The first Russian to fly in a… hot air balloon!
The first hot air balloon flight was made in 1783 by Frenchmen Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and Marquis François d'Arlandes. The Russians finally got round to trying it 20 years later.
It was General Sergei Lvov, who was known as a joker, a witty bloke and a lover of the high life. He was also known for his unbridled bravery. For the capture of the Turkish fortress of Ochakov in 1788, he received the ‘Order of St. George’, 3rd class.
On July 3, 1803, Lvov was in the garden of the Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg, where the first hot air balloon flight in Russia was to take place. Renowned French aeronaut Jean-André Garnerin and his wife were in the basket.
The flight was a success and the crowd of spectators and the imperial family were delighted. After the performance, the general approached Emperor Alexander I and asked to be allowed to fly with Garnerin next time. The tsar did not object, even though the military leader was already in his early 60s.
The flight took place on the evening of July 30. Lvov donned his dress uniform with a sash and picked up a small flag, waving it at those below.
A strong wind carried the balloon all the way into the Gulf of Finland. The passengers risked landing in the water, but they were spared, instead managing to land in a suburb of St. Petersburg.
When asked why he had taken the flight, the general replied, "I thought, I lived to be 60 and never experienced a single strong sensation. If I couldn't find it on earth, I'll look for it in the sky: so I flew! But, even there, I felt nothing but fog and dampness. A little chill – that's all."
