RUSSIA’S MILITARY POWER

Northern Advocate, 10 November 1927, Page 4

RUSSIA’S MILITARY POWER

A cable message published yesterday recounted a remarkable military review in Moscow, where the Red Army was shown to be a very different organisation from the unkempt rabble which figured in the early days of the Soviet’s regime. The

army, .if the > cable spoke truly, is j indeed formidable. That the Soviet j is not confining its attention solely | to the infantry, cavalry and-artillery j which figured so prominently in the, “reply to Britain" may be gathered | from, the fact .that Lord Thomson ot Cardington, who was Britain’s Secretary of State for Air in tho MacDonald Ministry, recently wrote as follows: It is a curious and significant fact that the Russian Government, in addition to creating a .formidable air force, has perceived, perhaps more clearly than any other Government, what are the essentials of “air power," and is using the machinery of State to instil “air sense" into the ■ masses -of the Russian people. For example: The study of aviation has j been made compulsory in Russian | schools; even in the smallest institu-j tion model aeroplanes are provided,] and the children are being taught the rudiments of aero-dynamics. The interest of adults is maintained by, among other organisations, the AllRussian Volunteer Aircraft Association, whose purpose is to give facilities for flying as a pastime. Like all associations in Russia, this one could, not exist without Government permission and support. How intensive the propaganda is may bo gathered from the following figures. In the Ukraine alone there are 4662 aeronautical societies, with a total membership of over J 60,000. "Each member pays a fee of IS roubles, but whether this is an entrance fee or annual subscription is not quite clear. Two societies—“ The .Society of the Friends of Aviation" and “The Society of Chemical .Defence” —have now amalgamated, into,-one, known as “The Aviokhim," whose membership exceeds 2,000,000. This suggestive combination lias already formed 19 Aero Clubs and established 1200 libraries, containing books on aeronautical subjects, throughout the Soviet Union.