Aviators Affair

The Aviators Affair was a 1946 purge of the Soviet air force and the Soviet aircraft industry following accusations that, during World War II, Soviet fighter planes had been of poor quality. It resulted in the arrests and sentencing of about fifteen Soviet senior officers and officials, and was one of the series of similar purges of Soviet military in the aftermath of World War II through which Stalin reaffirmed his control over the country, eliminating or weakening internal rivals.