Putin is set to open Russia’s top air show

Putin is set to open Russia’s air show

ZHUKOVSKY, Russia — Russia’s largest and most important air show is getting under way, overshadowed by a bad economy, a terrorist attack and a deadly air force crash.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is set to open the International Aviation and Space Show on Tuesday.

Analysts expect few major deals to be signed during the weeklong show held at a formerly secret military airfield outside Moscow. Russia is using the event to showcase its huge but aging aerospace indsutry.

The show’s opening was marred by Sunday’s collision of two air force jets, which killed the leader of the Air Force’s elite aerobatic squadron, as well as a suicide bombing Monday in the North Caucasus that killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 130 others.