Dictatorship of the Air

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.

ISBN 0521859573   Volumes 1 ISBN13 9780521859578 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 590 Publisher Cambridge University Press   Published in Cambridge Imprint Cambridge University Press   Series editor Anderson, John, Hardesty, Von Format Hardback   Series title Cambridge Centennial of Flight Publication date 31 Jul 2006   Height (mm) 228 Library of Congress 2006002826   Width (mm) 152 DEWEY 629.130947   Spine width (mm) 25 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Professional / Scholarly, General Pages 328

		Introduction : Russia's culture of flight in historical perspective		1
Pt. I		Imperial aviation, 1909-1917
1		The dawn of Russian aviation		11
2		"The air fleet in the strength of Russia"		37
Pt. II		The origins and institutions of the Soviet Air Fleet, 1917-1929
3		Mandating red aviation		79
4		The images and institutions of soviet-mindedness		103
5		Aeronautical iconography and political legitimacy		125
6		Aviation in service to the state		160
Pt. III		Soviet aviation in the age of Stalin, 1929-1945
7		Soviet aviation in the Stalinist culture		195
8		"Higher, faster, farther!"		229
9		Red phoenix		259
		Conclusion : aviation culture and the fate of modern Russia		282

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

 Be the first to write a customer review