Komendantskiy Airfield

The primary reason for closure was the massive post-war expansion of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). The city's new residential districts grew and completely surrounded the airfield, making its operation unsafe and incompatible with urban life. The land became extremely valuable for housing and infrastructure development. Furthermore, newer, larger, and more modern military and civilian airports had been constructed further from the city center, rendering Komendantskiy obsolete for contemporary aviation needs.

The former territory of the Komendantskiy Airfield is now a densely populated residential and commercial area within the Primorsky District of St. Petersburg. There are no physical remnants of the airfield, such as runways or hangars. The entire site has been completely redeveloped with high-rise apartment buildings, schools, shopping centers (like the 'Atmosfera' and 'Miller' malls), and a dense network of roads.

The historical legacy of the airfield is preserved in the local toponymy. Many streets and squares in the area are named after aviation themes and pioneers:
- **Komendantsky Prospekt** (Commander's Avenue) and the **Komendantsky Prospekt** metro station.
- **Prospekt Aviakonstruktorov** (Avenue of Aircraft Designers).
- **Prospekt Ispytateley** (Avenue of Test Pilots).
- Streets named after famous designers and aviators like **Ilyushina**, **Polikarpova**, **Gakkelevskaya**, and **Utochkina**.

Komendantskiy Airfield holds a seminal place in Russian aviation history, often referred to as the 'cradle of Russian aviation'.

- **Foundation and Early Aviation:** Established in 1910 on the Komendantskoye Pole (Commander's Field), it quickly became the main center for aeronautics in the Russian Empire. In September 1910, it hosted the first All-Russian Aeronautics Holiday (Aviation Week), a landmark event that showcased the nascent technology to the public and military.

- **Pioneering Hub:** It was the base for the Imperial All-Russian Aero Club and a testing ground for many of Russia's first aircraft designers, including Igor Sikorsky, Yakov Gakkel, and Dmitry Grigorovich. Numerous pioneering flights and aviation records were set here.

- **Military Importance (WWI and Civil War):** During World War I, it was a critical military airbase for the defense of the capital, Petrograd. It housed fighter squadrons, training facilities, and aircraft repair workshops. It continued to serve as a key airbase for the Red Army Air Fleet following the revolution.

- **Soviet Era and Testing:** In the 1920s and 30s, it was a major test airfield for new Soviet aircraft prototypes from leading design bureaus. It also handled some of the first regular domestic passenger and mail flights, including the important Leningrad-Moscow route.

- **Siege of Leningrad (WWII):** The airfield played a vital and heroic role during the 900-day Siege of Leningrad. As one of the few airfields located within the blockade ring, its fighter aircraft provided crucial air defense against German bombing raids. It was also a link in the air bridge that supplemented the 'Road of Life' across Lake Ladoga, receiving limited amounts of high-value cargo like medicine, blood plasma, and mail, and evacuating specialists and wounded civilians.

There are zero prospects for reopening the airfield. The land is fully and densely developed as an integral part of a major European city. Reopening would require the demolition of a vast urban district housing hundreds of thousands of people, making it physically, socially, and economically impossible.