The background of the formation of civil aviation in the south of Russia

The article is devoted to the analysis of the features of integration of the South of Russia into the air transport system of the Country of Soviets. The study focuses on domestic aviation as a special area of public relations, namely, on the historical background of the formation of civil aviation in southern Russia in the period before 15 June 1925, when the first Rostov-on-Don - Kharkov - Moscow air line opened, which connected the region with the air traffic with the south of Ukraine and with the capital of the state. The aim of the study is to identify and characterise the main historical prerequisites for the formation of civil aviation in the south of Russia. The comparative historical method allowed to generally reconstruct the factors that influenced the formation of civil aviation in the South of Russia, the formation of its system-wide and unique features, which, as the study showed, were formed immediately before the Civil War (the latter prevented the development of not only aviation but also the entire industrial complex of the region). On the one hand, the inclusion of the region in the aviation development was dictated by the system-wide trends of this process. On the other hand, features of the history of the region at the beginning of the 20th century determined the specificity of regional development factors. World War I seriously stimulated the growth of mechanical engineering and heavy industry in Russia. The aviation industry, which was taking its first steps, was no exception. The main historical prerequisites for the development of civil aviation in the south of Russia include at least three regional factors: (1) the south of pre-revolutionary Russia (Kharkov, Odessa, Novocherkassk) had sports and test airfields and a wide network of aviation schools; (2) on the basis of the production complex of A.A. Anatra (which included coal and ore mines, steel and machine-building enterprises, educational institutions and engineering workshops, the world’s largest airfield, etc.), a forefront structure of high-tech production was laid at the beginning of the 20th century, with a powerful potential in the field of military and civil aircraft manufacturing; (3) during the Civil War, in the south of Russia, air bases of the Red and White armies were located, and a significant part of the fleet of the Russian Empire was concentrated. The revolutionary events of 1917 and the ensuing Civil War were generally accompanied by the collapse of the country’s industrial production and economy.