rust tells the waiting journalists in front of the court:"Mathias and we took the sentence very calmly. We hope that he doesn't have to serve the whole sentence."

Mathias Rust:"I'd rather go to the labor camp"

Mathias Rust is serving his sentence in Moscow's Lefortovo prison. He is allowed to walk in the prison yard for two hours a day. He spends the rest of the time in his seven square meter cell. He reads a lot and is learning Russian. "I was treated wonderfully," Rust said shortly after his release. But he also says that his detention caused him more trouble than he thought. His parents are allowed to see him every two months. Doing nothing burdens their son, they report after one of their visits. In the meantime, Mathias Rust even wishes - according to the verdict - to be transferred to a labor camp. But it doesn't come to that.

What happened to the plane?

In October 1987, while Rust was still in prison in Moscow, a German pilot flew the Cessna with the registration number D-ECJB from Moscow back to Germany. The machine is received like a star in Hamburg. An NDR reporter at Hamburg Airport speaks of a crowd as if Lady Diana was expected. The head of a marketing company bought the plane for 160,000 marks. He announces on the tarmac that the plane will be on a peace tour of German cities. Later, a Japanese businessman acquires the famous plane and exhibits it in the open air.

Back in Germany

Until his release in August 1988, Mathias Rust spent 432 days in prison in Moscow. About the first plans after his return, he says:"First of all, I'll rest and relax. Then we'll see what the future brings." Rust has difficulties finding his way in Germany. The media hype is enormous. Rust is a sought-after man. A department store offers him 800,000 marks for a tour of the USA, plus expenses. But the mood soon changes. Because Rust is not suitable for a media star. He doesn't fit the image of a hero. Many Germans are disappointed with the Kremlin plane.

As a waiter in Moscow

Rust himself later described this period as very difficult for himself. He lost ten kilograms of body weight and got health problems. In 1989, Rust hit the headlines again:he stabbed a nurse while he was doing community service. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, after 15 months he was released. Rust returns to Moscow one more time:according to newspaper reports, in 1994 he works as a waiter in the Russian capital. A German innkeeper is said to have hired him for the "Bierstube" pub - for a wage of 400 marks, with free board and lodging.