FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2026-020

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (February 9, 2026) – This issue of Fun with Maps launches us into the Russian skies of yesterday with some history of first civilian flight in Soviet Socialist Republics.

THE WINGED HAMMER AND SICKLE

Civilian aviation began in the USSR on February 9, 1923 when the Council of Labor and Defense passed a resolution to create a commercial flying service.

Three airlines were formed in the next months – Dobrolyot, Ukrvozdukhput, and Zakavia – serving different locations.  Besides transporting passengers, cargo and mail, the planes were to be weather trackers and aerial photographers for their regions.

By 1932 the three airlines had been absorbed into one enterprise under the name, Aeroflot, for the Soviet Civil Air Fleet.

In the 1960s and 70s, Aeroflot was the largest airline in the world.  At the time, the Russian planes carried as many passengers in one day as all the US carriers combined.

A great relic and true story of the Cold War spy days, Aeroflot had the first supersonic commercial airliner, the Tu-144 a.k.a. the “concordski”, taking to the sky two months before the British/French Concorde.  It was built from stolen plans and specs smuggled into the Soviet Union in toothpaste tubes.

This propaganda map of the USSR by the New Times is from the 1950s. 

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.