The Emergence of Civil Aviation on the Don as a Factor in the Development of the Soviet Air Transport System

The article reconstructs the process of the origin and development of civil aviation in the Don region, the role of the aviation joint-stock company «Ukrvozdukhput» and the Regional Executive Committee in this process. The date of the origin of civil aviation in the region is documented. In 1925, with the opening of the first airline from Rostov-on-Don, civil aviation began to develop as a separate branch of the transport system not only of the Don region, but also of the entire South of Russia. The company «Ukrvozdukhput» founded a regional office in Rostov-on-Don, which was engaged in the development of air communication. It is shown that the formation of the air transport system of the South of Russia occurred almost at the same time as the formation of the air transport system of the country. Air communication in the Don developed with the active assistance of the regional executive committee. The first air line operated on the route Rostov-on-Don - Kharkov, with the possibility of further transfer to the Moscow direction.
Since 1926, the geography of fl ights in the region began to expand, as a result, the Don air harbor connected the entire South and North Caucasus with air routes. During this period, new air routes were opened on the Don, Rostov-on-Don-Mineralnye Vody-Grozny-Baku, which had not only union, but also international
signifi cance.