Alexander Zuyev: Fulcrum

MVD: Soviet acronym, Ministry of the Interior.

nakal: Russian, standby.

NKVD: Soviet acronym, People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs, the predecessor of the KGB, Stalin’s main “organ” of terror and repression.

NO-193: The pulse-Doppler radar on the MiG-29.

nomenklatura: The official elite of Soviet society, whose positions were listed on secret registries.

oblast: Soviet designation for local district, corresponding to American county.

OKB: Soviet acronym for military design bureau, often named for the chief designer.

ogon: Russian, firing (a weapon).

OMON: Soviet acronym for Interior Ministry special troops, the infamous Black Berets.

Osobii Otdel: “Special Department,” the KGB counterespionage division assigned to all units of the Soviet military.

Osobist: A member of the Osobii Otdel.

P-39: The Bell Air Cobra fighter of World War II; under Lend Lease it was the Soviet Kobra.

Partkom: Soviet acronym, Party Committee, of any civil or military organization.

Pilot tube: A pressure-sensitive instrument to measure an aircraft’s airspeed.

Po-2: A Soviet World War II biplane night bomber.

podyezd: Russian, staircase (the entrance of an apartment building wing).

poligon: Soviet acronym, a weapons testing range.

ponyal: Russian, “Roger,” message acknowledged.

pusk: Russian, “Launch.”

prezant: Russian slang, a small bribe.

pulse-Doppler radar: Radar that identifies and tracks moving targets; its ability to “lock” onto an enemy aircraft can be “broken” by maneuvers that cancel the relative differential speeds between the aircraft involved.

PVO: Soviet Air Defense Forces.

RC-135: U.S. military version of the Boeing 707, which has many aerial tanker and electronic intelligence variants.

RD-33: The standard turbofan engine of the MiG-29.

RDF: Radio Direction Finding instruments, variations of the standard “radio compass.”

Redeye: A U.S. infrared-homing antiaircraft missile.

RN-40: A tactical Soviet nuclear bomb.

Rodina: Russian, “Motherland.”

RPM: Revolutions Per Minute, usually engine speed.

rubege: Russian, range (distance to target).

Ruslan: Soviet military designation for the Tskhakaya Air Base in Georgia.

shlem: Russian, helmet.

Shturmovik: Russian, “fighter-bomber.”

Spetsnaz: Russian acronym, “special purpose troops.”

split-S: An air-combat maneuver involving a steep descent and reverse of direction, partially inverted.

SPO-15: A Soviet military aircraft radar-warning receiver.

SRZO: A Soviet “Information Friend or Foe” instrument.

stall-limiter: An automatic mechanical system actuated when a fighter surpasses a maximum angle-of-attack and loses aerodynamic lift and “stalls.” The stall-limiter thrusts the control stick forward to reduce AOA.

Su-25: A Sukhoi Design Bureau attack jet similar to the U.S. A-10.

Su-27: A Sukhoi Design Bureau multipurpose military jet aircraft. The Su-27 has higher performance than the MiG-29, but is also larger and heavier.

supersonic: Air speeds above Mach 1.0.

tochka opori: Russian, “fulcrum."

trans-sonic: Air speeds approaching Mach 1.0.

valuta: Russian, hard currency.

Voyentorg: Soviet acronym, Military Exchange Store.

vozdukh: Russian, air or aerial.

VVS: Soviet acronym, Air Force.

wingroot: The point at which an aircraft’s wing joins the fuselage; wingroots are often extended in high-performance fighters to produce lift at high AOAs.

Yak-28: A Yakovlev Design Bureau Air Defense fighter.

ZAGS: Soviet acronym, State Wedding Palace.

zampolit: Soviet acronym, Political Officer.

Zil: Soviet automobile manufacturer most associated with luxury limousines.

ZU-23: Soviet design 23mm antiaircraft cannon.

zveno: Russian, “link,” a four-aircraft military formation.