The 17,700 square mile Oblast (region) of Moscow is one of the smallest by Russian standards, but densely packed, home to around seven million citizens. Such a large concentration, and given that Moscow is the center of politics and commerce of a country that spans seven time zones, requires three major airports — including Domodedovo, the country’s largest, and Sheryemetevo, the country’s second largest.

On this day, August 11, in 1959, the Sheremetyevo International Airport opened. Built before the Domodedovo airport made it the country’s largest for a time, and it was expanded further for the 1980 Olympic games in Moscow.

To accommodate the influx of international flights that would surely come with the Olympics, Sheremetyevo airport a second and larger set of terminals specifically for them. Sheremetyevo-2 was built with the to connect to the same runways, but was essentially disconnected from the domestic-flight Sheremetyevo terminal complex. Such a design is rare in the U.S., but the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in Minneapolis-Saint Paul is one example.