Viktor Nikolaevich Bondarev (Russian: Виктор Николаевич Бондарев; born December 7, 1959, in Voronezh, USSR) is a Colonel General and the current Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, having been appointed to the post on 6 May 2012. He replaced Alexander Zelin, who was dismissed from the military on 27 April.Bondarev's career started off with his joining of the Soviet Air Force in 1977.