The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, passed on Wednesday in the first reading amendments to aviation regulations, which establish unified standards of control over pilot training in conformity with international regulations.

The draft legislation is aimed at strict implementation of standards established by the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944, which the Soviet Union ratified in 1970.

Article 37 of the Chicago Convention specifies that “States must collaborate in securing the highest practical degree of uniformity in regulations, standards, procedures and organization in relation to aircraft, personnel, airways and auxiliary services in all matters in which such uniformity will facilitate and improve air navigation.”

Russian Deputy Transportation Minister Sergei Aristov said at the parliamentary hearings that the adoption of the new amendments would increase the efficiency of state control over the training and certification of pilots and “improve flight safety in Russia’s civil aviation.”

Russia, once a global aviation power, has become one of the most dangerous countries in which to board an airliner.

Last year alone, investigations of nine commercial plane crashes, including one that killed an entire professional hockey team, found a number of gross violations and errors, such as drunk or sedated flight crews, forged safety documents and panicky pilots.

While Russia's biggest carriers have voluntarily adopted international standards, in heartland Russia domestic carriers continue to operate under old national regulations that are much weaker than global rules.