{"product_id":"stalins-aviation-gulag-a-memoir-of-andrei-tupolev-and-the-purge-era-9781560986409","title":"Stalin's Aviation Gulag. A Memoir of Andrei Tupolev and the Purge Era","description":"\u003cp\u003eCredit for much of Stalins aviation program lay with Andrei N. Tupolev (1888-1972)  one of Russias most talented aviation designers  whose fortunes plummeted with those of his profession. In the latter half of the decade  the entire aeronautical establishment fell victim to the massive wave of arrests and killings known as the Great Purge. Arrested in 1937  Tupolev was sent not to the notorious labor camps  but to a sharaga  or special prison  established in Moscow specifically for aviation designers and engineers. Stalins Aviation Gulag is a sympathetic memoir of Tupolevs life and work by engineer L.L. Kerber  whose collaboration with Tupolev spanned most of their careers. At the heart of Kerbers chronicle is a description of the sharagas daily life  which verged on the surreal. Well-fed and well-clothed but supervised by Party and police functionaries with little knowledge of aviation  Tupolev and his team of 150 specialists worked under the threat of harsh reprisal for the least setback. Dependent on Stalins whims  permitted only infrequent  heavily guarded inspections of the aircraft they created  they nevertheless managed to circumvent both political dangers and technical constraints to develop the two major Soviet aircraft of World War II: the fast  twin-engined Pe-2 and the Tu-2  a medium bomber. Kerber also documents the postprison achievements of his mentor  who  after his release in 1941  went on to design the Soviet replica of the B-29 Superfortress as well as many of the giant passenger jets of the cold war era.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45648261120053,"sku":"ByrdShop_1560986409","price":40.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781560986409.jpg?v=1781714393","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/stalins-aviation-gulag-a-memoir-of-andrei-tupolev-and-the-purge-era-9781560986409","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}