Mannerheim Zakharyevskaya. The reverse side of the board: who beat Mannerheim

Tatiana, hello! I have been reading your site for a long time, but here for the first time I decided to write myself, because the reason ...

The other day in St. Petersburg they hung up a memorial plaque to Mannerheim (!). Which, we read Wikipedia: “after the proclamation of Finland's independence in 1917, with the help of the German corps of Von der Golz that landed in Finland, he defeated the units of the Finnish Red Guard located in southern Finland. Going on the offensive on March 15, Mannerheim on April 6, after a fierce multi-day battle, captured Tampere and began to rapidly advance south. On April 11-12, 1918, the Germans took Helsinki, on April 26, Mannerheim occupied Vyborg, from where the revolutionary government evacuated from Helsinki fled. After that, the White Terror began in the city: mass executions of Finnish Red Guards and civilians suspected of having links with the Communists were carried out.

Okay, there was general chaos and collapse after the abdication of Nicholas II and a series of revolutions, everyone was for himself. There were no white and fluffy ones at that time. Good. But - the enemies of the Russian Empire and his yesterday's - the Germans - he called for help in the collapse of the Empire. Betrayal times.

Further, the same Mannerheim: “In May-April 1919, during negotiations with the British about a possible intervention, as the conditions for the start of the Finnish offensive against the Bolsheviks, Mannerheim asked for official approval of the intervention from Great Britain, a loan of 15 million pounds, recognition of independence Finland by the future non-Bolshevik government of Russia, holding a plebiscite on joining Finland in Eastern Karelia, autonomy of the Arkhangelsk and Olonets provinces and demilitarization of the Baltic Sea. " After reading these lines, a disgusting residue remains in my soul - Mannerheim is openly bargaining, wanting also Karelia and a lot of money for help against the Bolsheviks. Disgusting. Not all former tsarist military men allowed themselves to be thrown so easily by the lands of the Motherland. And if you read in the same Wikipedia: “After Russia's victory over Sweden in the war of 1808-1809, Karl Erik Mannerheim was the leader of the delegation received by Alexander I, and contributed to the success of the negotiations, which ended as a result of the approval of the Constitution and the autonomous status of the Grand Duchy of Finland. Since then, all Mannerheims have become distinguished by a clear pro-Russian orientation, ”it turns out that somehow this Mannerheim quickly changed his“ pro-Russian orientation ”... Let's put the second cross and move on.

Before the attack on the USSR, "Hitler turned to Mannerheim as an ally with a request to allow German troops to settle in Finnish territory, such permission was given." In northern Finland, the unification of the command of Germany and Finland over the troops of both countries was practiced.

“On June 17, 1941, mobilization was announced in Finland” (he’s just a seer, this Mannerheim! How did he know ??? ..))))

Further, "In his order for the offensive, Mannerheim clearly outlined the goal not only to" return "all the territories captured by the USSR during the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, but also to expand their borders to the White Sea, to annex the Kola Peninsula." Just nothing. “In 1941, the Finnish units reached the old border and crossed it in eastern Karelia and on the Karelian Isthmus. By the morning of September 7, the advanced units of the Finnish army reached the Svir River. On October 1, Soviet units left Petrozavodsk. In early December, the Finns cut the White Sea-Baltic Canal. Further, after unsuccessful attempts to break through the Karelian fortified area, Mannerheim orders to stop the offensive, the front will stabilize for a long time. "

"It was the Finnish troops who provided the blockade of Leningrad from the north."

"During this time, about 24 thousand people of the local population from among ethnic Russians were placed in Finnish concentration camps, of which, according to Finnish data, about 4 thousand died of hunger."

And this is data not from somewhere from the ceiling, but from the handshake Wikipedia itself, which is difficult to reproach for excessive love for Russia and which, if it can, polishes and wipes everything unpleasant about the West, and increases the dirt about Russia many times over.

And when the “heroic” former tsarist officer realized that the case smelled of kerosene, he quickly switched over (ie again betrayed those who counted on him, even though they were Nazis) and concluded a separate peace with the USSR, and the Finns turned their weapons against yesterday German allies (where it was peaceful, and where it was a little shooting).

As far as I know, not all former tsarist officers collaborated with the Nazis, there were many who really wanted the Red Army to win over the Germans, because it was not about internal squabbles, but about an attack on the country, on the Motherland, no matter what it is called - Russian Empire or USSR. But - just not Mannerheim. Tom "Kemsk volost" - Give Karelia, and comfort the ambitions. They are all "pro-Russian". They love Russia to the point that they are ready to tear off pieces of it ...

And after all this, after the Nazis used Finnish airfields on June 22, after the participation of the Finnish army in the blockade of Leningrad, after the Finnish concentration camps for the local captured population, including the CHILDREN'S CONCEPT CAMPS -

MANNERHEIM HAVE A HONORARY BOARD IN ST. PETERSBURG, YES, WHO ELSE IS THE MINISTER OF CULTURE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION MEDINSKY AND THE HEAD KNOWN WHAT IS IVANOV ???

WHAT WAS IT???

HOW TO UNDERSTAND???

I asked about the history of the issue. It turns out that attempts to perpetuate the memory of Mannerheim in St. Petersburg have been going on for a long time and not for the first year, but the people were indignant while they were able to fight back. BUT HERE ??? AND WHO OPENS THE BOARD ??? ...

I can’t regard it otherwise as a provocation against the President: the place is St. Petersburg, the persons are the head of the presidential administration, the minister of culture ... Even on the eve of June 22. Even when Putin himself was in St. Petersburg at the SPIEF. And Putin himself is still silent, because, most likely, he is not in the know and is busy with the forum, and it is possible that he is deliberately not allowed to be disturbed by such “trifles” that shake the people.

And the people will say - “Well, how is it, right under his nose a board is being hanged to a fascist! And he?! Yes, if he does not see under his nose, then the country is generally not capable of running! " etc.

PERFECT VERSION OF PROVOCATION.

But it's sad that betrayal (if this is it, and not stupidity or lack of school knowledge of history) has already climbed so high, into his environment ...

What do you think about all this, and how can we get out of this situation now? ..

T.V. - I think that monuments have finally appeared in Russia, which will be poured over with paint, which, in fact, is already happening:

Unknown people poured red paint on a memorial plaque to Karl Mannerheim in St. Petersburg

It was installed just the other day.

Now the cadets of the military engineering and technical institute are trying to clean the memorial plaque to the military leader Karl Mannerheim. This morning they doused her with red paint. The memorial was erected the other day in a solemn atmosphere. The head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov and the minister of culture Vladimir Medinsky were also present. The orchestra was playing. But the city was ambiguous about the appearance of the monument to Mannerheim, who was not only a general tsarist army, but also led the Finnish troops during the Second World War and, in fact, closed the ring of the blockade in the north of Leningrad. However, the Honorary Citizen of St. Petersburg, writer Daniil Granin, supported the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a memorial to Mannerheim, because, despite Hitler's demands, he refused to shell Leningrad during the blockade.

Daniil Granin also opposed the name of the bridge in St. Petersburg after Akhmat Kadyrov.

A memorial plaque to Karl Mannerheim is solemnly - with an orchestra, a military guard and high, but not numerous guests, among whom were Sergei Ivanov and Vladimir Medinsky, ex. prev. The CEC Churov, and without a gathering of people, was opened on June 16. A plaque on the wall of house number 22 on Zakharyevskaya Street, where the Military Engineering and Technical University is located, appeared the night before the opening and was heavily guarded by the police until the morning.

The plaque was placed on the building of the Military Engineering and Technical University on Zakharyevskaya Street: before the 1917 revolution, this house housed the regimental church of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, in which Mannerheim served.
As the head of the Kremlin administration, Sergei Ivanov, stated at the opening ceremony of the plaque, "no one is going to whitewash Mannerheim's actions after 1918, but until 1918 he served Russia." Former CEC chairman Churov discovered inaccuracies in the reproduction of orders on the general's chest.

The precautions were not taken in vain. Three days later, unknown persons poured red paint over the board, as reported by Radio Baltika.

The cadets washed off the paint.

Mannerheim's personality is controversial.
We can recall that V. Putin in 2001. laid a wreath at the grave of Mannerheim in Helsinki.

Medved was also noticed in this

Of course, the inhabitants of St. Petersburg, many of whom know firsthand about the 900-day blockade of Leningrad and that the northern arc of the blockade was held by the allies of Nazi Germany, the Finns. We also remember the war with the White Finns commanded by Mannerheim, we know, and many saw Mannerheim's defensive line, a high-level fortification.

But at the same time, few people know that not a single shell flew to Leningrad from the Finnish front, the Finnish army stopped at the old Russian border, did not cut the Murmansk-Moscow railway line, along which goods were transported under Lend-Lease ...

Here, for example, what the writer Daniil Granin said about the opening of the board

"I understand those who oppose the memorial plaque of Mannerheim. Their reproaches are clear to me. Mannerheim's troops formed part of the blockade ring.
But there is another very important circumstance that many people forget. The Finns, for their part, did not shell the city, and, despite Hitler's demand, Mannerheim forbade the shelling of Leningrad from guns "

So who is he, Karl Gustav Emil Mannerheim, baron, Russian military leader, lieutenant general of the tsarist army; general of the cavalry of the Finnish army, field marshal, marshal of Finland, regent of the Kingdom of Finland from December 12, 1918 to June 26, 1919, ally of the Third Reich, president of Finland from August 4, 1944 to March 11, 1946?

Gustav Mannerheim came from an old Swedish family. After the victory over the Swedes, one of his ancestors was the leader of the delegation received by Alexander I and contributed to the success of the negotiations, which ended with the approval of the constitution and the autonomous status of the Grand Duchy of Finland. Since then, all Mannerheims have become distinguished by a clear pro-Russian orientation, since Alexander I has repeatedly reminded: “Finland is not a province. Finland is a state. "
Gustav Mannerheim graduated from the University of Helsingfors and with honors from the Nikolaev Cavalry School. He got his first combat experience in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), commanding two squadrons, and showed himself to be a fairly capable military man. He served with Budyonov, Brusilov. Received the rank of colonel.
During the First World War he fought in Galicia. After the revolution in 1918, he decided to leave for his native Finland. He led the Finnish army. He was not only a skilful warrior, but also well versed in politics. In 1927 he began to build a defensive line on the border with the USSR. In the war with the White Finns (the topic, by the way, is extremely sparingly covered in our country), the Red Army took this line. But at what cost? Our losses amounted to 400,000, while the Finns lost 20,000.
Since the beginning of the war, Finland found itself as if squeezed between Germany and the USSR. And Mannerheim found his own political line, which ensured the independence of his country during the Second World War.
Here I will cite a post found on LiveJournal. The author somewhat idealizes the positive role of Mannerheim and Finland during the war years. But the fact remains - Mannerheim fought for the independence of his country. Finland withdrew from the war with the USSR with the conclusion of an armistice agreement signed on September 19, 1944 in Moscow. After that, Finland, dissatisfied with the speed of the withdrawal of German troops from its territory, began military operations against Germany (the Lapland War).
So, a post from LJ user "anty_big_game"

How Mannerheim "saved" Leningrad

Why do former Chekists lay flowers at Mannerheim's grave and erect a memorial plaque in the city on the Neva River!

After the Second World War, the leaders of the countries that were Germany's satellites were executed. Some were hanged, others were shot. There was only one exception - the commander-in-chief of the Finnish army, Karl Mannerheim. He was not punished, on the contrary, he was promoted. At the request of Joseph Stalin, Mannerheim was elected President of Finland. And it was with him that the Soviet Union concluded a peace treaty. And already in our time, Vladimir Putin laid flowers at the grave of the baron in Helsinki. Why is this love for Karl Mannerheim?

istpravda.ru

During his tenure as commander-in-chief, Karl Mannerheim receives full information about everything that happens in his country, rolershar.ru writes. Nothing can hide from his gaze. In the summer of 1942, military echelons arrive in complete secrecy in the southern part of Finland. They are guarded by the Gestapo and selected units of the Wehrmacht. On the alert and the Abwehr. No one on the way of the trains should know what they are carrying in their cars.

The Soviet command, having received information about these secret transportations, seeks to find out as many details as possible. Reconnaissance groups are sent to Finland. The fate of most of these groups is tragic. But all the same, incredible efforts manage to establish where and what the mysterious trains are being transported. On the shores of Ladoga, the best ships of those years, ideal for conducting military operations on the lake, secretly appeared. High-speed boats MAS with well-trained crews were transferred from the ports of southern Italy.

Siebel ferries secretly arrived from Germany, a symbol of Hitler's unfulfilled dream of occupying the British Isles. They were intended to cross the English Channel. Colonel Fritz Siebel, the designer of the miracle ferries, is in charge of the Germans' actions.

Simultaneously with the appearance on Ladoga of a powerful Italian-German flotilla, it became known where Manstein's 11th Army had been moved from near Sevastopol. Her traces were found near Leningrad. Here the great strategist and the greatest commander of the Wehrmacht, Erich von Manstein, placed both the newest Tiger tanks and the Dora super-powerful weapon. With their help, Hitler wanted to destroy the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts. He has already come up with a name for this operation. He has already invented a name for this operation - "Nordlicht", "Northern Lights".

The Soviet leadership ties all this information together. The General Staff concludes: a major Wehrmacht operation is being prepared to seize Leningrad and eliminate water communications on Ladoga. Hitler is confident of success. However, he did not take into account one thing - the Russians are ready to strike, they know a lot about Operation Nordlicht. And they owe this knowledge in part to the man whom the Fuehrer considered his loyal ally - the Finnish Marshal Karl Mannerheim.

Karl Mannerheim
The Baron perfectly knew all the strengths and weaknesses of the Russian army, because he himself had served in it for a long time. He understood that the USSR would not lose the war with the Germans, but, most likely, would win. Therefore, Mannerheim was as careful as possible. He ordered the Finnish troops not to cross the old border with the Soviet Union, and from the very beginning he was preparing, most likely, not for victory, but for defeat, realizing that he would have to negotiate peace with the Soviet Union. Karl Mannerheim is the oldest politician in Europe. He is an officer of the old school, the school of the 19th century. The idea of \u200b\u200bthe destruction of millions of people does not fit into Mannerheim's principles, he does not want to destroy the city on the Neva, with which he has almost 30 years of life.

Adolf Hitler is a child of the 20th century, an unrooted person in traditional culture. He prefers to destroy the foundations and create a new civilization. The old habitual culture, morality and religion fell. Leningrad, the cradle of the Bolshevik revolution, will be the first result of the modernization of the barbarian world by the Third Reich.

The German-Italian flotilla on Lake Ladoga included the best fighters of the Italian "marinomilitare" and the Wehrmacht. These were seasoned warriors who survived in numerous bloody battles with the British. They knew how to fight both on land and at sea.

Soviet intelligence is establishing channels for communication and exchange of information with the Finnish side. Boris Yartsev, a representative of the Soviet embassy in Sweden, has been entrusted with this mission. The Finns make it clear that their army will not cross the line of the old border along the Sestra River. This means the Finnish commander-in-chief's refusal to support the German plans for the final destruction of Leningrad.

Finnish tank "Vickers"

The ships of the Italian-German flotilla make test exits, work out interaction. The crews indulge in herring of the Finnish ambassador, Karelian pies, and reindeer from Lapland. In the evenings, sailors watch luxurious films with unpretentious plots in the company of charming Finnish girls.

Marshal Mannerheim gave many orders orally, leaving no copies that could get to the Germans, who were quite active in his General Staff. Coldly and calmly, he increases the distance between him and his German ally. He refuses to subordinate the Finnish army to the German command, but he also does not agree to take German units under his command. At the beginning of 1942, in response to regular questions from the Wehrmacht generals about the fate of the Finnish front, Mannerheim cut off: "I will not advance anymore."

The Americans maintained diplomatic relations with the Finns, and they warned the Finnish leadership that an attempt to expand the front line, attacks on the Soviet Union would lead to the fact that Finland's ties with the West would be interrupted. Mannerheim did not want to become a complete vassal of Nazi Germany, and therefore he made a decision for himself: to stay away from the Germans. But Hitler hopes to break the will of his stubborn ally. He now desperately needs Finland to destroy Leningrad. But with a commander like Mannerheim, Finnish soldiers cannot help the German army. So, you need to look for a truly loyal person in this northern country. And there is such a person - General Paavo Talvela.

This man began service in the German army, then went to the Finnish army, fought with the Russians in the Civil War, graduated from the Academy in 1924 with a diploma on the topic "War with the Russians in Karelia." He had one ally in his head - Germany, his profession was to fight the Russians.

In 1942 Talvela became the Finnish representative at Hitler's headquarters. Endless colorful ceremonies, military parades, discipline, bearing, luxury and wealth of the Reich. One soil, one nation, one leader. The imperial spirit is great. This is what humble Finland is missing. Talvela feels Hitler's favor and seeks to justify his hopes. In his head, a plan is created for a brilliant operation, which became an integral part of the German plan for the destruction of Leningrad. The purpose of the operation is to capture the island of Sukho, located in the middle of the Road of Life.

The German command is trying to hide preparations for the operation from Mannerheim, but not a single secret can be hidden from the marshal. He is aware of all their preparations. The Baron is looking forward to the performance of the German-Italian flotilla and is preparing a surprise for the ally. To forbid General Talvela to conduct an operation is not within his capabilities. That protege of Hitler, and in fact Finland is completely dependent on Germany for the supply of weapons and food.

And Mannerheim uses the tactics that he learned over 30 years of service in Russia: after all, any undertaking can be ruined by delays, bureaucracy and sabotage. Suddenly, the Finns fall ill with an incomprehensible serious illness - the technique that previously worked like a clock ceases to function, the Finnish diligence has disappeared somewhere. For some reason, the port workers are surprisingly slow and sluggish. German sailors are surprised: nothing is done on time.

Mannerheim at a meeting with Hitler

Paavo Talvela understands that only Hitler can cure the Finns from the Russian disease. He convinces the Fuhrer to personally fly to Finland and convince Mannerheim. On June 4, 1942, Mannerheim celebrates his 75th birthday. Opportunity. With the help of the Fuhrer, Talvela will be able to persuade the obstinate marshal and begin to implement his plan to create a Greater Finland. But he does not understand - for Mannerheim, Hitler's speech is not an argument, but rather an irritant.

Karl Mannerheim is a lonely, cold person with established habits once and for all. He does not like new friends, books, activities, keeps track of the shape of his own mustache, loves hunting for large predators, riding. Of all the world's politicians, he respects only the King of Sweden. Adolf Hitler is a crowd man. He likes rallies, sports, torchlight processions. He loves Nietzsche, Wagner. This inspires him to new conquests. Of the politicians, he values \u200b\u200bonly himself and, perhaps, Stalin.

Arriving at Mannerheim's headquarters, Hitler unleashed a stream of incoherent words at the marshal. He showered Mannerheim with gifts: a luxurious Mercedes-770, 3 military all-terrain vehicles, the Order of the German Eagle with a large gold cross. But the most important gift was his own portrait of the Reich Chancellor, painted by the artist Trupe.

All this could impress anyone, but not Mannerheim. He does not value the gifts of the Fuehrer, especially such petty bourgeois and bad taste. Mannerheim sells an expensive Mercedes to Sweden, gives the all-terrain vehicles to the army, and throws the cross and the portrait away, out of sight. For him, meeting Hitler is a diplomatic ritual, nothing more.

In 1941 the situation in Finland was worse than ever. She was sandwiched between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. In the distance were influential Great Britain and France. Mannerheim and President Ryti believed that Finland should get through this moment. The main thing for her is to remain small, but independent. And General Talvela believed that with the help of Germany, she should become a great country in the northeast, defeat Russia and stretch from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains, from the Arctic Ocean to the Volkhov.

Talvela expected a lot from this visit, but the old marshal outplayed everything in his own way. Knowing that the visit was being followed in Moscow, London and Washington, Mannerheim decided to show that he would not dance to the tune of the "Munich Pied Piper". The Finnish army has a dry law. Only Mannerheim, according to a habit established since tsarist times, did not sit at the table without a glass of vodka. However, in honor of his anniversary, the marshal decided to please his soldiers. Broad gesture! Trucks with valuable cargo are rushing to the front line. Two bottles of vodka for the dugout. On the marshal's birthday, the Finnish army is demonstratively incapable of combat. Sign to enemies by anti-Hitler coalition: Finns ended their war.

General Talvela understands where Mannerheim is pressing. If now he does not carry out the operation conceived by him, then his plans will not come true. Sukho Island must be captured before the end of navigation; later, the Ladoga ice will leave the Siebel ferries and speedboats without movement. We need to land a landing on Suho and gain a foothold. Then the Germans will fully control the transportation on Ladoga, both on ice and on water. Leningrad will be left without supplies and will die.

At Hitler's headquarters, Operation Brazil is scheduled for 10/21/1942. The information is again concealed from Baron Mannerheim. But the marshal again knows everything and manages to warn the Russian command about the withdrawal of the German-Italian flotilla from the ports of the north-western coast of Ladoga. On October 21-22, at the Soviet Headquarters of the High Command, Stalin and Vasilevsky waited for news from Ladoga. They were ready to give the order to act on the strategic aviation on alert.

Strictly according to the plan, the first battle group left at 17.30, the second at 17.45. Both are from different points. On the ferries - strike groups, an elite landing squad, a team of sappers, a special infantry unit. The total number is over 100 people.

Talwala sets the task for the flotilla: to land troops on the island, install artillery and equip Suho as a base for further strikes. There is no doubt about the victory. After all, the ships of the Soviet Ladoga flotilla are not worth mentioning garbage. By 7 o'clock in the morning, the enemy squadron is approaching Sukho. Due to the heavy fog, she was not noticed. But 2 small ships of the Ladoga flotilla are on alert in the water area of \u200b\u200bthe island. These are the sea hunter "107" of Lieutenant Kovalevsky and the minesweeper "100" of the senior lieutenant Karpin.

At the airfields of the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, aircraft are being prepared, the crews are undergoing detailed instructions. Combat vehicles are refueled and equipped with full ammunition. At 7.10, at the lighthouse of the island, an enemy fleet is noticed, but they are mistaken for their convoy. At 7.15, the Germans open a hurricane of artillery and machine-gun fire on the island and the fortifications located on it. The very first volleys are accurate, the Suho garrison remains without radio communications. But the Soviet coastal battery of 100 mm guns opens return fire on the approaching ships. Lieutenant Karpin sends a radiogram from his ship to radio operators in Novaya Ladoga.

The first Luftwaffe planes are approaching Suho. 9 Junkers bomb the island. Soon there is no living space left on it. The lighthouse becomes the only cover for the defenders. Under the cover of aircraft, the Germans approach Suho. From landing boats, 3 infantry strike groups and 1 group of demolition men land on the shore. They manage to destroy 2 of the three Russian guns. The fight was short, only one hour, but terrible. Just imagine a site with half a football field. Stones everywhere. And in these stones 70 paratroopers and 90 Red Navy men met. Grenades, bayonets, butts, point-blank shots. From the Soviet garrison, by the end of the battle, only 12 could fight, the rest were killed or seriously wounded.

The Germans are close to victory. You just need to capture the third gun, as well as wait for the rest of the landing. But the Red Navy and Marshal Mannerheim took away the victory that Talvela and Hitler had been waiting for. The weather forecast presented by the Finns did not come true. Storm 5 points - instead of clear weather. Siebel ferries ran into underwater rocks. It turns out that the Finns did not give necessary information about the sailing directions of an area well known to them. At 8.00, the Germans lost contact with the boats in which the rifle groups were located and the commander decides to send a signal with a rocket to cancel the actions of these groups. But not only this order interrupted the attack of the German landing. The Sukho Island garrison, commanded by Senior Lieutenant Gusev, counterattacks.

Noticing the missile, all German strike groups returned from the island to the ferries, taking with them five captured Russians. The squadron still has a hard way back. A storm and fire from a hunter and a minesweeper do not allow repairs on the spot. Ferries that are already damaged have to be abandoned. The Germans are transferring all their fire to Soviet ships, which maneuver in the forest from the gaps. To the aid of two of their ships and the surviving defenders of the island, the planes of two fronts and the Baltic fleet rush. They bombard the Germans, hit them with machine guns. Gunboats and sea hunters of the Ladoga military flotilla approach the island. Throughout daylight hours, they pursue and destroy the enemy. As a result of the battle, 15 German aircraft were shot down and 17 ships were sunk.

Mannerheim spent this day as usual. He could no longer change anything, everything depended on the Russians. The Marshal was waiting for a denouement, and it came. On October 23 at 4 o'clock in the morning, the heavily battered German squadron returned to the base, where the Italian boats had already returned earlier. From them, on the way to Suho, they reported a lack of fuel. The operation failed. General Talwell's plan failed. The same fate befell Operation Nordlicht - Leningrad was not taken, the Road of Life continued to function. Soon Ladoga will freeze and the German ships with their crews will be out of work.

In the late autumn of 1942, German Siebel and Italian boats set off back to the Baltic. Everyone knew about the defeat of the Italo-German flotilla. As a true military man, Mannerheim took the time to express his admiration for courage german soldierswho fought in this battle, visited the wounded in the hospital. But he did not take any more steps to support his allies. Mannerheim did not participate in Talvela's operation, did not send his troops to Leningrad. Knowing about the vulnerability of the Soviet fleet on Ladoga, he did everything possible to make the operation of the German command fail.

For General Talwell, defeat in Operation Brazil is the ruin of a lifetime. He failed to impose an active anti-Russian position on Mannerheim. In 1944 Finland leaves the war. Each was rewarded according to his deeds. Stalin agreed to conclude a peace agreement only with Mannerheim. Mannerheim was honored. It was he who established such relations with Moscow that allowed Finland to remain independent.

Mannerheim on the hunt

But General Talvela walked along the Helsinki Esplanade with a pistol in his pocket. He expected to be arrested every minute. And although this did not happen, he was not taken into business. Neither the British, nor the Americans, nor the Russians wanted to deal with Hitler's henchmen. He died in deep disgrace.

Mannerheim understood: he managed to lead Hitler, now it is necessary to improve relations with the Soviet Union. In this maneuvering between Hitler and Stalin, the Finnish marshal will outplay both of them. Finland will not lose its face. Mannerheim's plans to preserve an independent country in Northern Europe, where order and law reign, will become a reality. There is a place in Suomi for everyone who honestly served the Motherland. “Only he was able to convince the Finnish people that Finland surrendered, and was really a patriot of his country,” Stalin said. When Herda Kuusinen gave him her position on war criminals on the table, Stalin crossed out the first Mannerheim on the list with a red pencil and wrote “Do not touch” at the top.

Stalin's unusual attitude to Mannerheim is explained not least of all by the service that the marshal rendered The Soviet Union at a critical moment. In the terrible 1942, a timely warning saved Leningrad. And that was enough to forgive Mannerheim for an alliance with Hitler. Finland defended her values \u200b\u200band continued to live her life. And restrained for the time being, Mannerheim decided to openly confront the Third Reich. The Finnish army turned its bayonets against its forced ally. And Mannerheim emerged victorious from this fight.

***
As for my opinion, I would refrain from installing a plaque.
Just as I would not call the bridge in St. Petersburg by the name of Akhmat Kadyrov. Why? I will refrain from expressing my opinion, they will be considered an extremist.
By the way, this is the bridge of discord.

Memorial plaque to Karl Mannerheim. The tablet was moved to Tsarskoe Selo: it became an exhibit of the Museum of the First World War in the Ratnaya Chamber.

How a bas-relief of Hitler's supporter and participant of the blockade of Leningrad appeared in St. Petersburg, why the plaque could not be removed for a long time, and what do historians think about it - "Paper"has collected everything there is to know about the history of the conflict.

What is Mannerheim known for?

Karl Gustav Mannerheim is a Finnish military leader and statesman of Swedish origin. He studied and lived in St. Petersburg. From 1890 to 1917 he served in the Russian army, participated in the Russo-Japanese and the First World Wars. After the revolution he returned to the already independent Finland, in 1918-1919 he was its regent. Under his leadership, from 1933 to 1939, the Finns built a system of defensive fortifications on the Karelian Isthmus to contain the USSR, which later became known as the Mannerheim Line.

In 1939-1944, Mannerheim was the commander-in-chief of the Finnish army, commanded the troops during Soviet-Finnish war and World War II on the side of Nazi Germany. In 1942, Hitler was a guest at Mannerheim's 75th birthday. The Finnish marshal also took part in the blockade of Leningrad. At the same time, the role of Mannerheim in the blockade is controversial. For example, the writer Daniil Granin emphasizes that "the Finns, for their part, did not fire at the city, and, despite Hitler's demand, Mannerheim forbade the shelling of Leningrad with guns."

However, historians have claimed that this is literary fiction.

Vladimir Baryshnikov, Head of the Department of History of Modern and Contemporary Times, St. Petersburg State University:

The task was to take Leningrad<…> Finnish troops also occupied the Soviet part of Karelia. Almost all cities were renamed in Finnish style. Which suggests that they wanted to preserve these territories. The regime established on the territory of Karelia was racist in nature. The Russian population was separated from the Finno-Ugric population, and was assigned to concentration camps, in which the mortality rate was even higher in percentage terms than in the German ones. And these victims fall as a shadow on Marshal Mannerheim.

In August 1944, after the blockade was lifted, the Red Army launched a retaliatory offensive and the start of negotiations between the USSR and Finland, Mannerheim became President of Finland, and in September he made peace with the USSR.

How did Mannerheim's board appear in St. Petersburg?

2003 year:

The Mannerheim Museum has opened in the Marshal Hotel on Shpalernaya Street. A bust of the military leader also appeared there.

2010 year:

Writer Daniil Granin proposed to erect a memorial plaque to Mannerheim at Zakharievskaya, 31, where the lieutenant general lived, but in the year of the 65th anniversary of the Victory, the committee on culture decided not to rush into a decision.

2015 year:

The Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky wanted to install the board. According to his plan, the bas-relief was supposed to appear on the facade of house 31 on Galernaya Street on the first day of the 19th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum - June 18. However, controversies began around his plans due to Mannerheim's participation in the blockade of Leningrad - and on the eve of the ceremony, the plaque already installed disappeared. Medinsky himself said that he did not know what prevented the opening of the board.

2016 year:

A new place was found for the blackboard in St. Petersburg - the building of the Military Engineering and Technical University at 22 Zakharievskaya Street. At this place stood the Church of Saints and Righteous Zacharias and Elizabeth, the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, in which Mannerheim served. On June 16, on the opening day of XX SPIEF, when Smolny officially announced the appearance of Akhmat Kadyrov's bridge in St. Petersburg, the board was actually installed on Zakharyevskaya.

The bas-relief, wrapped in polyethylene and fenced with ribbons, was guarded by the police all night. On the same day, the pickets of the participants of the movement "The Essence of Time" by the participants of the movement Sergei Kurginyan took place at the not yet open board. They came to Zakharyevskaya Street with posters "Mannerheim is the same savior of Leningrad as Hitler." Shortly before the official opening, the FSO pushed back the protesters, but a historian, former head of the Central Election Commission Vladimir Churov came out to them and said that the idea to perpetuate the memory of the Finnish military leader belongs to his biographer, the late writer Leonid Vlasov. As a result, a board under the shouts of "shame!" The then presidential administrations were opened by Sergei Ivanov and Vladimir Medinsky.

Vladimir Medinsky , Minister of Culture:

Memorial plaque to Mannerheim is an attempt to overcome what happened after October revolution tragic split in society. And for those who are now shouting there, I want to say: you don't have to be holier than the Pope and you don't have to try to be a greater patriot and communist than Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, who personally defended Mannerheim, ensured his election and the preservation of the post of President of Finland.

At the same time, historians found a mistake on an open board. “It shows the end date of service - 1918, and then he was already in command of the White Army in Finland and turned away when they shot at Russian officers,” explained Bair Irincheev, director of the Military Museum of the Karelian Isthmus.

How did politicians and historians react to Mannerheim's board?

Apart from Granin and Medinsky, Mannerheim had few supporters at the appearance of the board. Of the historians, only Kirill Aleksandrov, who wrote a dissertation on General Vlasov, spoke in support. At the same time, they all noted that the military leader really had merits before Russia, but they were not outstanding: "There were more than enough such generals in the Russian army, and one should not exaggerate the importance of one of them."

Many opposed. The leaders of the patriotic clubs recalled the ancestors who died during the blockade, historians talked about cooperation with Germany, and the Communist Party asked the prosecutor's office to check the circumstances of the installation of the plaque for the rehabilitation of Nazism. “The ring of the White Finns around the city stretched for about 140 km, while the Nazis - only 98 km,” the communists noted.

"Mannerheim is the same savior of Leningrad as Hitler"

The keepers of the board itself from the institute were also not happy. On condition of anonymity, one of the teachers told reporters: “Nobody asked us if we want to see this plate on the wall of the institute. One fact connects the institute with the name of Mannerheim: our graduates in 1944 participated in the second breakthrough of the "Mannerheim Line" and the storming of Vyborg. We have a museum where these pages of history are reflected, the names of the dead graduates are listed. In the classroom military history cadets are told that Mannerheim was an ally of Hitler, his troops held Leningrad in a blockade.<…> My grandfather fought on the Leningrad front, if he were alive today, I would be ashamed to look him in the eye. "

Bair Irincheev, Director of the Military Museum of the Karelian Isthmus:

He must be seen as an accomplice of the Nazis. Blackboard supporters say: let's forget that Mannerheim was an ally nazi Germany from 1941 to 1944, and remember how he carried banners at the coronation of Nicholas II. From my point of view, it is simply impossible to tear apart the biography of one person. This is unscientific. So you can remember a lot of good things about Hitler and about Stalin.

What happened after installing the board?

Within a few hours after the opening, unknown persons threw three cans of brilliant green into the board. The cadets cleaned the bas-relief, but on June 19 it was doused with red paint. After that, the board was covered with black plastic. At the same time, the bas-relief itself remained in paint, and the police did not look for vandals, since they never received a single statement about the incident.

By the end of July, the board had been laundered, but on August 1 it was doused with paint by members of the unregistered party of Eduard Limonov "Other Russia". They also arranged pickets near the bas-relief and read out the appeal of the defenders of the Hanko Peninsula to Mannerheim, who called the military leader a "whore" and "bastard."

Until the dismantling, various protests were held near the board. They tried to damage it and, several times doused it with paint, there were traces of bullets on the bas-relief, and on October 13, activists were detained at the memorial, who glued a plaque under the board with the inscription “In memory of the most cowardly governor of St. Petersburg”.

Why didn't they want to shoot the board?

The installation of the plaque was declared illegal first by the Council on Memorial Plaques under the government of St. Petersburg, and then by the administration of the Central District. The regional authorities did not find any permits for the installation, or documents on its registration.

At the same time, St. Petersburgers filed several lawsuits with a request to declare the board illegal and remove it. was from the 76-year-old blockade Flora Gerashchenko.

This is part of the federal foreign policy agenda: the board was hung to show Finland that we are open to cooperation

As a result, on August 8, the administration handed over to the Committee on Culture an act on dismantling the board and a fine of up to 100 thousand rubles for those responsible. According to the law, by September 8, the day of the beginning of the blockade of Leningrad, the board should have been removed, and the authorities even created a special commission, which should resolve the issue with the bas-relief. However, Fontanka's sources assumed that the plaque would still remain in its place.

“The fact is that this is part of the federal foreign policy agenda: the board was hung up to show Finland that we are open to cooperation. Therefore, a decision to withdraw it can only be made if these relations change, ”a high-ranking official told reporters. At the same time, Finnish historians noted that the inhabitants of the country are ambivalent about Mannerheim because of his role in the massacres during the Finnish civil war 1918. The Minister of Economic Development of Finland Olli Rehn, who came to the SPIEF and celebrated Mannerheim's service in Russia, was also somewhat surprised by this gesture: “It is very interesting that in Russia they still remember Mannerheim and in a certain way honor his memory.”

On September 7, Radio Baltika confirmed the data of Fontanka's sources. According to the newspaper, the authorities were not going to remove the memorial plaque, since the officials “did not find legal grounds” for this. After examining the building of the former Cavalry barracks and the adjacent territory, the specialists of the Central District Administration came to the conclusion that the plate refers to the objects of improvement.

Why was the bas-relief eventually dismantled and how did it happen?

In October, Interfax, citing a source in the St. Petersburg authorities, that the memorial plaque should be dismantled by the end of the year. It was noted that it was decided to remove the board, because after several attempts on the life of hooligans who doused it with paint and also left holes, the board began to look "unpresentable."

Anonymous source of Interfax:

The people who hung the board no longer feel the pressure that they had initially. The situation has become freer, this allows the board to be removed.

This information was confirmed on the evening of October 13, when people in military uniform and a board came to the building on Zakharyevskaya. About dismantling on its website the Russian Military Historical Society, which is headed by Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky.

The memorial plaque was moved to the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve, where it became an exhibit at the Museum of the First World War in the Ratnaya Chamber. The plate was installed in courtyard museum complex.

As noted in the RVIO, the plaque will be stored without restoration "as a symbol of historical disputes in modern Russian society"

Photo: © L! FE

The memorial plaque, which became a stumbling block for the city administration and activists, disappeared from the walls of the Military Engineering and Technical University on the evening of October 13, life.ru writes.

On the evening of October 13, at 22:30, the long-suffering memorial plaque to Karl Mannerheim was removed in St. Petersburg from the wall of the former barracks of the Cavalry Regiment on Zakharyevskaya Street.

Two men climbed through the scaffolding to the height of the second floor of the building, to the level where the board hung, below there were people in uniform and a few other people.

Photo: © L! FE

The men hooked the plank onto a crane hook, then loosened it and tore it off the wall.

Photo: © L! FE

After that, the memorial sign was loaded onto a crane, which took him away from Zakharyevskaya Street.

Photo: © L! FE

A memorial plaque to Karl Gustav Mannerheim was placed on Zakharievskaya Street on June 16, 2016. A bas-relief depicting a lieutenant general was solemnly erected on the wall of the Military Engineering and Technical University - in the very center of the city, a stone's throw from the Tavrichesky Garden, the St. Petersburg administration and other significant places - at the initiative of the Russian Military Historical Society.

The opening of the plaque was attended by the head of the Presidential Administration of Russia Sergei Ivanov and the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky. The event took place in an extremely solemn atmosphere: despite all the ambiguity of Mannerheim's personality, it was not without an orchestra and a guard of honor. However, the honors shown to the white general who took part in the blockade of Leningrad, many residents of the city were extremely outraged.

The Internet was stirred up by a wave of negative comments from Petersburgers, amazed by such an act. "The plaque to the executioner of Russians Mannerheim in St. Petersburg is an insult to the memory of the fallen soldiers and residents of Leningrad!", "He was Hitler's accomplice and helped in maintaining the blockade of Leningrad from the northwest. Installing a memorial plaque for him in this city is a mockery of hundreds of thousands of dead blockade! " - similar statements rained down in the media and social networks. But the indignation of Petersburgers was not limited to the Internet space alone.

Very soon the memorial plaque was painted red - already on June 19, just three days after the celebrations with the orchestra and Vladimir Medinsky, the bas-relief was poured with scarlet paint. Who took this step for the first time remained a mystery, but the first swallow was by no means the last.

Photo: © L! FE

In early August, on the second of August, the red color scheme again changed the image of the Lieutenant General and the former President of Finland. However, this time there were organizers of this kind of protest action who were not afraid to take responsibility. They turned out to be representatives of the unregistered National Bolshevik Party "Other Russia". However, despite the fact that the "paint throwers" were caught by law enforcement officers, one might say, on a hot spot, the police did not detain them.

Both the first and the second time, the "bloody" spots were washed off the marshal's face. Then the opponents of the idea to perpetuate the memory of Mannerheim decided to use "heavy artillery" - acid was poured over the bas-relief.

While activists and unknown opponents of Carl Gustav were spoiling the plaque along with the walls of the former barracks of the Cavalry Regiment, on which it hung, the rest of the citizens tried to convince the administration to simply remove and remove the bone of contention. But in the course of discussions between the townspeople and representatives of the authorities, it turned out that no one coordinated the opening of the memorial plaque with the relevant authorities at all.

The illegality of the installation of the monument was confirmed by the administration of the Central District of St. Petersburg. Then one of the residents of the city filed a lawsuit against the government of St. Petersburg demanding to dismantle the board. Back in the summer, the claim was sent to the Smolninsky District Court, which first postponed the consideration of the case until the end of September, and then, on September 27, safely rejected it.

Then the townspeople continued to spoil the general's appearance with improvised means. Already on October 3, round holes appeared on Mannerheim's face, similar to bullet marks. Petersburgers suggested that ill-wishers fired at the memorial plaque from firearms under cover of night, but upon closer examination it became clear that the bullets could not leave such traces. Holes of different diameters with perfectly straight edges most likely appeared after using a drill.

Photo: © L! FE

On October 10, the Other Russia activists, who had already confessed their dislike of Mannerheim, went even further: they attacked the bas-relief with an ax, filming their act of civil will on camera. The leader of the St. Petersburg branch of the party, Andrei Dmitriev, told Life that four people took part in the action: one was chopping, the others were holding the ladder. He also stressed that this is not the first and not the last such action.

In four months, the board was doused with paint three times, once with acid, and they shot at it. Now they have chopped up with an ax We poured paint twice, the rest was done by unknown people, - commented Dmitriev. - They do not want to shoot, which means that this will continue in the future by all available means.

Public people - Natalya Poklonskaya and Eduard Limonov - spoke about the "Mannerheim conflict" on the air of Life.

Natalia Poklonskaya, a former cult prosecutor of Crimea and a newly minted State Duma deputy, said in an interview with Life that, in her opinion, there should not be a "board of discord" in St. Petersburg. However, she would leave it to the residents of the city to solve this issue:

Let the people make the decision about Mannerheim's board. Public hearings. My opinion is that, rather, there should not be a plaque in St. Petersburg. This is a controversial issue, and it is necessary to solve it for the people who live there, historians, politicians, - said Natalya Poklonskaya.

Eduard Limonov spoke out in about the same vein, but much more sharply:

Mannerheim is a disgusting figure. Half of the victims who died in Leningrad from the cold are on his conscience. They held the front from the north, preventing people from getting food and food. I do not know what Russian influential idiot thought of putting this board. This is a slap in the face to all the blockade. Society is beating. Twice they poured paint, these are only ours. People opposed the board, but no one reacted. Now they are chopping with an ax. It is a great injustice that Mannerheim's board costs. This is a spit on the graves of all the blockade, the people who died there, - the writer said in an interview with Life.

Carl Gustav Mannerheim - personality in russian history very controversial. Born in Finland to a family of a baron and a countess, at the age of 13, he and his family were abandoned by their father. The ruined Mannerheim Sr. decided to "start life from scratch" in Paris. A year later, Gustav's mother died, and the future marshal went to Russia to build a military career.

Mannerheim devoted more than 30 years to the army of the Russian Empire, starting as a cornet and ending as a lieutenant general. Gustav Karlovich was a member of the Imperial Trotting Society, at the beginning of his career he selected model horses for Serov's paintings and played novels with two Shuvalovs at once - the countess and the artist, which brought the lawful spouse to a frenzy (in 1901 the baroness could not stand it and left as a nurse to Dalny East).

A tired wife left Mannerheim in 1904 - the baroness went with her daughters and documents to the estate in Paris, and left only his gambling debts to her husband. In the same year, Gustav Karlovich celebrated the New Year at a ball with Emperor Nicholas II.

After the declaration of the Russo-Japanese War, Mannerheim decided to go to the front - however, not immediately, but only nine months after its start. Countess Shuvalova, after such news, also went to Vladivostok as a nurse.

During the years of service in the Russian army, Mannerheim received all the state military awards that existed at that time (until 1918). Moreover, at the end of his life, the baron turned out to be a man who received awards from both warring parties following the results of two world wars. In total, there were 123 different orders on the ceremonial uniform of the Marshal of Finland.

However, the 1917 revolution turned the lieutenant general away from Russia. Remaining a monarchist to the bone, after the victory of the Bolsheviks, Mannerheim left for Finland, which Vladimir Ilyich had just granted independence by that time.

In Finland, the military career of the Baron did not immediately, but nevertheless went uphill. In 1931 he became president of the Finnish State Defense Committee, and in 1933 he was promoted to field marshal.

The Russian-Finnish War of 1939-1940, Field Marshal Mannerheim met with the rank of Supreme Commander. It was he who led the troops of Finland, who fought the Red Army.

Detailed debriefing after the first court hearing on dismantling the board to Mannerheim. Why are there historical inaccuracies on the board from the RVIO again and why is there no Order of the German Eagle with the Great Golden Cross on Mannerheim's chest, handed personally by Hitler?
Note. What did the officials of the Government of St. Petersburg do during working hours at the opening ceremony of the memorial plaque, if the Government did not seem to be aware of its installation and did not issue any documents for it? And one more question. Who pays for the security of the board by private security companies? Is the Minister of Culture himself out of his own pocket or Mannerheim's relatives?

Original taken from colonelcassad c Because we have freedom of movement

Historian Igor Pykhalov on the first court session on the board to Mannerheim.

Mannerheim's board: next hearing will take place on September 27

A session of the Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg has just taken place at the suit of the citizen P.A. Kuznetsov to the city government, I was there as a spectator.
Kuznetsov demands to recognize the actions (or inaction) of Smolny in connection with the appearance of the board to Mannerheim as a violation of the law, as well as to remove the board from the facade of the military academy on Zakharyevskaya Street, 22.
At the beginning of the meeting, a representative of the committee on culture (which was involved as an interested person at the last meeting) asked to postpone the meeting until the special commission created by this committee on the Mannerheim board, which should work until October 6, finishes its work. The court refused.

The representative of the city government expressed the following arguments: no decision to install the board to Mannerheim was taken by the government of St. Petersburg, therefore, there is nothing illegal in the government's actions. And the fact that some members of the St. Petersburg government were present at the installation of the board, they could have done it as private individuals, "because we have freedom of movement."

The position of the judge: the plaintiff must determine who exactly violated his legal rights, then the court can cancel the corresponding illegal decision. From a formal point of view, it seems to be correct, but since none of the power structures is recognized as "authorship", it turns out that there is no one to ask from. As the saying goes, "no, and no trial." As for the dismantling of the board, as it turned out in the court session , the responsibility for dismantling the plaques is assigned to the Committee for Culture. Now the plaintiff must correct the statement of claim, and it will be considered at the next court session, which will be held on September 27 at 11 o'clock.

PS. Milonov is clearly fighting the wrong homosexuals. Here they are, "free to move", without any gay pride parades.

Plus the article "Passion for Mannerheim" from the editor of the magazine "Spetsnaz of Russia" Filatov on the topic.

Passion for Mannerheim.

Marshal Mannerheim was out of luck. And no luck twice. The first time was during the Great Patriotic War, when his soldiers, the allies of the Nazis, did not enter the besieged Leningrad. The second time is in our time, when a memorial plaque filled with paint, erected in a hurry in St. Petersburg, is inevitably dismantled.

A FLAKE OF DISTRIBUTION

Location: the building of the Military Engineering and Technical University (Zakharyevskaya Street, 22), where the Church of Saints and Righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth was located before the revolution. On the same territory were located the barracks and the arena of the Cavalry Regiment, in which Mannerheim served. In general, the situation with the installation of a memorial plaque to Karl Mannerheim was initially scandalous. And what happened is in many ways typical and at the same time atypical for today's Russia. Why typical?

Because officials, former "servants of the people," are not used to listening to people's opinions. They do what they think is necessary, important and necessary. And therefore, life is already making its own adjustments.
In the case of Mannerheim, as in a magnifying glass, this feature was reflected.It would seem that it was our Northern capital that experienced all the horrors of war and blockade, sacrificing up to one and a half million people. As the American political philosopher Michael Walzer notes, "more civilians died in the siege of Leningrad than in the hells of Hamburg, Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined."

Fuehrer of the German Nation Adolf Hitler and General Karl Mannerheim (1867-1951)

The blockade was carried out by German, Finnish and Spanish troops with the participation of volunteers from North Africa. At the same time, in the occupied part of Karelia, the "hot Finnish guys" left such an unkind "glory" about themselves that representatives of the older generation, who survived that hard time, still recall that time with shudder.

“I was in Finnish camps for Soviet prisoners of war from November 4, 1941 to September 5, 1942,” recalled Ivan Ivanovich Kotov, a native of the village of Plakhtino. - During this time, I visited the Petrozavodsk and Tomitsk POW camps. The living conditions of the Soviet people in these camps are unbearable. The prisoners of war were kept in terrible unsanitary conditions. They almost did not take us to the bathhouse, they did not change our linen. We slept for 10 people in a room with an area of \u200b\u200b8 square meters. As a result of these terrible living conditions, the prisoners of war had a lot of lice. Prisoners of war were given 150 grams of poor-quality bread per day. The food was such that the prisoners of war had to catch frogs in the summer secretly from the administration of the camps and thus maintain their lives. People ate grass and garbage from cesspools. However, prisoners of war were severely punished for breaking grass, catching frogs and collecting garbage from cesspools. Everyone was expelled to work - both the wounded and sick prisoners of war. Slave labor was introduced in the camps. In winter, the prisoners of war were harnessed to a sledge and carried firewood on them. And when the exhausted people could not pull the cart, the Finnish soldiers mercilessly beat them with sticks and kicked them. I had to experience all this personally in the Petrozavodsk camp, when I worked loading firewood into the wagons.
The Finns also carried water and other weights to prisoners of war. We worked 18 hours a day every day. The prisoners of war in these camps had no rights; whoever wanted from the Finns beat them. Innocent people were shot in the camps without any trial or investigation. Alive, but exhausted, they threw out into the snow.

Naturally, the installation of the board to Mannerheim caused a storm of indignation. And not only among war and labor veterans. People of different generations rightly wrote and said (especially on social networks) that this is blasphemy and an insult to the memory of the victims. Dead and alive. Everyone.

THE CZAR GENERAL AND THE FINNISH PATRIOT

It would seem ... However, Mr. Medinsky, the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation and the chairman of the Military-Historical Society, had his reasons. He stated that "one should not try to be a greater patriot and communist than Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, who personally defended Mannerheim." Mr. Medinsky was referring to the story in which Joseph Stalin, with the words "Do not touch," crossed out Mannerheim's name from the list of Finnish war criminals drawn up in 1945 by a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Finland and MP Herte Kuusinen. “I want to remind those who are now shouting and opposing, I want to remind you: you don't have to be holier than the Pope and you don't have to try to be a greater patriot and communist than Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. He personally defended Mannerheim, ensuring his election and preservation of the post of President of Finland, and managed to treat the defeated, but worthy enemy with respect, ”Mr. Medinsky said bluntly.
Yes, Stalin was a pragmatist and statesman. And in this case he did absolutely right: he made yesterday's enemy, Finland, a peace-loving neighbor for the entire subsequent period of the USSR's existence.
But, excuse me, what does this have to do with the memorial plaque? An attempt to call Stalin to defend his position does not stand up to criticism.

On the street of St. Petersburg. 2013 photo

NB! If anyone does not know, the bus with Mannerheim was actively promoted by the separatist group Ingria, which advocates the rejection of Ingermanland from the Russian Federation.

Next point: Mannerheim as a “Russian general”.

Actually, there are no questions to Mannerheim - an honored general, a fighting, honest campaigner. He was wounded twice during the Russo-Japanese War and received high state awards. In 1906-1908 he made a horse trip to China and made a lot of valuable military observations. Then he returned to St. Petersburg and continued his service. He went through the entire First World War and took part in the famous Brusilov Breakthrough.
However, during the collapse of the Russian Empire, Mannerheim made a natural choice for himself: he became a Finnish patriot. And for this no one will blame him. As a Finnish patriot, he sided with Hitler against the USSR.
As a Finnish patriot, Mannerheim brought Finland out of the war in 1944. Upon learning of the protest expressed by the German envoy, he answered harshly: “... He (Hitler) at one time convinced us that with German help we would defeat Russia. That did not happen. Now Russia is strong and Finland is very weak. So let him now take care of the brewed porridge ... "
And again, as the Finnish patriot Mannerheim, who became president, in the fall of 1944 he signed a peace agreement between Finland and the USSR.
Only this is by no means a reason to perpetuate the memory of the one who had a hand in this tragedy in a city that has survived a terrible blockade ...

And further. The assertion that Mannerheim, they say, did not move forward and did not shell the city with heavy weapons because of "nostalgia" for St. Petersburg is generally from the realm of myths and unscientific fiction.
The Red Army - that's who prevented him from moving forward! She and she alone. And, of course, the indomitable courage of the inhabitants of besieged Leningrad.

Soon after the grand opening, Mannerheim's board was covered with red paint

In addition, Mannerheim was an excellent strategist and military politician. He understood that Hitler's blitzkrieg had failed and that active participation in the blockade of Leningrad would cost Suomi dearly if Germany did not win the war.
In addition to the ideological and moral-ethical aspects of the "passion for Mannerheim" there are factual inaccuracies. The board indicates the period in which the "lieutenant general of the Russian army Karl Gustav Mannerheim" served, namely "from 1887 to 1918."
But what, to the devil, 1918? .. In February 1917, a conspiracy won out in Petrograd, a coup d'etat took place, which was presented as a revolution.
In the fall, Russia was proclaimed a republic.

In October of the same seventeenth year, the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries took power, overthrowing the Provisional Government of Alexander Kerensky, made up of liberals, moderate socialists and social democrats.
In January 1918, they, the Bolsheviks and the Left Social Revolutionaries, dispersed the Constituent Assembly, which had been elected during a popular vote in the fall of 1917.
The question is: how could Mannerheim, who returned to his native Finland, have continued to be, as the authors of the memorial plaque assure us, a “general of the Russian army” all this troubled and turbulent time?

One more point.

Customers made inaccuracies in the reproduction of orders. It is clear that the choice of orders precisely during Mannerheim's service in the Russian Empire was due to the reluctance to display the awards of Nazi Germany, in particular, the Order of the German Eagle with a large golden cross presented to Mannerheim by Hitler personally. A trifle ... But knowledgeable people paid attention to it.
As emphasized, the act of opening the board should be seen as an attempt to overcome the split in Russian society, but everything turned out exactly the opposite. And even on the eve of the elections to the State Duma! It was difficult to find a better excuse to stir up Petersburgers and Leningraders. It is not surprising that the board was immediately covered with red paint - so thoroughly that it had to be covered with cloth and resorted to restoration.

On September 1, 2016, the administration of the Central District of St. Petersburg confirmed the illegality of the installation of the memorial plaque ... Exactly so!

“Now, in addition to the letter to the district administration, there is a parallel story with the court. A resident of St. Petersburg filed a lawsuit against the city government in connection with the installation of the plaque, and the first meeting has already passed ... Of course, the authorities in the matter of dismantling the plaque to Mannerheim will be guided by the court's decision, ”said the source of one of the news agencies.

That is, it turns out that when installing the board, the organizers of this action contrived to break everything that could only be broken: both the law and historical facts, as well as ideological and moral-ethical "moments" associated with the Great Patriotic War and the memory of the dead, military and civilians. Everyone!

How could this possibly have happened? The question, of course, is rhetorical ...
At the very beginning, I wrote that this story is typical for today's Russia. And at the same time - atypical.
Why?

Because before our eyes, the "quantity" of public indignation turns into "quality" - and the plaque to the former tsarist general and Finnish patriot Karl Mannerheim will be dismantled. I have no doubt about that.
And let the "passions for Mannerheim" serve as a good lesson for those officials who are used to not giving the opinion of people a dime in pursuit of their administrative, commercial or other interests. Life will still put everything in its place. Some will enter it as creators, others - as complex, contradictory figures, but, ultimately, taking the right path and deserving the respect of people, and still others ... as the authors of the board for Mannerheim. Doused with paint. Dismantled.

Filatov Alexey Alekseevich, was born in Moscow.

Vice President of the International Association of Veterans of the Alpha Anti-Terror Unit. Head of the Economic Council of the Veteran Community of Group A of the KGB-FSB.
Graduated from the Oryol Military Command School of Communications named after M.I.Kalinin, Russian state Academy physical culture and sports, postgraduate studies at the FSB Academy.
Chief editor of the newspaper Spetsnaz of Russia. Chief editor of the website Alphagroup.ru. President of the group of companies "Alfa-Pravo-Consulting".
PhD in Psychology.

Plus material on the security of the board.

How is Mannerheim's board guarded?

It is from behind this door, which is located opposite the house with the Mannerheim board, that the board is being guided.

These characters are in charge. Under the red arrow, the commander (let's call him RED), under the blue arrow, the junior commander (let's call him BLUE), under the green arrow, the assistant to the junior commander (let's call him GREEN)
Red from behind the doors rarely appears, commands from the premises. Blue and Green are in command of the Chopovtsy in the field and (which surprised me a lot) give orders to the police.

Actually, they are guarded around the clock by private security officers in two cars, replacing each other. There are two people in each car.
These here are disguised, stuck a famous sticker

This is the second car.

In the event of an emergency situation at the board of PSCs (let's call them yellow), they run out of the car and call Blue and Green

Here is another yellow one, seeing that a man approached a single picket, immediately got out of the car.
Yellow if single opponents of the board are standing, behave like a greyhound.

If several opponents of the yellow board gather, summon Blue and Green. Blue and Green, assessing the situation, command yellow where to stand and what to do

Blue and green personally wring the hands of opponents of the board and hand them over to the police

Blue and Green have full contact with the police.

How everything works in this video, the yellow ones identify the danger, report the Blue one with the Green one
wringing his hands and handing over to the police. Tellingly, listen at 7 seconds. Blue commands the police officer "Take"