1968- . German aviator who in May 1987
piloted a light plane from Finland to Moscow,
landing in Red Square. Found guilty of
`malicious hooliganism', he was imprisoned
until 1988. His exploit, carefully timed to
take place on the USSR's `national border
guards' day', highlighted serious
deficiencies in the Soviet air-defence system
and led to the dismissal of the defence
minister. Rust, despite pleading that his
actions had been designed to promote world
peace, was sentenced to four years'
imprisonment by the Soviet authorities. After
serving 14 months in a KGB prison in
Lefortovo, he was released and sent home as a
humanitarian gesture by the Gorbachev
administration.