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

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.

Scott W. Palmer (Author)

9780521859578, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 31 July 2006

328 pages
23.3 x 15 x 2.5 cm, 0.59 kg

'This is a commendable and interesting book, illustrated with contemporary photographs and posters.' The Slavonic and East European Review (SEER)

Focusing on one of the last untold chapters in the history of human flight, Dictatorship of the Air is the first book to explain the true story behind twentieth-century Russia's quest for aviation prominence. Based on nearly a decade of scholarly research, but written with general readers in mind, this is the only account to answer the question 'What is 'Russian' about Russian aviation?' From the 1909 arrival of machine-powered flight in the 'land of the tsars' to the USSR's victory over Hitler in 1945, Dictatorship of the Air describes why the airplane became the preeminent symbol of industrial progress and international power for generations of Russian statesmen and citizens, The book reveals how, behind a facade of daredevil pilots, record-setting flights, and gargantuan airplanes, Russia's long-standing legacies of industrial backwardness, cultural xenophobia, and state-directed modernization prolonged the nation's dependence on western technology and ultimately ensured the USSR's demise.

Part I. Imperial Aviation, 1909–17: 1. The dawn of Russian aviation
2. 'The air fleet is the strength of Russia'
Part II. The Origins and Institutions of Soviet Red Air Fleet, 1917–29: 3. Mandating 'red' aviation
4. The images and institutions of Soviet air-mindedness
5. Aeronautical iconography and political legitimacy
6. Aviation in service to the state
Part III. Soviet Aviation in the Age of Stalin, 1929–45: 7. Aviation and Stalinist culture
8. 'Higher, faster, farther!'
9. Red Phoenix
Conclusion: Aviation culture and the fate of modern Russia.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]