First Soldiers Aviation Congress
From OnAirpower.org
The First Soldiers Aviation Congress for Soldier-Pilots and Aircraft Engine Mechanics was held in Petrograd at the end of April, 1917.
The Congress was organized by key figures in the Russian aviation industry (including Lebedev, Slyusarenko, Shchetinin, and others), ostensibly to examine the serious quality problems with Russian-built aircraft. The industry's ulterior motives for organizing the conference included understanding the soldiers' motivations and cultivating their support for increasing orders of Russian-produced aircraft[1]
The Congress was not intended by its organizers to address political topics, but given the prevailing revolutionary currents in the city of Petrograd that was a difficult thing to avoid. Four or five days into the Congress, its initial Executive Committee, which had been chosen by the aviation industry, was changed and filled with left-leaning soldiers who were more in tune with revolutionary ideals. The shift prompted the aviation industry to call for dissolution of the Congress and for not recognizing its authority[1].
Senior Russian air force officers were taken by surprise by the outcome of the Congress, since they believed that due to their unique nature the air forces would not exhibit the same revolutionary leanings that other arms of the military did. In order to undermine any potential authority and recognition that the Congress might gain, they organized the First All-Russia Aviation Congress to be held in July, 1917[1].
