Dictatorship of the Air: Aviation Culture and

Focusing on one of the last untold chapters in the history of human flight, this book explains the true story behind twentieth-century Russia's quest for aviation prominence.

List of Illustrations

xi

Notes on Usage

xv

List of Key Terms and Abbreviations

xvii

Acknowledgments

xix

Introduction: Russia's Culture of Flight in Historical Perspective

1

(10)

Part I Imperial Aviation, 1909--1917

The Dawn of Russian Aviation

11

(26)

Tsars of the Air in the Land of the Tsars

11

(7)

Russia's Passion for Wings

18

(5)

Public Air-Mindedness and National Identity in Late Imperial Russia

23

(9)

Compensatory Rhetoric and Aeronautical Transcendence

32

(5)

``The Air Fleet is the Strength of Russia''

37

(42)

Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow

37

(4)

Aviation Between State and Society

41

(14)

The Russian Warrior

55

(3)

The Marasmus of Imperial Aviation

58

(5)

Flights of Fancy

63

(16)

Part II The Origins and Institutions of the Soviet Air Fleet, 1917--1929

Mandating Red Aviation

79

(24)

Continuity Amid Change in the History of Russia

79

(3)

``From a Dictatorship of the Earth to a Dictatorship of the Air''

82

(3)

Friends of the Air Fleet

85

(13)

``Aviation: Instrument of the Future''

98

(5)

The Images and Institutions of Soviet Air-Mindedness

103

(22)

``Sovietizing'' the Heavens

103

(6)

A Soviet Ultimatum

109

(2)

The Rhetoric and Reality of Compulsory Volunteerism

111

(4)

Militarization, Centralization, and the Colossalist Impulse

115

(10)

Aeronautical Iconography and Political Legitimacy

125

(35)

The ``Turn to the Village''

125

(2)

``Our Religion is the Airplane''

127

(9)

Aeronautical Icons

136

(16)

Air-Minded Rituals

152

(8)

Aviation in Service to the State

160

(35)

Compensatory Symbolism and the Politics of Legitimation

160

(10)

The Year of Big Flights

170

(9)

An Aerial Embassy to Europe

179

(4)

Land of the Soviets

183

(12)

Part III Soviet Aviation in the Age of Stalin, 1929--1945

Soviet Aviation and Stalinist Culture

195

(34)

The Great Break

195

(2)

Technology Transfer, Tempos, and Terror

197

(7)

The Airplane--Colossus

204

(15)

Stalin's Route

219

(10)

``Higher, Faster, Farther!''

229

(30)

Victory

229

(4)

Stalin's Proud Falcons

233

(11)

Stalinist Aviation on the International Stage

244

(3)

Crises and Catastrophe on the Eve of World War

247

(12)

Red Phoenix

259

(28)

Operation Barbarossa

259

(2)

Russia's War

261

(4)

Red Phoenix

265

(5)

A New Locus of Legitimacy

270

(5)

The Lasting Legacy of Dependence

275

(7)

Conclusion: Aviation Culture and the Fate of Modern Russia

282

(5)

Bibliography

287

(12)

Index

299

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Dictatorship of the Air: Aviation Culture and the Fate of Modern Russia

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials