Russian Liberation Army - ROA. Start

In early September 2009, the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, at its meetings, touched upon the disputes regarding the published book of the church historian, Archpriest Georgy Mitrofanov “The Tragedy of Russia. "Forbidden" themes of the history of the XX century.

In particular, it was noted that:

“The tragedy of those who are commonly called “Vlasovites” ... is truly great. In any case, it should be comprehended with all possible impartiality and objectivity. Outside of such an understanding, historical science turns into political journalism. We ... should avoid "black and white" interpretation of historical events. In particular, the naming of the acts of General A.A. Vlasov - a betrayal, is, in our opinion, a frivolous simplification of the events of that time. In this sense, we fully support Father Georgy Mitrofanov's attempt to approach this issue (or rather, a whole series of issues) with a measure adequate to the complexity of the problem. In the Russian Diaspora, of which the surviving members of the ROA became part, General A.A. Vlasov was and remains a kind of symbol of resistance to godless Bolshevism in the name of the revival of Historical Russia. ... Everything that was undertaken by them was done specifically for the Fatherland, in the hope that the defeat of Bolshevism would lead to the restoration of a powerful national Russia. Germany was considered by the "Vlasovites" exclusively as an ally in the fight against Bolshevism, but they, the "Vlasovites" were ready, if necessary, to resist by armed force any kind of colonization or dismemberment of our Motherland. We hope that in the future Russian historians will treat the events of that time with greater fairness and impartiality than is the case today.”

So, a very authoritative part of the Russian Orthodox Church is ready to forgive A. Vlasov both cooperation with the Nazis and direct participation in hostilities against the Red Army in the name of the fact that this was done in order to destroy "godless Bolshevism." Let's try to impartially figure out how to interpret the actions of Lieutenant General of the Red Army Andrei Vlasov, and later the commander of the ROA.

Born on September 14, 1901 in the village of Lomakino, now the Gaginsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region, in a peasant family. Russian.

In the Red Army since 1920. After graduating from the commander's course, he participated in battles with the White Guards on the Southern Front. Since 1922, Vlasov held command and staff positions, and also taught. In 1929 he graduated from the Higher Army Command Courses. In 1930 he joined the CPSU (b). In 1935 he became a student of the Military Academy named after M.V. Frunze. From August 1937, he was commander of the 133rd Infantry Regiment of the 72nd Infantry Division, and from April 1938, assistant commander of this division. In the autumn of 1938 he was sent to China to work as part of a group of military advisers. From May to November 1939, he served as chief military adviser. Awarded the Order of the Golden Dragon.

In January 1940, Major General Vlasov was appointed commander of the 99th Infantry Division, which in October of the same year was recognized as the best division in the district. For this, A. Vlasov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In January 1941, Vlasov was appointed commander of the 4th Mechanized Corps of the Kyiv Special Military District, and a month later he was awarded the Order of Lenin.

That is, it can be stated that Andrei Andreyevich made a brilliant military career precisely at the time when the Stalinist regime destroyed the command staff of the Red Army in tens of thousands. The "best friend of all the military" did not doubt Vlasov's loyalty and devotion.

The war for Vlasov began near Lvov, where he served as commander of the 4th mechanized corps. For skillful actions, he received gratitude and, on the recommendation of N.S. Khrushchev was appointed commander of the 37th Army, which defended Kyiv. After fierce battles, scattered formations of this army managed to break through to the east, and Vlasov himself was wounded and ended up in the hospital.

In November 1941, Stalin summoned Vlasov and ordered him to form the 20th Army, which was part of the Western Front and defended the capital. On December 5, near the village of Krasnaya Polyana (located 27 km from the Moscow Kremlin), the Soviet 20th Army under the command of General Vlasov stopped parts of the German 4th Panzer Army, making a significant contribution to the victory near Moscow. Overcoming the stubborn resistance of the enemy, the 20th Army drove the Germans out of Solnechnogorsk and Volokolamsk. On January 24, 1942, for the battles on the Lama River, he received the rank of lieutenant general and was awarded the second Order of the Red Banner.

G.K. Zhukov assessed Vlasov’s actions as follows: “Personally, Lieutenant General Vlasov is well prepared operationally, he has organizational skills. He copes with the management of the troops quite well. After the successes near Moscow, A. A. Vlasov, along with other generals of the Red Army, is called the "saviors of the capital." On the instructions of the Main Political Directorate about Vlasov, a book is being written called "Stalin's commander."

On January 7, the Luban operation began. The troops of the 2nd Shock Army of the Volkhov Front, created to disrupt the German offensive on Leningrad and the subsequent counterattack, successfully broke through the enemy defenses in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe settlement of Myasnoy Bor (on the left bank of the Volkhov River) and deeply wedged into its location (in the direction of Lyuban). But having no strength for a further offensive, the army found itself in a difficult position. The enemy cut her communications several times, creating a threat of encirclement.

On March 8, 1942, Lieutenant General A. Vlasov was appointed deputy commander of the Volkhov Front. On March 20, 1942, the commander of the Volkhov Front, K.A. Meretskov sent his deputy A. Vlasov at the head of a special commission to the 2nd shock army (Lieutenant General N.K. Klykov). “For three days the members of the commission talked with commanders of all ranks, with political workers, with fighters,” and on April 8, 1942, having drawn up an inspection report, the commission departed, but without General A. Vlasov. The dismissed (“seriously ill”) General Klykov was sent to the rear by plane on April 16.

The question naturally arose, to whom to entrust the leadership of the troops of the 2nd shock army? On the same day, a telephone conversation took place between A. Vlasov and divisional commissar I.V. Zueva with Meretskov. Zuev proposed to appoint Vlasov to the post of commander, and Vlasov - the chief of staff of the army, Colonel P.S. Vinogradov. The Military Council of the [Volkhov] Front supported Zuev's idea. So, from April 20, 1942, Vlasov became commander of the 2nd shock army, while remaining deputy commander of the [Volkhov] front. He received troops that were practically no longer able to fight, he received an army that had to be saved. During May-June, the 2nd shock army under the command of A. Vlasov made desperate attempts to break out of the bag.

"TO THE MILITARY COUNCIL OF THE VOLKHOV FRONT. I report: the troops of the army have been conducting tense fierce battles with the enemy for three weeks ... The personnel of the troops are exhausted to the limit, the number of deaths is increasing and the incidence of exhaustion is increasing every day. As a result of the cross-fire of the army area, the troops suffer heavy losses from artillery mortar fire and enemy aircraft ... The combat strength of the formations has sharply decreased. It is no longer possible to replenish it at the expense of rears and special units. Everything that was taken. On June 16, battalions, brigades, and rifle regiments had, on average, only a few dozen men left. All attempts by the eastern group of the army to break through the passage in the corridor from the west were unsuccessful. Army troops receive fifty grams of crackers for three weeks. The last days there was absolutely no food. We eat the last horses. People are extremely exhausted. Group mortality from starvation is observed. There is no ammunition…”

On June 25, the enemy completely completed the encirclement of the army. The testimonies of various witnesses do not answer the question of where Lieutenant General A. Vlasov was hiding for the next three weeks - whether he wandered in the forest or whether there was some kind of reserve command post to which his group made its way. On July 11, 1942, in the village of Old Believers Tukhovezhi, Vlasov was extradited by local residents (according to another version, he surrendered himself) to a patrol of the 28th Infantry Regiment of the 18th Wehrmacht Army.

While in the Vinnitsa military camp for captured senior officers, Vlasov agreed to cooperate with the Nazis and headed the "Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia" (KONR) and the "Russian Liberation Army" (ROA), made up of captured Soviet soldiers.

Vlasov wrote an open letter "Why did I take the path of fighting Bolshevism." In addition, he signed leaflets calling for the overthrow of the Stalinist regime, which were subsequently scattered by the Nazi army from aircraft at the fronts, and also distributed among prisoners of war.

Russian Liberation Army, ROA - military units formed by the German headquarters of the SS Troops during World War II from Russian collaborators. The army was formed mainly from Soviet prisoners of war, as well as from among Russian emigrants. Unofficially, its members were called "Vlasovites", after their leader, Lieutenant General Andrei Vlasov.

The ROA was formed mainly from Soviet prisoners of war who fell into German captivity, mainly at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, during the retreat of the Red Army. The creators of the ROA was declared as a military formation created to "liberate Russia from communism" (December 27, 1942). Lieutenant General Andrei Vlasov, who was captured in 1942, together with General Boyarsky, proposed in a letter to the German command to organize a ROA. General Fyodor Trukhin was appointed chief of staff, General Vladimir Boyarsky was appointed his deputy, and Colonel Andrey Neryanin was appointed head of the operational department of the headquarters. The leaders of the ROA also included generals Vasily Malyshkin, Dmitry Zakutny, Ivan Blagoveshchensky, and former brigade commissar Georgy Zhilenkov. The rank of General of the ROA had a former major of the Red Army and Colonel of the Wehrmacht Ivan Kononov.

Among the leadership of the ROA were the generals of the white army V.I. Angeleev, V.F. Belogortsev, S.K. Borodin, colonels K.G. Kromiadi, N. A. Shokoli, lieutenant colonel A. D. Arkhipov, as well as M. V. Tomashevsky, Yu. K. Meyer, V. Melnikov, Skarzhinsky, Golub and others, as well as Colonel I. K. Sakharov (formerly lieutenant of the Spanish army, General F. Franco). Support was also provided by: Generals A.P. Arkhangelsky, A.A. von Lampe, A.M. Dragomirov, P.N. Krasnov, N.N. Golovin, F.F. Abramov, E.I. Balabin, I.A. Polyakov, V.V. Kreiter, Donskoy and Kuban chieftains generals G.V. Tatarkin and V.G. Naumenko. The army was financed entirely by the German state bank.

However, there was antagonism between former Soviet prisoners of war and white emigrants, and the latter were gradually forced out of the leadership of the ROA. Most of them served in other Russian volunteer formations not connected with the ROA (only a few days before the end of the war formally attached to the ROA) - the Russian Corps, the brigade of General A.V. Turkula in Austria, the 1st Russian National Army, the Varyag regiment of Colonel M.A. Semenov, a separate regiment of Colonel Krzhizhanovsky, as well as in Cossack formations (15th Cossack Cavalry Corps and Cossack camp).

On January 28, 1945, the ROA received the status of the German armed forces. On May 12, 1945, an order was signed to dissolve the ROA. After the victory of the allies and the occupation of Germany, most of the members of the ROA were handed over to the Soviet authorities. Some were shot on the spot by the NKVD, together with the soldiers of the United States and Great Britain, and some were sent for many years to the Gulags of the USSR. Some of the "Vlasovites" managed to get asylum in Western countries, as well as in Australia, Canada and Argentina.

At the end of April 1945, A. Vlasov had the armed forces under his command in the following composition:

• 1st Division Major General S.K. Bunyachenko (22,000 people)
• 2nd Division Major General G.A. Zverev (13,000 people)
• 3rd Division Major General M.M. Shapovalova (not armed, there was only a headquarters and 10,000 volunteers)
• reserve brigade of lieutenant colonel (later colonel) S.T. Koydy (7,000 men) is the only commander of a large unit not extradited by the US occupation authorities to the Soviet side.
• Air Force General V.I. Maltsev (5000 people)
• VET division
• officer school of General M.A. Meandrov.
• accessory parts,
• Russian Corps Major General B.A. Shteifon (4500 people). General Steifon died suddenly on 30 April. The corps that surrendered to the Soviet troops was led by Colonel Rogozhkin.
• Cossack Stan Major General T.I. Domanova (8000 people)
• group of Major General A.V. Turkula (5200 people)
• 15th Cossack cavalry corps of Lieutenant General H. von Pannwitz (more than 40,000 people)
• Cossack reserve regiment of General A.G. Shkuro (more than 10,000 people)
• several small formations numbering less than 1000 people;

In general, these formations numbered 124 thousand people. These parts were scattered at a considerable distance from each other, which became one of the main factors in their tragic fate. However, in fact, all the ROA servicemen who, at the time of Germany's surrender, were outside the zone occupied by Soviet troops, were extradited by the Western occupation authorities to the Soviet side. And it was legally justified. According to international law, persons who previously had Soviet citizenship and, due to various circumstances, took the path of serving the Nazis, took an oath of allegiance to the Motherland and betrayed it, were considered collaborators and traitors subject to extradition.

Separate parts of the Vlasovites were used by the Germans for security service and punitive operations, in particular, the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising, where they were distinguished by cruelty and looting.

The Vlasovites entered the battle against units of the Red Army for the first time on February 8, 1945. On that day, the anti-tank detachment of Colonel I.K. Sakharova achieved partial success in an attack near the town of Nei-Levin on a position occupied by units of the 990th regiment of the 230th Stalinist rifle division. On April 13, two Vlasov infantry regiments attacked the bridgehead held by the forces of the 415th separate machine gun and artillery battalion from the 119th fortified area of ​​the 33rd Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. During the first attack, the Vlasovites occupied the first line of trenches, having achieved success where the Germans could not achieve it for two months. But then, during the battle, the division commander, Major General S.K. Bunyachenko refused to continue unpromising attacks due to the strong artillery cover of the bridgehead from the eastern bank of the Oder. He carefully led the regiments out of the battle, and the fighting qualities of the Vlasovites were mentioned in a positive context in the report of the High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW) dated April 14, 1945.

Among the Vlasov military leaders were regular commanders of the Red Army (5 major generals, 2 brigade commanders, 29 colonels, 16 lieutenant colonels, 41 majors), who had excellent attestations while serving in the Red Army, and even three Heroes of the Soviet Union (pilots Antilevsky, Bychkov and Tennikov ). A number of commanders of the Red Army, having spent from a year to three years in German camps, joined Vlasov after the publication of the Prague Manifesto and the creation of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (KONR), when no one doubted the outcome of the war. Among them are colonels A.F. Vanyushin, A.A. Funtikov, lieutenant colonels I.F. Rudenko and A.P. Skugarevsky and others. In April 1945, under the legal command of A.A. Vlasov, there were more than 120 thousand people, however, who did not have time to complete the reorganization. The Vlasov army, which arose between November 1944 and April 1945, was armed with 44 aircraft, about 25 tanks and armored vehicles, more than 570 mortars, 230 guns, 2 thousand machine guns, etc.

In early May 1945, a conflict arose between Vlasov and Bunyachenko - Bunyachenko intended to support the Prague uprising, and Vlasov persuaded him not to do this and stay on the side of the Germans. At the negotiations in the North Bohemian Kozoedy, they did not agree and their paths diverged.

In an open letter from A. Vlasov dated March 3, 1943, “Why I took the path of fighting Bolshevism,” he, in particular, wrote:

“I have come to the firm conviction that the tasks facing the Russian people can be resolved in alliance and cooperation with the German people. The interests of the Russian people have always been combined with the interests of the German people, with the interests of all the peoples of Europe.

The highest achievements of the Russian people are inextricably linked with those periods of its history when it linked its fate with the fate of Europe, when it built its culture, its economy, its way of life in close unity with the peoples of Europe. Bolshevism fenced off the Russian people with an impenetrable wall from Europe. He sought to isolate our Motherland from the advanced European countries. In the name of ideas utopian and alien to the Russian people, he prepared for war, opposing himself to the peoples of Europe.

In alliance with the German people, the Russian people must destroy this wall of hatred and mistrust. In alliance and cooperation with Germany, he must build a new happy Motherland within the framework of a family of equal and free peoples of Europe.

With these thoughts, with this decision in the last battle, along with a handful of friends loyal to me, I was taken prisoner.

I was in captivity for over six months. In the conditions of the prisoner-of-war camp, behind its bars, I not only did not change my mind, but strengthened my convictions.

On an honest basis, on the basis of sincere conviction, with full consciousness of responsibility to the Motherland, people and history for the actions taken, I call on the people to fight, setting myself the task of building a New Russia.

How do I imagine New Russia? I will talk about this in due time.

History does not turn back. I do not call the people to return to the past. No! I call him to a brighter future, to the struggle for the completion of the National Revolution, to the struggle for the creation of New Russia - the Motherland of our great people. I call him to the path of brotherhood and unity with the peoples of Europe and, above all, to the path of cooperation and eternal friendship with the Great German people.

My call met with deep sympathy not only among the broadest sections of the prisoners of war, but also among the broad masses of the Russian people in areas where Bolshevism still reigns. This sympathetic response of the Russian people, who expressed their readiness to breastfeed under the banner of the Russian Liberation Army, gives me the right to say that I am on the right path, that the cause for which I am fighting is a just cause, the cause of the Russian people. In this struggle for our future, I openly and honestly take the path of an alliance with Germany.

So, the combat general of the Red Army, who personally saw the atrocities of the Nazis on Soviet soil, called on the Russians to "alliance with Germany." At a time when the furnaces of German concentration camps were heated with might and main by the bodies of his former fellow citizens, A. Vlasov, together with the German special services, developed "cunning" plans for recognizing the ROA as a "belligerent" with neutrality towards the USA and England. Of course, a drowning man clutches at straws, but it is hard to imagine a more insane combination generated by the hopelessness of Hitler's fascism and his henchmen.

On May 12, 1945, A. Vlasov was captured by servicemen of the 25th tank corps of the 13th army of the 1st Ukrainian front near the city of Pilsen in Czechoslovakia while trying to escape to the western zone of occupation. The tankers of the corps pursued Vlasov's car at the direction of the Vlasov captain, who informed them that his commander was in this car. Vlasov was taken to the headquarters of Marshal Konev, from there to Moscow.

At first, the leadership of the USSR planned to hold a public trial of Vlasov and other leaders of the ROA in the October Hall of the House of the Unions, however, due to the fact that some of the accused could express views during the process that “objectively could coincide with the mood of a certain part of the population dissatisfied with the Soviet government”, it was It was decided to make the process closed. The decision on the death sentence against Vlasov and others was taken by the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on July 23, 1946. On July 30-31, 1946, a closed trial took place in the case of Vlasov and a group of his followers. All of them were found guilty of high treason. By the verdict of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR, they were stripped of their military ranks and hanged on August 1, 1946, and their property was confiscated.

The time has come to return to the beginning of our study and compare Hauptmann Shukhevych and Lieutenant General Vlasov, UPA and ROA. We have already noted that both Shukhevych and most of the UPA fighters were not citizens of the USSR before the war. That is, by definition, they could not change him. Raised on the radical ideology of the OUN, they fought for the Ukraine that corresponded to their ideals. Yes, they collaborated with the Nazis, but who in those days did not dream of an alliance with the invincible Fuhrer? The Germans did not appreciate the opportunities that opened up before them in the event of a formal restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty. But the hopes of the OUN members were quite justified. Another thing is that Hitler would then not be Hitler, but the greatest political strategist. Until the autumn of 1944, the OUN were used by the Abwehr as an auxiliary force in the occupied territory. However, after the liberation of Ukraine, for many years they waged a guerrilla war against the Soviet regime, defending their ideals with all the methods available to them. It was a full-scale civil war with heavy losses on both sides. Thousands of Galicians died under the heavy boot of "Uncle Joe", but stopped the fight only after the complete depletion of the sources of replenishment and weapons. As in every civil war, there was no right or wrong. Each side fought for its own vision of Ukraine. Therefore, neither the UPA fighters, nor their commander-in-chief cannot fail to inspire a certain respect. As for their status as a “belligerent”, then this should be recognized for them precisely in a civil war.

The Stalinist commander Andrei Vlasov and his associates, on the contrary, were citizens of the USSR, took the oath of allegiance to the Motherland, being in the ranks of the Red Army. Therefore, they are clearly traitors and collaborators. If R. Shukhevych was devoted to the ideals of the OUN all his conscious life, then A. Vlasov, having joined the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks at the age of 29, after the captivity suddenly “saw the light” and desired to fight against “godless Bolshevism”. And on the side of the bloody Hitler, guilty of the deaths of tens of millions of Russians. Therefore, it makes no sense to compare the ideological "credo" of the OUN and Vlasovites: the former had it, while the latter did not. It is significant that if the OUN members fought underground for a long time against Bolshevism, then the Vlasovites immediately after the defeat of Germany surrendered and did not even think about fighting for the “new Russia”.

Concluding our reflections, let us return to “godless Bolshevism” for the declarative, basically, struggle against which the fathers of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad call for the rehabilitation of A. Vlasov. So, before the war, L. Trotsky noted that the most ardent anti-Bolshevik is I. Stalin, who destroyed more communists than Hitler and Mussolini combined. According to the logic of church hierarchs, and the mustachioed "father of all peoples" should be forgiven?

Now it is no secret to anyone that the war of 1941-1945 had elements of the Second Civil War, since about 2 million people, 1.2 million citizens of the USSR and 0.8 million white emigrants fought against Bolshevism, which illegally seized power in 1917. There were only 40 divisions in the SS, 10 of which were staffed from citizens of the Russian Empire (14th Ukrainian, 15th and 19th Latvian, 20th Estonian, 29th Russian, 30th Belorussian, two Cossack divisions of the SS , North Caucasian, SS brigades Varyag, Desna, Nakhtigal, Druzhina, etc. There was also the RNA of General Smyslovsky, the Russian Corps of General Skorodumov, Cossack Stan Domanov, the ROA of General Vlasov, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the Eastern divisions of the Wehrmacht, police, Khiva There were many of our compatriots directly in the German units, and not just in the national formations.

Today I would like to talk about ROA ( Russian Liberation Army) General Vlasov.

P.S. The article does not justify ROA and does not blame anything. The article was solely made for historical reference. Everyone decides for himself who they were heroes or traitors, but this is part of our history and I think everyone has the right to know about this history.

Russian Liberation Army , ROA - military units that fought on the side of Adolf Hitler against the USSR, formed by the German headquarters of the SS Troops during the Great Patriotic War from Russian collaborators.

The army was formed mainly from Soviet prisoners of war, as well as from among Russian emigrants. Unofficially, its members were called "Vlasovites", after their leader, Lieutenant General Andrei Vlasov.

Story:The ROA was formed mainly from Soviet prisoners of war who fell into German captivity, mainly at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, during the retreat of the Red Army. The creators of the ROA was declared as a military formation created for " liberation of Russia from communism "(December 27, 1942). Lieutenant General Andrei Vlasov, who was captured in 1942, together with General Boyarsky, proposed in a letter to the German command to organize a ROA. General Fyodor Trukhin was appointed chief of staff, General Vladimir Baersky (Boyarsky) was appointed his deputy, and Colonel Andrei Neryanin was appointed head of the operational department of the headquarters. The leaders of the ROA also included generals Vasily Malyshkin, Dmitry Zakutny, Ivan Blagoveshchensky, and former brigade commissar Georgy Zhilenkov. The rank of general of the ROA was held by a former major of the Red Army and Wehrmacht colonel Ivan Kononov. Some priests from the Russian emigration served in the field churches of the ROA, including priests Alexander Kiselev and Dmitry Konstantinov.

Among the leadership of the ROA were former generals of the civil war in Russia from the White Movement: V. I. Angeleev, V. F. Belogortsev, S. K. Borodin, Colonels K. G. Kromiadi, N. A. Shokoli, Lieutenant Colonel A. D. Arkhipov, as well as M. V. Tomashevsky, Yu. K. Meyer, V. Melnikov, Skarzhinsky, Golub and others, as well as Colonel I. K. Sakharov (formerly a lieutenant of the Spanish army, General F. Franco). Support was also provided by: Generals A. P. Arkhangelsky, A. A. von Lampe, A. M. Dragomirov, P. N. Krasnov, N. N. Golovin, F. F. Abramov, E. I. Balabin, I. A. Polyakov, V. V. Kreiter, Don and Kuban chieftains, Generals G. V. Tatarkin and V. G. Naumenko.

Captain V.K. Shtrik-Shtrikfeldt, who served in the German army, did a lot to create a collaborator of the ROA.

The army was financed entirely by the German state bank.

However, there was antagonism between former Soviet prisoners of war and white emigrants, and the latter were gradually forced out of the leadership of the ROA. Most of them served in other Russian volunteer formations not connected with the ROA (only a few days before the end of the war formally attached to the ROA) - the Russian Corps, the brigade of General A.V. Turkul in Austria, the 1st Russian National Army, the regiment " Varyag "by Colonel M. A. Semenov, a separate regiment of Colonel Krzhizhanovsky, as well as in Cossack formations (15th Cossack Cavalry Corps and Cossack camp).

On January 28, 1945, the ROA received the status of the armed forces of an allied power that remains neutral in relation to the United States and Great Britain. On May 12, 1945, an order was signed to dissolve the ROA.

After the victory of the USSR and the occupation of Germany, most of the members of the ROA were transferred to the Soviet authorities. Some of the "Vlasovites" managed to escape and get asylum in Western countries and avoid punishment.

Compound:

At the end of April 1945, A. A. Vlasov had the armed forces under his command in the following composition:
1st Division Major General S. K. Bunyachenko (22,000 people)
2nd division of Major General G. A. Zverev (13,000 people)
3rd division of Major General M. M. Shapovalov (not armed, there was only a headquarters and 10,000 volunteers)
the reserve brigade of Lieutenant Colonel (later Colonel) S. T. Koida (7,000 people) is the only commander of a large unit not issued by the US occupation authorities to the Soviet side.
Air Force General V. I. Maltsev (5000 people)
VET division
officer school of General M. A. Meandrov.
accessory parts,
Russian Corps of Major General B. A. Shteifon (4500 people). General Steifon died suddenly on 30 April. The corps that surrendered to the Soviet troops was led by Colonel Rogozhkin.
Cossack camp of Major General T. I. Domanov (8000 people)
group of Major General A. V. Turkul (5200 people)
15th Cossack cavalry corps of Lieutenant General X. von Pannwitz (more than 40,000 people)
Cossack reserve regiment of General A. G. Shkuro (more than 10,000 people)
and several small formations numbering less than 1000 people;
security and punitive legions, battalions, companies; Russian liberation army of Vlasov; Shteifon's Russian security corps; 15th Cossack Corps von Pannwitz; separate military formations that were not part of the ROA; "volunteer helpers" - "hivi".

In general, these formations numbered 124 thousand people. These parts were scattered at a considerable distance from each other.

I, a faithful son of my Motherland, voluntarily joining the ranks of the Russian Liberation Army, solemnly swear: to fight honestly against the Bolsheviks, for the good of my Motherland. In this struggle against a common enemy, on the side of the German army and its allies, I swear to be faithful and unquestioningly obey the Leader and Commander-in-Chief of all liberation armies, Adolf Hitler. I am ready, in fulfillment of this oath, not to spare myself and my life.

I, as a faithful son of my Motherland, voluntarily joining the ranks of the fighters of the Armed Forces of the Peoples of Russia, in the face of my compatriots, I swear - for the good of my people, under the command of General Vlasov, to fight against Bolshevism to the last drop of blood. This struggle is waged by all freedom-loving peoples in alliance with Germany under the general command of Adolf Hitler. I swear to be true to this union. In fulfillment of this oath, I am ready to give my life.



Symbols and insignia:

As the flag of the ROA, the flag with the St. Andrew's Cross was used, as well as the Russian tricolor. The use of the Russian tricolor, in particular, was documented in the footage of the parade of the 1st Guards Brigade of the ROA in Pskov on June 22, 1943, in the photo chronicle of the formation of the Vlasovites in Münsingen, as well as other documents.

A completely new uniform and insignia of the ROA could be seen in 43-44 on the soldiers of the eastern battalions stationed in France. The uniform itself was sewn from grayish-blue fabric (stocks of captured French army cloth) and in terms of cut it was a compilation of a Russian tunic and a German uniform.

The epaulettes of soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers were of the model of the Russian tsarist army and were sewn from dark green matter with a red edging. The officers had one or two narrow red stripes along their epaulettes. The general's shoulder straps were also of the royal type, but the same green shoulder straps with a red piping were more common, and the general's "zig-zag" was depicted with a red stripe. The placement of insignia among non-commissioned officers roughly corresponded to the tsarist army. For officers and generals, the number and placement of stars (German-style) corresponded to the German principle:

In the figure, from left to right: 1 - soldier, 2 - corporal, 3 - non-commissioned officer, 4 - sergeant major, 5 - lieutenant (lieutenant), 6 - lieutenant (senior lieutenant), 7 - captain, 8 - major, 9 - lieutenant colonel , 10 - colonel, 11 - major general, 12 - lieutenant general, 13 - general. The last highest rank in the ROA Petlitsy was also provided for in three types - a soldier's. and non-commissioned officers, officers, generals. The officer's and general's buttonholes were edged with silver and golden flagella, respectively. However, there was a buttonhole that could be worn by both soldiers and officers. This buttonhole had a red border. A gray German button was placed at the top of the buttonhole, and 9mm went along the buttonhole. aluminum galloon.

"Russia is ours. Russia's past is ours. Russia's future is also ours" (gen. A. A. Vlasov)

Press organs: newspapers " ROA fighter" (1944), weekly " Volunteer"(1943-44)," Front leaflet for volunteers "(1944)," Volunteer Herald "(1944)," Nabat"(1943)," Volunteer Page "(1944)," Warrior voice"(1944)," Dawn"(1943-44)," Work », « arable land", weekly" Is it true"(1941-43)," with hostility». For the Red Army: « Stalinist warrior », « brave warrior », « Red Army », « front-line soldier», « Soviet warrior ».

General Vlasov wrote: "Recognizing the independence of each people, National Socialism provides all the peoples of Europe with the opportunity to build their own lives in their own way. For this, each people needs a living space. Hitler considers possession of it the basic right of every people. Therefore, the occupation of Russian territory by German troops is not aimed at destruction Russians, but vice versa - the victory over Stalin will return to the Russians their Fatherland within the framework of the New Europe family.

On September 16, 1944, Vlasov and Himmler met at the headquarters of the Reichsfuehrer SS in East Prussia, during which the latter said: "Mr. General, I spoke with the Fuhrer, from now on you can consider yourself commander-in-chief of the army with the rank of colonel general." A few days later, the reorganization of the headquarters began. Prior to this, in addition to Vlasov and V.F. Malyshkin included: the commandant of the headquarters, Colonel E.V. Kravchenko (since 09.1944, Colonel K.G. Kromiadi), head of the personal office, Major M.A. Kalugin-Tensorov, Vlasov's adjutant Captain R. Antonov, supply manager Lieutenant V. Melnikov, communications officer S.B. Frelnh and 6 soldiers.

On November 14, 1944, the founding congress of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (KONR) was held in Prague, and A. Vlasov was elected chairman. In his opening speech, Vlasov said: “Today we can assure the Fuhrer and the entire German people that in their difficult struggle against the worst enemy of all peoples - Bolshevism, the peoples of Russia are their faithful allies and will never lay down their arms, but will go shoulder to shoulder with them until complete victory. At the congress, the creation of the Armed Forces of the KONR (AF KONR), headed by Vlasov, was announced.

After the congress from Dabendorf to Dalem, the security company of Major Begletsov and the guard of Major Shishkevich were transferred. Major Khitrov was appointed commandant of the headquarters instead of Kromiadi. Kromiadi was transferred to the post of head of Vlasov's Personal Office, his predecessor, Lieutenant Colonel Kalugin, to the post of head of the Security Department.

On January 18, 1945, Vlasov, Aschenbrener, Kroeger met with the Secretary of State of the German Foreign Ministry, Baron Stengracht. An agreement was signed on subsidizing the German government for KONR and its aircraft. At the end of January 1945, when Vlasov visited the German Foreign Minister von Ribbenthorp, he informed Vlasov that cash loans were being provided for the KONR. Andreev testified about this at the trial: “As the head of the main financial department of the KONR, I was in charge of all the financial resources of the Committee. I received all financial resources from the German State Bank from the current account of the Ministry of the Interior. I received all the money from the bank by checks drawn by representatives of the Ministry of the Interior Sievers and Ryppei, who controlled the financial activities of the KONR. With such checks I received about 2 million marks.”

On January 28, 1945, Hitler appointed Vlasov Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces. The ROA was treated as the Armed Forces of an allied power, temporarily subordinated in operational terms to the Wehrmacht.

"Telegram from the Reichsführer SS to General Vlasov. Compiled at the direction of Obergruppenführer Berger. From the day this order was signed, the Führer appointed you supreme commander of the 600th and 650th Russian divisions. At the same time, you will be entrusted with the supreme command of all new Russian formations that are being formed and regrouped. You will the disciplinary right of the supreme commander in chief and at the same time the right to promotion to officer ranks up to lieutenant colonel will be recognized. Promotion to colonels and generals takes place in agreement with the head of the main department of the SS according to the provisions existing for the Great German Empire. G. Himmler".

On February 10, 1945, the inspector general of volunteer formations, E. Kestring, informed Vlasov that, in view of the completion of the creation of the 1st division and the progress made in the formation of the 2nd, he could officially take command of both formations.

The swearing-in parade took place on 16 February in Müsingen. The parade was attended by Kestring, Aschenbrenner, commander of the 5th military division. in Stuttgart Fayel, the head of the polygon in Müsingen, gene. Wenniger. The parade began with a detour of the troops by Vlasov. Bunyachenko raised his hand in an Aryan greeting and reported. Having finished the round, Vlasov went up to the podium and said the following: “During the years of joint struggle, the friendship of the Russian and German peoples was born. Both sides made mistakes, but tried to correct them - and this speaks of a common interest. The main thing in the work of both sides is trust, mutual trust. I thank the Russian and German officers who participated in the creation of this alliance. I am convinced that we will soon return to our homeland with the soldiers and officers that I see here. Long live the friendship of the Russian and German peoples! Long live the soldiers and officers of the Russian army! Then the parade of the 1st division began. There were three infantry regiments with rifles at the ready, an artillery regiment, an anti-tank destroyer battalion, battalions of sappers and communications. The procession was closed by a column of tanks and self-propelled guns. On the same day, the Russian Corps announced its entry into the ROA.

The text of the oath of the ROA / Armed Forces of the KONR: “As a faithful son of my Motherland, I voluntarily join the ranks of the troops of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia. In the presence of my countrymen, I solemnly swear to fight honestly to the last drop of blood under the command of General Vlasov for the good of my people against Bolshevism. This struggle is waged by all freedom-loving peoples under the supreme command of Adolf Hitler. I swear that I will remain true to this alliance."

On February 20, 1945, a KONR memorandum was handed over to the deputy representative of the International Red Cross in Germany on protecting the interests of prisoners of war from the ROA if they surrender to representatives of the Western powers. When making contact with the International Red Cross, Vlasov counted on the help of the secretary of the organization, Baron Pilar von Pilahu, a Russian officer.

By the end of March 1945, the total strength of the KONR Armed Forces was about 50,000 people.

On March 24, 1945, at the All-Cossack Congress in Virovitica (Croatia), a decision was made to unite the Cossack troops with the KONR Armed Forces. Vlasov was also joined by the brigade of Major General A.V. Turkula, who began the formation of regiments in Lienz, Ljubljana and Villach.

Major General Smyslovsky, who headed the 1st Russian National Army, refused to cooperate with Vlasov. Negotiations with General Shandruk on the inclusion of the SS division "Galicia" in the KONR Armed Forces remained without result. The German command did not subordinate the 9th PBR to Vlasov. Major General von Henning, in Denmark. Later, one of the regiments of br. (714th), which has been stationed since February on the Oder front under the command (from the beginning of March) of Colonel Igor Konst. Sakharova (participant in the Spanish Civil War, head of the Spanish branch of the Russian Fascist Party).

To test the combat capability of the Armed Forces of the KONR, on the orders of Himmler, an assault group (505 people) of Colonel I.K. was formed. Sakharov. Armed with SG-43 rifles, MP-40 submachine guns and faustpatrons, the group was put into action on February 9 in the area between Vritsen and Güstebize in the Kyustrin region in order to dislodge Soviet troops from the bridgehead on the western bank of the Oder. The detachment as part of the "Döberitz" division participated in the battles against the 230th division. Commander of the 9th Army Gen. Busse ordered the commander of the 101st Corps, Gen. Berlin and the division commander, Colonel Hünber, "to accept the Russians as friends" and "to behave politically with them very cleverly." During the night attack, the detachment was entrusted with the task of freeing a number of settlements in the area of ​​the 230th division of the Red Army and persuading its soldiers to stop resistance and surrender. During a night attack and a 12-hour battle, the Vlasovites, dressed in Red Army uniforms, managed to capture several strongholds and capture 3 officers and 6 soldiers. In the following days, Sakharov's detachment undertook two reconnaissance in force in the region of the city of Schwedt and participated in repelling a tank attack, destroying 12 tanks. On the actions of the Russians, the commander of the 9th Army, General of the Infantry Busse, reported to the High Command of the German Ground Forces (OKH) that the Russian allies distinguished themselves by the skillful actions of the officers and the courage of the soldiers. Goebbels wrote in his diary: "... during the Sakharov operation in the Kustrin area, the troops of General Vlasov fought superbly ... Vlasov himself believes that although the Soviets have enough tanks and weapons, they nevertheless faced almost insurmountable difficulties supplies from the rear. They have a mass of tanks concentrated on the Oder, but they do not have enough gasoline ... ". Gene. Berlin personally awarded the soldiers and officers with Iron Crosses (Sakharov was awarded the Iron Cross 1st class), Vlasov received Himmler's personal congratulations on this occasion. After that, Himmler told Hitler that he would like to have more Russian troops under his command.

On March 26, at the last meeting of the KONR, it was decided to gradually pull all formations into the Austrian Alps for surrender to the Anglo-Americans.

On April 13, the Swiss ambassador in Berlin, Zehnder, announced that the arrival of the Vlasovites in Switzerland was undesirable, because. it could harm the interests of the country. The Swiss government also refused Vlasov personally.

In April, with the task of establishing contact with the allies, Vlasov sent Captain Shtrik-Shtrikfeld and General Malyshkin.

On April 10, the Southern ROA group performed in the Budweiss-Linz region. The 1st division moved here from the Oder front. In early May, she was not far from Prague, where by this time a rebellion had broken out. Chekhir on the radio asked for help.

On May 11, Vlasov surrendered to the Americans and was in the Shlisselburg fortress in the position of a prisoner of war. At 2 pm on May 12, under the protection of an American escort, he was sent to a higher American headquarters, ostensibly for negotiations. The column of cars was stopped by Soviet officers. At gunpoint, they demanded that Vlasov and Bunyachenko, who was with him, get into their cars. American officers and soldiers did not intervene. German historians believe that Colonel P. Martin, deputy NSh of the 12th corps of the American army, played an important role in this.

ROA officers were shot without trial, and all the rest in battened down freight cars were sent to concentration camps. Those who were not sentenced to death and camp terms, according to the decision of the State Defense Committee of August 18, 1945, received 6 years of special settlement out of court.

In addition to Vlasov, Malyshkin, Zhilenkov, Trukhin, Zakutny, Blagoveshchensky, Meandorov, Maltsev, Bunyachenko, Zverev, Korbukov and Shatov appeared at a closed trial. The court sentenced them to death by hanging. The sentence was carried out on August 1, 1946.

1. Commander-in-Chief: Lieutenant General Andrey A. Vlasov, former commander of the 2nd Shock Army of the Red Army. Iron Cross (9.02.1945).

2. NSH and Deputy Commander-in-Chief: Major General F.I. Trukhin (08.1946, hanged), former deputy of the NSH of the North-Western Front of the Red Army

3. Deputy NSH: Colonel (since 09/24/1944 Major General) V.I. Boyarsky

4. officer at the Commander-in-Chief for special assignments: Nikolai Aleksan. Troitsky (b. 1903), in 1924 he graduated from the Simbirsk Polytechnic Institute, then the Moscow Architectural Institute. He worked in the People's Commissariat of Education, scientific secretary of the Moscow Architectural Society, deputy scientific secretary of the Academy of Architecture of the USSR. Arrested in 1937, 18 months was under investigation in the Lubyanka. In 1941 he was taken prisoner, until 1943 he was in a concentration camp. Co-author of the Prague Manifesto KONR. After the war, one of the leaders and organizers of the SBONR. In 1950-55. Director of the Munich Institute for the Study of the History and Culture of the USSR. Author of the book "Concentration camps of the USSR" (Munich, 1955) and a series of short stories.

5. adjutant of the leading group of the Headquarters: Lieutenant A.I. Romashin, Romashkin.

6. commandant of the headquarters: colonel E.V. Kravchenko

7. officer for special assignments: senior lieutenant M.V. Tomashevsky. Graduated from the Faculty of Law of Kharkov University.

8. liaison officer: Nikol. Vladim. Vashchenko (1916 - after 1973), pilot, in 1941 was shot down and taken prisoner. He graduated from propagandist courses in Luckenwald and Dabendorf.
head of the office: Lieutenant S.A. Sheiko
translator: Lieutenant A.A. Kubekov.
Head of the General Department: Lieutenant Prokopenko
head of food supply: captain V. Cheremisinov.

Operations department:

1. Chief, Deputy NSh: Colonel Andrey Geor. Aldan (Neryanin) (1904 - 1957, Washington), the son of a worker. In the Red Army since 1919. He graduated from infantry courses and the Military Academy. M.V. Frunze (1934, with honors). In 1932, he was expelled from the CPSU (b) for a left-Trotskyist deviation, then reinstated. Head of the operational department of the Urals v.o. (1941), was taken prisoner near Vyazma in November 1941, being the head of the operations department of the headquarters of the 20th Army. In 1942-44. member of the Anti-Comintern. Responsible for the organizational activities of the headquarters of the ROA. Chairman of the Union of Liberation Movement Warriors (USA). Member of the Central Bureau of the SBONR.

2nd Deputy: Lieutenant Colonels Korovin

3. head of the subdivision: V.F. Riel.

4. head of the subdivision: V.E. Michelson.

Intelligence department:

Initially, the military and civilian intelligence services were under the jurisdiction of the KONR security department, Lieutenant Colonel N.V. Tensorova. His deputies were Major M.A. Kalugin and b. head of the special department of the headquarters of the North Caucasian v.o. Major A.F. Chikalov. On February 2, 1945, military intelligence separated from civilian intelligence. Under the supervision of Major General Trukhin, a separate intelligence service of the ROA began to be created, and an intelligence department was formed at the Headquarters. On February 22, the department was divided into several groups:
intelligence: chief lieutenant N.F. Lapin (senior assistant to the head of the 2nd department), later - lieutenant B. Gai;

counterintelligence.

enemy intelligence group: Lieutenant A.F. Vronsky (assistant to the head of the 1st department).

According to the order of Major General Trukhin dated 8.03. In 1945, the l / s of the department was, in addition to the chief, 21 officers. Later, Captain V. Denisov and other officers joined the department.

1. chief: major I.V. Grachev

2. head of counterintelligence: Major Chikalov, supervised the operational intelligence of the ROA, since 1945 organized the training of personnel for the military intelligence unit and terrorist actions in the USSR.

Counterintelligence Department:

Chief Major Krainev

Investigation Department:

chief: Major Galanin

Department of secret correspondence:

chief: captain P. Bakshansky

Human Resources Department:

Head: Captain Zverev

Communication department:

head of the office senior lieutenant V.D. Korbukov.

Department of VOSO:

Head: Major G.M. Kremensky.

Topographic department:

Head: Lieutenant Colonel G. Vasiliev. Senior Lieutenant of the Red Army.

Encryption department:

1st head: Major A. Polyakov
2nd Deputy: Lieutenant Colonel I.P. Pavlov. Senior Lieutenant of the Red Army.

Formation department:

1st head: Colonel I. D. Denisov
2nd Deputy: Major M.B. Nikiforov
3. group leader of the formation department: captain G.A. Fedoseev
4. head of the group of formations department: captain V.F. Demidov
5. head of the group of formations department: captain S.T. Kozlov
6. head of the group of the formations department: Major G.G. Sviridenko.

Combat Training Department:

1. Chief: Major General Asberg (Artsezov, Asbyargas) (r. Baku), Armenian. He graduated from a military school in Astrakhan, commander of a tank unit. Colonel of the Red Army. He left the encirclement near Taganrog, was convicted by a military tribunal and sentenced to death in 1942, which was replaced by a penal battalion. In the first battle he went over to the Germans.

2. Deputy: Colonel A.N. Tavantsev.

head of the 1st subdivision (training): Colonel F.E. Black

3. Head of the 2nd subdivision (military schools): Colonel A.A. Denisenko.

4. head of the 3rd subdivision (statutes): lieutenant colonel A.G. Moskvichev.

Command Department:

Consisted of 5 groups.

1. Chief: Colonel (02.1945) Vladimir Vas. Poznyakov (05/17/1902, St. Petersburg - 12/21/1973, Syracuse, USA). In the Red Army since 1919. In 1920 he graduated from the Kaluga command courses. From 09.20 instructor of the newspaper business of the South-Western Front. In 1921-26. student of the Higher Military Chemical School. From 01.26, the head of the chemical service of the 32nd Saratov sd. In 1928-31. teacher at the Saratov school of reserve commanders. In 1931-32. teacher at the Saratov armored school. In 1932-36. head of the chemical service of the Ulyanovsk armored school. Captain (1936). Major (1937). In 1937-39. arrested, tortured. In 1939-41. teacher of chemistry at the Poltava Auto-Technical School. Since 03.41, the head of the chemical service of the 67th SC. Lieutenant Colonel (05/29/1941). 10.1941 was taken prisoner near Vyazma. In 1942, the head of the camp police near Bobruisk, then at the propagandist course in Wulheide. 04.1943 at the Dabendorf school of propagandists, commander of the 2nd cadet company. Since 07.43, the head of the preparatory courses for propagandists in Luckenwalde. In the summer of 1944, he was the head of the ROA propagandist group in the Baltic states. Since 11.1944, the head of the command department of the headquarters of the ROA. On October 9, 1945, he was sentenced to death in absentia. From the beginning of the 50s. taught at military schools of the US Army, worked in the CIA. From the beginning of the 60s. taught at the military aviation school in Syracuse. Author of the books: The Birth of the ROA (Syracuse, 1972) and A.A. Vlasov" (Syracuse, 1973).

2. Deputy: Major V.I. Strelnikov.

3. Head of the 1st subdivision (officers of the General Staff): Captain Ya. A. Kalinin.

4. Head of the 2nd subdivision (infantry): Major A.P. Demsky.

5. head of the 3rd subdivision (cavalry): senior lieutenant N.V. Vashchenko.

6. Head of the 4th subdivision (artillery): Lieutenant Colonel M.I. Pankevich.

7. Head of the 5th subdivision (tank and engineering troops): Captain A. G. Kornilov.

8. Head of the 6th subdivision (administrative and economic and military sanitary services): Major V.I. Panayot.

Russian Liberation Army - ROA. Part 1.

According to some, during the Great Patriotic War, a million Soviet citizens went to fight under the tricolor flag. Sometimes they even talk about two million Russians who fought against the Bolshevik regime, but here they probably also count 700,000 emigrants. These figures are given for a reason - they are an argument for the assertion that the Great Patriotic War is the essence of the Second Civil War of the Russian people against the hated Stalin. What can be said here?

If it really happened that a million Russians stood up under the tricolor banners and fought to the death against the Red Army for a free Russia, shoulder to shoulder with their German allies, then we would have no choice but to admit that yes, The Great Patriotic War really became the Second Civil War for the Russian people. But was it so?

To figure it out, one way or another, you should answer a few questions: how many were there, who were they, how did they get into the service, how and with whom did they fight, and what motivated them?

The cooperation of Soviet citizens with the occupiers took place in various forms, both in terms of the degree of voluntariness and the degree of involvement in the armed struggle - from the Baltic SS volunteers who fought fiercely near Narva to the "Ostarbeiters" forcibly driven to Germany. I believe that even the most stubborn anti-Stalinists will not be able to enroll the latter in the ranks of the fighters against the Bolshevik regime without prevarication. Usually, these ranks include those who received rations from the German military or police department, or held in their hands received from the hands of the Germans or pro-German local government.

That is, to the maximum, potential fighters with the Bolsheviks fall into:
foreign military units of the Wehrmacht and the SS;
eastern security battalions;
building parts of the Wehrmacht;
auxiliary personnel of the Wehrmacht, they are also "our Ivans" or Hiwi (Hilfswilliger: "voluntary helpers");
auxiliary police units ("noise" - Schutzmannshaften);
border guard;
"air defense assistants" mobilized to Germany through youth organizations;

HOW MANY WAS THEM?

We will probably never know the exact numbers, since no one really considered them, but some estimates are available to us. A lower estimate can be obtained from the archives of the former NKVD - until March 1946, 283,000 "Vlasov" and other uniformed collaborators were transferred to the authorities. The estimate from above can probably be taken from the works of Drobyazko, which serve as the main source of figures for the proponents of the "Second Civil" version. According to his calculations (the method of which, unfortunately, he does not disclose), the following passed through the Wehrmacht, the SS and various pro-German paramilitaries and police forces during the war years:
250,000 Ukrainians
70,000 Belarusians
70,000 Cossacks
150,000 Latvians
90,000 Estonians
50,000 Lithuanians
70,000 Central Asians
12,000 Volga Tatars
10,000 Crimean Tatars
7,000 Kalmyks
40,000 Azerbaijanis
25,000 Georgians
20,000 Armenians
30,000 North Caucasian peoples

Since the total number of all former Soviet citizens wearing German and pro-German uniforms is estimated at 1.2 million, the Russians (excluding Cossacks) are left with about 310,000 people. There are, of course, other calculations that give a smaller total number, but let's not waste time on trifles, let's take Drobyazko's estimate from above as the basis for further reasoning.

WHO WERE THEY?

Hiwi and soldiers of the construction battalions can hardly be considered civil war fighters. Of course, their work freed German soldiers for the front, but exactly the same applies to the "Ostarbeiters". Occasionally, the hiwi were given weapons and fought alongside the Germans, but such occurrences are described in the unit's combat logs more as a curiosity than as a mass phenomenon. It is interesting to calculate how many were those who actually held weapons in their hands.

The number of hiwis at the end of the war by Drobiazko is about 675,000, if you add construction units and take into account the losses during the war, then I think we are not very wrong in assuming that this category covers about 700-750,000 people out of a total of 1.2 million. This is consistent with with a share of non-combat among the Caucasian peoples, in the calculation presented by the headquarters of the eastern troops at the end of the war. According to him, out of a total of 102,000 Caucasians who passed through the Wehrmacht and the SS, 55,000 served in the legions, Luftwaffe and SS and 47,000 in hiwi and construction units. It must be taken into account that the proportion of Caucasians enrolled in combat units was higher than the proportion of Slavs.

So, out of 1.2 million who wore German uniforms, only 450-500 thousand did this, holding weapons in their hands. Let's now try to calculate the layout of the really combat units of the Eastern peoples.

Asian battalions (Caucasians, Turks and Tatars) were formed 75 pieces (80,000 people). Including 10 Crimean police battalions (8,700), Kalmyks and special units, there are approximately 110,000 "combat" Asians out of a total of 215,000. It quite beats with the layout separately for Caucasians.

The Baltics endowed the Germans with 93 police battalions (later partly reduced to regiments), with a total number of 33,000 people. In addition, 12 border regiments (30,000) were formed, partly staffed by police battalions, then three SS divisions (15, 19 and 20) and two volunteer regiments were created, through which about 70,000 people probably passed. Police and border regiments and battalions were partly directed to their formation. Taking into account the absorption of some units by others, in total, about 100,000 Balts passed through the combat units.

In Belarus, 20 police battalions (5,000) were formed, of which 9 were considered Ukrainian. After the introduction of mobilization in March 1944, police battalions became part of the army of the Belarusian Central Rada. In total, the Belarusian Regional Defense (BKA) had 34 battalions, 20,000 people. Having retreated in 1944 together with the German troops, these battalions were consolidated into the Siegling SS Brigade. Then, on the basis of the brigade, with the addition of Ukrainian "policemen", the remnants of the Kaminsky brigade and even the Cossacks, the 30th SS division was deployed, which was subsequently used to staff the 1st Vlasov division.

Galicia was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was seen as a potential German territory. It was separated from Ukraine, included in the Reich, as part of the General Government of Warsaw and put in line for Germanization. On the territory of Galicia, 10 police battalions (5,000) were formed, and subsequently the recruitment of volunteers for the SS troops was announced. It is believed that 70,000 volunteers turned up at the recruiting sites, but that many were not needed. As a result, one SS division (14th) and five police regiments were formed. Police regiments were disbanded as needed and sent to replenish the division. The total contribution of Galicia to the victory over Stalinism can be estimated at 30,000 people.

In the rest of Ukraine, 53 police battalions (25,000) were formed. It is known that a small part of them became part of the 30th SS division, the fate of the rest is unknown to me. After the formation in March 1945 of the Ukrainian analogue of the KONR - the Ukrainian National Committee - the Galician 14th SS division was renamed the 1st Ukrainian and the formation of the 2nd began. It was formed from volunteers of Ukrainian nationality recruited from various auxiliary formations, they recruited about 2,000 people.

Of the Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians, about 90 security "Ostbattalions" were formed, through which approximately 80,000 people passed, including the "Russian National People's Army" reorganized into five security battalions. Other Russian combat units include the 3,000-strong 1st Russian National SS Brigade Gil (Rodionov), which went over to the side of the partisans, the approximately 6,000-strong "Russian National Army" of Smyslovsky, and the army of Kaminsky ("Russian Liberation People's Army"), which arose as the self-defense forces of the so-called. Lokot Republic. Maximum estimates of the number of people who passed through Kaminsky's army reach 20,000. After 1943, Kaminsky's troops retreated along with the German army and in 1944 an attempt was made to reorganize them into the 29th SS division. For a number of reasons, the reorganization was canceled, and the personnel were transferred to the understaffing of the 30th SS division. At the beginning of 1945, the armed forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (the Vlasov army) were created. The first division of the army is formed from the "ost battalions" and the remnants of the 30th SS division. The second division is formed from the "Ostbattalions", and partly from volunteer prisoners of war. The number of Vlasovites before the end of the war is estimated at 40,000 people, of which about 30,000 were former SS and Ostbattalions. In total, about 120,000 Russians fought in the Wehrmacht and the SS with weapons in their hands at different times.

The Cossacks, according to Drobyazko's calculations, put up 70,000 people, let's accept this figure.

HOW DID THEY GET INTO THE SERVICE?

Initially, the eastern parts were staffed with volunteers from among the prisoners of war and the local population. Since the summer of 1942, the principle of recruiting the local population has changed from voluntary to voluntary-compulsory - an alternative to voluntary entry into the police is forced deportation to Germany, "ostarbeiter". By the autumn of 1942, the undisguised coercion begins. Drobyazko, in his dissertation, talks about raids on peasants in the Shepetovka region: those caught were offered a choice between joining the police or being sent to a camp. Since 1943, compulsory military service has been introduced in various "self-defenses" of the Reichskommissariat "Ostland". In the Baltic States, through mobilization, since 1943, SS units and border guards were recruited.

HOW AND WITH WHOM DID THEY FIGHT?

Initially, the Slavic eastern parts were created to carry out security services. In this capacity, they were supposed to replace the security battalions of the Wehrmacht, which, like a vacuum cleaner, were sucked out of the rear zone by the needs of the front. At first, the soldiers of the Ostbattalions guarded warehouses and railways, but as the situation became more complicated, they began to be involved in anti-partisan operations. The involvement of the Ostbattalions in the fight against the partisans contributed to their disintegration. If in 1942 the number of “Ostbattalion” soldiers who went over to the side of the partisans was relatively small (although this year the Germans were forced to disband the RNNA due to massive defections), then in 1943 14 thousand fled to the partisans (and this is very, very quite a few, with an average number of eastern units in 1943 of about 65,000 people). The Germans had no strength to observe the further decomposition of the Ostbattalions, and in October 1943 the remaining eastern units were sent to France and Denmark (while disarming 5-6 thousand volunteers as unreliable). There they were included as 3rd or 4th battalions in the regiments of the German divisions.

Slavic eastern battalions, with rare exceptions, were not used in battles on the eastern front. In contrast, a significant number of Asian Ostbattalions were involved in the first line of the advancing German troops during the battle for the Caucasus. The results of the battles were contradictory - some showed themselves well, others - on the contrary, turned out to be infected with deserter moods and gave a large percentage of defectors. By the beginning of 1944, most of the Asian battalions also ended up on the Western Wall. Those who remained in the East were consolidated into the Eastern Turkic and Caucasian SS formations and were involved in the suppression of the Warsaw and Slovak uprisings.

In total, by the time of the Allied invasion in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, 72 Slavic, Asian and Cossack battalions with a total strength of about 70 thousand were assembled. In general, and in general, the Ostbattalions in battles with the allies showed themselves poorly (with some exceptions). Of the almost 8.5 thousand irretrievable losses, 8 thousand were missing, that is, most of them were deserters and defectors. After that, the remaining battalions were disarmed and involved in fortification work on the Siegfried Line. Subsequently, they were used to form parts of the Vlasov army.

In 1943, Cossack units were also withdrawn from the east. The most combat-ready unit of the German Cossack troops, formed in the summer of 1943, the 1st Cossack division von Panwitz went to Yugoslavia to deal with Tito's partisans. There, they gradually gathered all the Cossacks, deploying the division into a corps. The division took part in the battles on the Eastern Front in 1945, fighting mainly against the Bulgarians.

The Baltic States gave the largest number of troops to the front - in addition to three SS divisions, separate police regiments and battalions took part in the battles. The 20th Estonian SS division was defeated near Narva, but subsequently restored and managed to take part in the last battles of the war. The Latvian 15th and 19th SS divisions in the summer of 1944 came under attack by the Red Army and could not withstand the blow. Large scale desertion and loss of combat capability are reported. As a result, the 15th division, having transferred its most reliable composition to the 19th, was assigned to the rear for use in the construction of fortifications. The second time it was used in combat in January 1945, in East Prussia, after which it was again withdrawn to the rear. She managed to surrender to the Americans. The 19th remained until the end of the war in Courland.

Belarusian policemen and those freshly mobilized in the BKA in 1944 were assembled in the 30th SS division. After the formation, the division in September 1944 was transferred to France, where it took part in battles with the allies. Suffered heavy losses mainly from desertion. Belarusians ran across to the allies in batches and continued the war in the Polish units. In December, the division was disbanded, and the remaining personnel were transferred to staff the 1st Vlasov division.

The Galician 14th SS division, barely smelling gunpowder, was surrounded near Brody and almost completely destroyed. Although she was quickly restored, she no longer took part in the battles at the front. One of her regiments was involved in the suppression of the Slovak uprising, after which she went to Yugoslavia to fight Tito's pratizans. Since it was not far from Yugoslavia to Austria, the division managed to surrender to the British.

The armed forces of the KONR were formed in early 1945. Although the 1st division of the Vlasovites was staffed almost entirely by punitive veterans, many of whom had already been at the front, Vlasov soared Hitler's brains by demanding more time to prepare. In the end, the division still managed to get to the Oder front, where it took part in one attack against the Soviet troops on April 13. The very next day, the division commander, Major General Bunyachenko, ignoring the protests of his German immediate superior, took the division from the front and went to join the rest of Vlasov's army in the Czech Republic. The Vlasov army fought the second battle already against its ally, attacking German troops in Prague on May 5.

WHAT MOVED THEM?

The driving motives were completely different.

First, among the eastern troops, one can single out the national separatists who fought for the creation of their own nation state, or at least a privileged province of the Reich. This includes the Balts, Asian legionnaires and Galicians. The creation of units of this kind has a long tradition - to recall at least the Czechoslovak Corps or the Polish Legion in the First World War. These would fight against the central government, no matter who sits in Moscow - the tsar, the secretary general or the popularly elected president.

Secondly, there were ideological and stubborn opponents of the regime. These include the Cossacks (although partly their motives were national separatist), part of the personnel of the Ostbattalions, a significant part of the officer corps of the KONR troops.

Thirdly, we can name the opportunists who bet on the winner, those who joined the Reich during the victories of the Wehrmacht, but fled to the partisans after the defeat at Kursk and continued to flee at the first opportunity. These probably made up a significant part of the Ostbattalions and the local police. There were also those from the other side of the front, as can be seen from the change in the number of defectors to the Germans in 1942-44:
1942 79,769
1943 26,108
1944 9,207

Fourthly, these were people who hoped to break out of the camp and, at a convenient opportunity, go to their own. It is difficult to say how many of these there were, but sometimes they were recruited for a whole battalion.

AND WHAT IS THE RESULT?

And the result is a picture that is not at all similar to those that are drawn by ardent anti-communists. Instead of one (or even two) million Russians rallying under the tricolor flag in the fight against the hateful Stalinist regime, there is a very motley (and obviously not reaching a million) company of Balts, Asians, Galicians and Slavs who fought each for their own. And mostly not with the Stalinist regime, but with partisans (and not only Russians, but also with Yugoslav, Slovak, French, Polish), Western allies, and even with the Germans in general. Doesn't look much like a civil war, does it? Well, except to call these words the struggle of partisans with policemen, but the policemen fought by no means under the tricolor flag, but with a swastika on their sleeves.

For the sake of justice, it should be noted that until the end of 1944, until the formation of the KONR and its armed forces, the Germans did not provide an opportunity for Russian anti-communists to fight for the national idea, for Russia without the communists. It can be assumed that if they had allowed this earlier, more people would have rallied under the tricolor flag, especially since there were still plenty of opponents of the Bolsheviks in the country. But this is “would” and besides, my grandmother said in two. But in real life, there were no “millions under the tricolor flag”.

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Vlasovites, or fighters of the Russian Liberation Army (ROA) - are ambiguous figures in military history. Until now, historians cannot come to a consensus. Supporters consider them fighters for justice, true patriots of the Russian people. The opponents are unconditionally sure that the Vlasovites are traitors to the Motherland, who went over to the side of the enemy and mercilessly destroyed their compatriots.

Why Vlasov created ROA

The Vlasovites positioned themselves as patriots of their country and their people, but not the government. Their goal was allegedly to overthrow the established political regime in order to provide people with a decent life. General Vlasov considered Bolshevism, in particular Stalin, the main enemy of the Russian people. He associated the prosperity of his country with cooperation and friendly relations with Germany.

treason

Vlasov went over to the side of the enemy at the most difficult moment for the USSR. The movement he propagated and in which he involved former soldiers of the Red Army was aimed at the destruction of the Russians. Having taken an oath of allegiance to Hitler, the Vlasovites decided to kill ordinary soldiers, burn villages and destroy their homeland. Moreover, Vlasov presented his Order of Lenin to Brigadeführer Fegelein in response to the loyalty shown to him.

Demonstrating his loyalty, General Vlasov gave valuable military advice. Knowing the problem areas and plans of the Red Army, he helped the Germans plan attacks. In the diary of the Minister of Propaganda of the Third Reich and the Gauleiter of Berlin, Joseph Goebbels, there is an entry about his meeting with Vlasov, who gave him advice, taking into account the experience of defending Kyiv and Moscow, how best to organize the defense of Berlin. Goebbels wrote: “The conversation with General Vlasov inspired me. I learned that the Soviet Union had to overcome exactly the same crisis that we are overcoming now, and that there is certainly a way out of this crisis, if you are extremely resolute and do not succumb to it.

At the mercy of the fascists

Vlasovites took part in the brutal massacres of civilians. From the memoirs of one of them: “The next day, the commandant of the city, Schuber, ordered all the state farmers to be driven out to Chernaya Balka, and the executed communists to be duly buried. Here stray dogs were caught, thrown into the water, the city was cleared ... First from Jews and cheerful ones, at the same time from Zherdetsky, then from dogs. And bury the corpses at the same time. trace. How else, gentlemen? After all, it’s not the forty-first year already - the forty-second in the yard! Already carnival tricks, joyful ones had to be hidden slowly. After all, it was possible before, and so, in a simple way. Shoot and throw on the coastal sand, and now - bury! But what a dream!”
The soldiers of the ROA, together with the Nazis, smashed the partisan detachments, enthusiastically talking about it: “They hung the captured partisan commanders at the poles of the railway station at dawn, then continued to drink. They sang German songs, embracing their commander, walked the streets and touched the frightened sisters of mercy! The real gang!

Baptism of fire

General Bunyachenko, who commanded the 1st division of the ROA, received an order to prepare the division for an offensive on the bridgehead captured by the Soviet troops with the task of pushing the Soviet troops back to the right bank of the Oder in this place. For Vlasov's army, it was a baptism of fire - it had to prove its right to exist.
On February 9, 1945, the ROA entered the position for the first time. The army captured Neulevien, the southern part of Karlsbyse and Kerstenbruch. Joseph Goebbels even noted in his diary "the outstanding achievements of the detachments of General Vlasov." The soldiers of the ROA played a key role in the battle - due to the fact that the Vlasovites noticed in time a disguised battery of Soviet anti-tank guns ready for battle, the German units did not become a victim of a bloody massacre. Saving the Fritz, the Vlasovites mercilessly killed their compatriots.
On March 20, the ROA was supposed to capture and equip a bridgehead, as well as ensure the passage of ships along the Oder. When during the day the left flank, despite strong artillery support, was stopped, the Russians, who were waiting with hope for the exhausted and discouraged Germans, were used as a "fist". The Germans sent Vlasov on the most dangerous and obviously failed missions.

Prague uprising

The Vlasovites showed themselves in occupied Prague - they decided to oppose the German troops. On May 5, 1945, they came to the aid of the rebels. The rebels demonstrated unprecedented cruelty - they shot down a German school from heavy anti-aircraft machine guns, turning its students into a bloody mess. Subsequently, the Vlasovites, retreating from Prague, met with the retreating Germans in hand-to-hand combat. The uprising resulted in robberies and murders of the civilian population and not only the German one.
There were several versions of why the ROA took part in the uprising. Perhaps she was trying to earn the forgiveness of the Soviet people, or she was seeking political asylum in liberated Czechoslovakia. One of the authoritative opinions remains that the German command delivered an ultimatum: either the division follows their orders, or it will be destroyed. The Germans made it clear that the ROA would not be able to exist independently and act according to its convictions, and then the Vlasovites went on sabotage.
The adventurous decision to take part in the uprising cost the ROA dearly: about 900 Vlasovites were killed during the fighting in Prague (officially - 300), 158 wounded disappeared without a trace from Prague hospitals after the arrival of the Red Army, 600 Vlasov deserters were identified in Prague and shot by the Red Army

Very contradictory. Over time, historians cannot agree on when the army itself began to form, who the Vlasovites were and what role they played during the war years. In addition to the fact that the very formation of soldiers is considered, on the one hand, patriotic, and on the other, treacherous, there is also no exact data when exactly Vlasov and his fighters entered the battle. But first things first.

Who is he?

Vlasov Andrei Andreevich was a well-known political and military figure. He started on the side of the USSR. Participated in the battle for Moscow. But in 1942 he was captured by the Germans. Without hesitation, Vlasov decided to go over to the side of Hitler and began to cooperate against the USSR.

Vlasov remains a controversial figure to this day. Until now, historians are divided into two camps: some are trying to justify the actions of the military leader, others - to condemn. Supporters of Vlasov furiously shout about his patriotism. Those who joined the ROA were and remain true patriots of their country, but not of their government.

Opponents have long decided for themselves who the Vlasovites are. They are sure that since their boss and they themselves joined the Nazis, they were, are and will remain traitors and collaborators. In addition, patriotism, according to opponents, is just a cover. In fact, the Vlasovites went over to the side of Hitler only in the name of saving their lives. In addition, they did not become respected people there. The Nazis used them for propaganda purposes.

Formation

For the first time, it was Andrei Andreevich Vlasov who spoke about the formation of the ROA. In 1942, he and Baersky created the "Smolensk Declaration", which was a kind of "helping hand" for the German command. The document dealt with a proposal to establish an army that would fight against communism in Russia. The Third Reich acted wisely. The Germans decided to report this document to the media in order to create a resonance and a wave of discussion.

Of course, such a step was aimed primarily at propaganda. Nevertheless, the soldiers who were part of the German army began to call themselves the military ROA. In fact, this was permissible; theoretically, the army existed only on paper.

Not Vlasov

Despite the fact that since 1943 volunteers began to form into the Russian Liberation Army, it was still too early to talk about who the Vlasovites were. The German command fed Vlasov "breakfasts", and in the meantime gathered everyone in the ROA.

At the time of 1941, the project included more than 200 thousand volunteers, but then Hitler did not yet know about this amount of help. Over time, the famous "Havi" (Hilfswillige - "who want to help") began to appear. At first the Germans called them "our Ivans". These people worked as security guards, cooks, grooms, drivers, porters, etc.

If in 1942 there were just over 200 thousand hawi, then by the end of the year there were almost a million "traitors" and prisoners. Over time, Russian soldiers fought in the elite divisions of the SS troops.

RONA (RNNA)

In parallel with the Xavi, another so-called army is being formed - the Russian People's Liberation Army (RONA). At that time, one could hear about Vlasov, thanks to the battle for Moscow. Despite the fact that RONA consisted of only 500 soldiers, it was a defense for the city. It ceased to exist after the death of its founder Ivan Voskoboynikov.

At the same time, the Russian National People's Army (RNNA) was created in Belarus. She was an exact copy of RON. Its founder was Gil-Rodionov. The detachment served until 1943, and after Gil-Rodionov returned to Soviet power, the Germans disbanded the RNNA.

In addition to these "non-Vlasovites", there were also legions that were famous among the Germans and were held in high esteem. As well as the Cossacks, who fought for the formation of their own state. The Nazis sympathized with them even more and considered them not Slavs, but Goths.

Origin

Now directly about who the Vlasovites were during the war years. As we already remember, Vlasov was captured and from there began active cooperation with the Third Reich. He proposed to create an army in order for Russia to become independent. The Germans, of course, did not like this. Therefore, they did not allow Vlasov to fully realize his projects.

But the Nazis decided to play on the name of the commander. They called on the soldiers of the Red Army to betray the USSR, to enroll in the ROA, which they did not plan to create. All this was done on behalf of Vlasov. Since 1943, the Nazis began to give the soldiers of the ROA more to show themselves.

Perhaps this is how the Vlasov flag appeared. The Germans allowed the Russians to use sleeve patches. They had an appearance. Although many soldiers tried to use the white-blue-red banner, the Germans did not allow it. The remaining volunteers, of other nationalities, often used patches in the form of national flags.

When the soldiers got stripes with the St. Andrew's flag and the inscription ROA, Vlasov was still far from command. Therefore, this period can hardly be called "Vlasov".

Phenomenon

In 1944, when the Third Reich began to guess that a blitzkrieg was not working, and their affairs at the front were completely deplorable, it was decided to return to Vlasov. In 1944, Reichsführer SS Himmler discussed with the Soviet commander the question of the formation of an army. Then everyone already understood who the Vlasovites were.

Despite the fact that Himmler promised to form ten Russian divisions, the Reichsführer later changed his mind and agreed to only three.

Organization

The Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia was formed only in 1944 in Prague. It is then that the practical organization of the ROA begins. The army had its own command and all types of troops. Vlasov was both the chairman of the Committee and the commander in chief, which, in turn, both on paper and in deed, were an independent Russian national army.

The ROA was connected with the Germans by allied relations. Although the Third Reich was involved in financing. The money that the Germans issued was credit and had to be paid as far as possible.

Vlasov's thoughts

Vlasov, on the other hand, set himself a different task. He hoped that his organization would become as strong as possible. He foresaw the defeat of the Nazis and understood that after that he would have to represent the "third party" in the conflict between the West and the USSR. The Vlasovites, with the support of Britain and the United States, had to realize their political plans. Only at the beginning of 1945, the ROA was officially introduced as the armed forces of the allied power. A month later, the fighters were able to get their own sleeve insignia, and on the cap - a ROA cockade.

Baptism of fire

Even then they began to understand who the Vlasovites were. During the war years, they had to work a little. In general, the army participated in only two battles. Moreover, the first took place against the Soviet troops, and the second - against the Third Reich.

On February 9, the ROA entered combat positions for the first time. Actions took place in the Oder region. The ROA performed well, and the German command highly appreciated its actions. She was able to occupy Neulevien, the southern part of Karlsbiese and Kerstenbruch. On March 20, the ROA was supposed to capture and equip a bridgehead, and also be responsible for the passage of ships along the Oder. The actions of the army were more or less successful.

Already at the end of March 1945, the ROA decided to get together and join the Cossack Cavalry Corps. This was done in order to show the whole world its power and potential. Then the West was quite cautious about the Vlasovites. They did not particularly like their methods and goals.

The ROA also had retreat routes. The command hoped to reunite with the Yugoslav detachments or break into the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. When the leadership realized the inevitable defeat of the Germans, it was decided to go west on their own to surrender there to the allies. Later it became known that Himmler wrote about the physical elimination of the leadership of the Committee. It was this that became the first reason for the escape of the ROA from under the wing of the Third Reich.

The last event that remains in history was the Prague Uprising. Parts of the ROA reached Prague and revolted against Germany along with the partisans. Thus, they managed to liberate the capital even before the arrival of the Red Army.

Education

In the entire history, there was only one school that trained soldiers in the ROA - Dabendorf. For all the time, 5 thousand people were released - these are 12 issues. The lectures were based on harsh criticism of the existing system in the USSR. The main emphasis was precisely the ideological component. It was necessary to re-educate the captured soldiers and grow up staunch opponents of Stalin.

From here, real Vlasovites were issued. The photo of the school badge proves that it was an organization with clear goals and ideas. The school did not last long. At the end of February, she had to be evacuated to Gischuebel. Already in April, it ceased to exist.

controversy

The main dispute remains what was the flag of the Vlasovites. Many to this day argue that it is the current state flag of Russia that is the banner of "traitors" and followers of Vlasov. In fact, that's how it is. Some believed that the banner of the Vlasovites was with the St. Andrew's Cross, some individual collaborators used the modern tricolor of the Russian Federation. The latter fact was confirmed even by video and photography.

Questions to other attributes also began. It turns out that the awards of the Vlasovites somehow relate to the currently famous dispute about the St. George ribbon. And here it is worth explaining. The fact is that the Vlasov ribbon, in principle, did not exist at all.

Now it is the St. George ribbon that is attributed to the defeated in the Great Patriotic War. It was used in awards for members of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia and the ROA. And initially it was attached to the Order of St. George back in imperial Russia.

In the Soviet award system, there was a guards ribbon. She was a special sign of distinction. They used it in the design of the Order of Glory and the medal "For the Victory over Germany".