The Eighth All-Union Issue.
Forced sales of stamps were known at post and telegraph offices; by fiscal authorities when accepting payments from private individuals; by transport organizations; and when admitting visitors to entertainment venues. The stamps were often handed to customers instead of change in small coin. In 1924, inscriptions appeared on the stamps prohibiting forced sales, prompted by citizens’ complaints to the bodies of the Communist Party and the executive authorities. However, the established practice of selling ODVF stamps hardly changed.
Trotsky, constantly seeking popularity—especially among young people—put forward the idea of organizing the Society of Friends of the Air Fleet (ODVF) and authorized the emergence of a gigantic propaganda wave in the press. The slogan “Give us wings!” was the main slogan of 1923. Over 12 months, the number of members grew from 16,000 to 1,022,000 people. ODVF cells were created everywhere, even at Soviet embassies abroad. Aero clubs, aero courses, aero circles, aero exhibitions, and aero corners grew like yeast. There was no city where funds were not collected to build airplanes and gliders—and they were built in almost every city as well. Worker correspondents contributed a percentage of their fees to build the airplane “Rabkor”; the chemical workers’ union laid down an airship, “Red Chemist-Rubber Worker.” In villages, frightened peasants were taken for rides on agitational airplanes; aero-agitation stands toured fairs; “aero dramatizations” were staged in clubs; small aero libraries were created. The ODVF membership was planned to be brought to three million people by the summer of 1925. The importance attached to the new society can be judged at least by the fact that nearly all major party and state figures were elected to the ODVF Council: Bubnov, Voroshilov, Kalinin, Kamenev, Mikoyan, Ordzhonikidze, Podvoisky, Rykov, Stalin, Trotsky, Frunze, Chubar, Eikhe, Yakir.
Around the same time, Trotsky and his associates founded an entirely commercial “Russian Society of the Voluntary Air Fleet” (1923 was the peak year of the NEP), colloquially known as “Dobrolyot.” Soon, however, the society ceased to be commercial and became fully state-run, and ultimately turned into the well-known “Aeroflot” (1932).