Nobile, Umberto [A Flight Over the Polar Regions]. Polet Cherez Poliarnye Oblasti. 

Translated from the Italian.

Moskva, Aviakhim, 1926. 
8vo, 58, [1] pp., [4] pp.cat., ill. 

In original pictorial wrappers. 
Near very good condition, very lightly rubbed and soiled, owner stamp ‘Iz knig S.S. Stankova’ to title page. 

The only Russian translation. First Nobile's Russian book. One of 10 000 copies published. 

The book is a Russian translation of a work – probably the article ‘Il volo transpolare’, published in Rome in 1925 – by Umberto Nobile (1885–1978), the Italian aviator, aeronautical engineer, and Arctic explorer. Nobile was a developer and promoter of semi-rigid airships and is best known for designing and piloting the airship Norge, which on 12 May 1926 completed the first verified journey of any kind to the North Pole – an overflight. It was also the first aircraft to cross the polar ice cap between Europe and America. Although the expedition was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, Nobile served as the airship’s commander and played a crucial role in its success. Nobile later designed and flew the Italia, his second polar airship. The 1928 Italia expedition ended tragically in a crash, prompting an international rescue effort.
In this book – written before the first expedition – Nobile discusses the goals of polar research, earlier expeditions, the use of aircraft in Arctic exploration, meteorological conditions in the polar regions, and the concept of an expedition aboard an Italian airship. He also describes the flight from Rome to Spitsbergen, preparations for the journey – including the airship itself, its bases, and landing procedures at the destination – as well as the challenges, risks, and prospects of success inherent in such an enterprise. 
The book includes illustrations depicting the Norge, its interior, a basket used to lower the crew from the airship to the ground, and a map showing the route and Spitsbergen landscapes.
Interestingly, during its expedition, the airship Norge stopped in Gatchina near Leningrad. On April 15, 1926, it arrived there after a 17-hour flight from Oslo. This stop formed part of its journey to the North Pole, with Gatchina serving as a staging point before the final leg of the polar flight. According to some sources, the airship’s crew originally included the Soviet radio operator Gennady Olonkin, but just before departure Amundsen unexpectedly excluded him from the expedition.
The translator and the cover designer remain unknown. However, the book was published by Aviakhim – formally, the Society for the Assistance of Defense, Aircraft, and Chemical Construction – an organization whose mission was to promote civil defense training among the Soviet population and to support the armed forces by disseminating knowledge related to aviation, chemical defense, and general military preparedness. 
The copy likely comes from the private library of Sergei Stankov (1892–1962), a prominent Soviet botanist and professor at Moscow State University.

We couldn’t trace any copy of this edition in the USA or European libraries via OCLC.