On Wings of Courage: Public "Air-Mindedness" and National Identity in Late Imperial Russia

Abstract

Saturday, 24 September 1910 As the rays of the setting sun reluctantly surrendered their hold on the day to the electric lights of the Komendantskoe airfield, naval Captain Lev Makarovich Matsievich climbed aboard his single-engine Farman biplane. Already exhausted from a long day's journeys above the St. Petersburg landscape, Matsievich was determined to best the Russian altitude record established only four days earlier by his friend and competitor B. V. Matyevich. Such records, as all those who gathered in attendance would testify, were never intended to last for long, yet the young pilot was resolved to secure his name (if only briefly) in the nation's record books. After hastily inspecting his craft for signs of wear, a habit to which he had accustomed himself in the course of the three-week competition, Matsievich slowly taxied his Farman onto the open grass plain of Komendantskoe field. Signaling to the judges' grandstand that he was ready to begin his ascent, Matsievich cautiously opened the throttle of his fifty-horsepower engine. Working to maintain control of the craft as it skipped and bounced along the uneven surface of the converted field, Matsievich carefully guided the nose of his plane skyward. At 5:53 P.M. he was airborne. For the thousands of spectators who gathered on the outskirts of the Russian capital to take part in the activities of the First All-Russian Festival of Aviation, the efforts of Matsievich and his fellow pilots were a cause for national celebration. For weeks aviation dominated the conversations of St. Petersburg's taverns, reading rooms and social clubs, while detailed reports of aeronautical events became a daily staple of the nation's press. As Russians looked skyward for a glimpse of the future, popular newspapers such as Russkoe slovo and Gazeta kopeika impressed upon their readers the vital significance of each new flight. Echoing the sentiments of their West European counterparts, contemporary Russians extolled their fliers as the pioneers of a new age of man. Hailing the advent of flight as a spiritual and cultural (as well