Roa generals. Russian Liberation Army - ROA. Start

An incredible number of myths and stereotypes are associated with the history of the Vlasov army, as well as with the personality of General Vlasov. Unfortunately, in recent years their number has been seriously progressing. However, the problem is that the very phrase "Vlasov movement", if we mean it as a kind of political phenomenon, is, of course, much wider than what is called the "Vlasov army". The fact is that not only military personnel can be considered participants in the Vlasov movement, but also civilians who had nothing to do with military service at all. For example, members of the “assistance groups” of the KONR, which arose in the guest worker camps after November 1944: these are civil servants of the Committee and its institutions, divisions, several thousand people - all of them can be considered participants in the Vlasov movement, but not military personnel of the Vlasov army.

Most often, with the phrase "Vlasov army" we have such an association - the Russian Liberation Army (ROA). But in reality, the ROA was a fiction; it never existed as an operational association. It was an exclusively propaganda stamp that appeared in late March - early April 1943. And all the so-called (or almost all) Russian "volunteers" who served in the German armed forces: freiwilliger, partly Khiva - they all wore this chevron and were considered soldiers of an army that never existed. In fact, they were members of the German armed forces, the Wehrmacht, in the first place. Until October 1944, the only unit that was subordinate to Vlasov was a security company scattered in Dabendorf and Dalen, where the general was actually under house arrest. That is, there was no Vlasov army. And only in November 1944, or rather in October, did a really serious, qualified headquarters begin to be created.

By the way, I must say that Vlasov performed more representative functions in his army. Its true organizer, a man who, in six recent months managed to achieve a lot, there was Fyodor Ivanovich Trukhin - a professional General Staff officer, former head of the operations department of the North-Western Front, deputy chief of staff of the North-Western Front, who was captured in the last days of June 1941. Actually, it was General Trukhin who was the real creator of the Vlasov army. He was Vlasov's deputy for the affairs of the Committee, military affairs, deputy head of the military department.

The true creator of the Vlasov army was General Fyodor Trukhin

If we talk about the structure of the Vlasov army, then it developed as follows: firstly, Vlasov and Trukhin counted on the fact that the Germans would transfer all existing Russian units, subdivisions, formations under their command. However, looking ahead, this did not happen.

In April 1945, the Vlasov army de jure included two Cossack corps: in the Separate Cossack Corps in Northern Italy there were 18.5 thousand combat ranks, and in the 15th Cossack Corps von Pannwitz without German personnel - about 30 thousand people. On January 30, 1945, the Russian Corps also joined Vlasov, which was not very large in number, about 6 thousand people, but consisted of fairly professional personnel. Thus, as of April 20-22, 1945, about 124 thousand people were subordinate to General Vlasov. If we single out Russians separately (without Ukrainians, Belarusians), then about 450 - 480 thousand people passed through the Vlasov army. Of these, 120 - 125 thousand people (as of April 1945) can be considered Vlasov military personnel.

The certification of servicemen who arrived in the officer reserve was carried out by a qualification commission led by Major Arseniy Demsky. The commission assessed the knowledge, training, professional suitability of former Soviet officers. As a rule, the serviceman retained his old military rank, especially if documents or a prisoner of war card were kept, where it was recorded, but sometimes he was assigned a higher rank. For example, military engineer II rank Alexei Ivanovich Spiridonov served in Vlasov's Main Directorate of Propaganda - he was immediately accepted into the ROA as a colonel, although his military rank did not correspond to this rank. Andrey Nikitich Sevastyanov, head of the logistics department of the Central Headquarters, in general, a unique person in Russian history (we will say a few words about him below), received the rank of major general in the ROA.

KONR meeting in Berlin, November 1944

The fate of Andrei Nikitich Sevastyanov has almost never been the subject of attention of historians and researchers. He was the son of a Moscow clerk or even a merchant of the second guild (versions differ). He graduated from a commercial school in Moscow, after which he studied for some time at the Higher technical school. Before the revolution, he served in active service in the ranks Imperial Army, came out with the rank of ensign of the reserve. The First World War began. Sevastyanov immediately went to the front, ending the war in the fall of 1917 with the rank of staff captain. In principle, there is nothing to be surprised here. However, we note that during these three years of the war, our hero received seven military Russian awards, including the St. George Cross of the 4th degree and the Order of St. Vladimir with swords. As far as is known, this is the only case in the history of the First World War when a non-professional officer (Sevastyanov was from the reserve) received seven military orders, including the two highest ones. At the same time, he also earned a serious wound: during the attack of the Austrian cavalry, Sevastyanov was wounded with a blade in the head and spent almost the entire 1917 in the hospital.

In 1918, Sevastyanov went to serve in the Red Army, from where he was fired for anti-Soviet views. For twenty years he was imprisoned, then released. And in 1941, near Kyiv, according to one version, he went over to the side of the enemy himself, according to another, he was captured.

In the Red Army, Sevastyanov passed an attestation, his card was in the card file of the commanding staff, but he was never awarded a military rank. Apparently he was waiting. According to one version, he should have been given the rank of captain, which corresponded to a staff captain, but for some reason the chief of artillery of the 21st Army ordered Sevastyanov to wear one rhombus in his buttonholes. It turns out that Andrei Nikitich was captured with the rank of brigade commander, a rank that was no longer there in September 1941. And on the basis of this entry in the ROA, Sevastyanov was certified as a major general.

In February 1945, Andrei Sevastyanov, together with the generals of the ROA, Mikhail Meandrov and Vladimir Artsezo, who served with Vlasov under the pseudonym "Iceberg", was extradited by the Americans to Soviet representatives. In 1947, he was shot by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR.

In April 1945, about 124 thousand people obeyed General Vlasov

If we estimate the size of the officer corps of the Vlasov army, then as of April 1945, it ranged from 4 to 5 thousand people in the ranks from second lieutenant to general, including, of course, white emigrants who joined Vlasov in a fairly compact group. Mostly they were officers of the Russian Corps. For example, military personnel under the leadership of Lieutenant General Boris Alexandrovich Shteifon, hero of the Erzurum battle of 1916, commandant of the Gallipoli camp, member of the White movement. It is worth noting that almost all white émigré officers occupied separate, rather important posts in Vlasov's army.

If we compare the number of Soviet officers who were captured with the number of white emigrants who joined the Vlasov army, then the ratio will be somewhere around 1:5 or 1:6. At the same time, we note that the latter compared favorably with the commanders of the Red Army. It can even be said that the officers of the Russian Corps were more ready for rapprochement with the Vlasovites than the soldiers of the Red Army.

How can this be explained? Partly because the appearance of General Vlasov was psychologically justified in the eyes of white emigrants. In the 30s, all the magazines of the white military emigration (“Sentry” and a number of others) enthusiastically wrote (the theory of “comcor Sidorchuk” was very popular) that there would be some popular commander of the Red Army who would lead the people’s struggle against the authorities, and then we will definitely support this commander, even if he opposed us during the Civil War. And when Vlasov appeared (Vlasov's first meeting with Major General of the General Staff Alexei von Lampe took place on May 19, 1943 in the house of the former vice-director of the department of agriculture Fyodor Shlippe, Stolypin's ally in agrarian reform), he made a very good impression.

Thus, we emphasize this once again, there were much more white emigrants in the ranks of the Vlasov army than participated in the resistance movement. If you objectively look at the number, then about 20 thousand Russian white emigrants during the Second World War fought on the side of the enemy.

Soldiers of the Russian Liberation Army, 1944

The “baptism of fire” of the ROA, with the exception of the active hostilities that the formations conducted before they entered the Vlasov army, took place on February 9, 1945. The strike group under the command of Colonel Igor Sakharov, formed from Soviet citizens, volunteers who served in the Vlasov army, and several white emigrants, together with German troops, took part in battles with the 230th rifle division of the Red Army, which took up defense in the Oder region. I must say that the actions of the ROA were quite effective. In his diary, Goebbels noted "the outstanding achievements of the detachments of General Vlasov."

> The second episode involving the ROA, much more serious, took place on April 13, 1945 - the so-called operation "April weather". It was an attack on the bridgehead of the Soviet fortification, the Erlenhof bridgehead, south of Furstenberg, which was defended by the 415th separate machine-gun and artillery battalion, which was part of the 119th fortified area of ​​the Soviet 33rd Army. And Sergei Kuzmich Bunyachenko, former colonel The Red Army, Major General of the ROA, put into action two of his infantry regiments. However, the terrain there was so unfavorable, and the front of the attack was only 504 meters, and the attackers substituted themselves from the flank under a strong barrage Soviet artillery On the 119th UR, only the 2nd regiment achieved success (advance 500 meters, capture the first line of trenches and hold out on it until the next day). The 3rd regiment under the command of Georgy Petrovich Ryabtsev, who served under the pseudonym "Alexandrov", a former major of the Red Army, lieutenant colonel of the Vlasov army, was defeated.

By the way, the fate of Ryabtsev, who shot himself on the demarcation line in the Czech Republic after the Prague uprising, is very curious. In the First World War, he was captured by the Germans, fled, being a non-commissioned officer of the Russian army, to the allies, the French. He fought in the Foreign Legion, then returned to Russia. He served in the Red Army, in 1941 he was the commander of the 539th regiment. He fell into German captivity for the second time, spent two years in the camp, filed a report with the ROA and was enrolled in the inspectorate of Major General Blagoveshchensky.

In the eyes of white emigrants, the appearance of Vlasov was psychologically justified

The 2nd Regiment was led by Lieutenant Colonel Vyacheslav Pavlovich Artemiev, a career cavalryman, by the way, is also a very interesting character. He was captured by the Germans in September 1943. At home, he was considered dead, posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After the war, Artemyev avoided forced extradition to the Soviet administration. He died in Germany in the 60s.

But the life story of General Ivan Nikitich Kononov could easily become the basis for a cinematic film or a detective story. Former Red Army soldier, commander of the 436th regiment of the 155th rifle division, Kononov on August 22, 1941 with a rather big group fighters and commanders went over to the side of the enemy, immediately offering to create a Cossack unit. During interrogation to the Germans, Kononov stated that he was from the repressed Cossacks, his father was hanged in 1919, two brothers died in 1934. And, interestingly, the Germans retained the rank of major assigned to Kononov in the Red Army, in 1942 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, in 1944 to colonel of the Wehrmacht, and in 1945 he became a major general of KONR. Over the years of service to the Wehrmacht, Kononov received twelve military awards - this is in addition to the Order of the Red Star, acquired at home.

As for the fate of the Colonel of the Red Army, Major General of the KONR Sergei Kuzmich Bunyachenko, there are many ambiguities in it. Bunyachenko was born into a poor Ukrainian family, more than half of which died from the "Holodomor". In 1937, at a party meeting, he criticized collectivization, for which he was immediately expelled from the party. The exception was later, however, replaced by a severe reprimand. In 1942, Bunyachenko commanded the 389th Rifle Division on the Transcaucasian Front and, following the order of General Maslennikov, blew up the bridge in the Mozdok-Chervlenoe section before some of the Red Army units had time to cross it. Bunyachenko was made a scapegoat, sent to court by a military tribunal, sentenced to death, which was later replaced by ten years of labor camps with departure after the end of the war. In October 1942, Bunyachenko took command of the 59th separate rifle brigade, seriously weakened, having lost in previous fights more than 35% personnel. In mid-October, in fierce defensive battles, the brigade suffered new losses, and in November it was practically destroyed. This defeat was also blamed on Bunyachenko, who was threatened with another arrest. And then there are two versions of the development of events: according to one of them, Bunyachenko was captured intelligence group 2nd Romanian infantry division, according to another, he himself went over to the side of the Germans in December 1942 (however, the problem in this case is that the Germans sent defectors to special camps, and Bunyachenko was in a regular camp until May 1943).

After the Prague Uprising, having disbanded the division on the orders of Vlasov and removed his insignia, Bunyachenko went in a headquarters column to the headquarters of the 3rd American Army. On May 15, 1945, he, along with the chief of staff of the division, Lieutenant Colonel of the Armed Forces of the KONR Nikolaev and the head of divisional counterintelligence, Captain of the Armed Forces of the KONR Olkhovik, was transferred by American patrols to the command of the 25th Soviet tank corps. Nikolaev and Olkhovik were shot separately, and Bunyachenko was included in the group of officers and generals who were involved in the Vlasov case - he was hanged along with the commander-in-chief of the ROA. At the same time, there is reason to believe that it was Bunyachenko who was subjected to torture during the investigation: the time of the interrogation, judging by the record in the protocol, took 6-7 hours. Sergei Kuzmich was a man of principle, rude, boorish, but collectivization made a very terrible impression on him. In general, it is worth noting that this was the main reason why the Vlasov movement arose.

General Vlasov inspects the soldiers of the ROA, 1944

Let's say a few words about the aviation of the Vlasov army. It is known that among the “falcons” of the general there were three Heroes Soviet Union: Bronislav Romanovich Antilevsky, Semyon Trofimovich Bychkov and Ivan Ivanovich Tennikov, whose biography is the least studied.

A career pilot, a Tatar by nationality, Tennikov, performing a combat mission to cover Stalingrad on September 15, 1942 over Zaikovsky Island, fought with enemy fighters, rammed the German Messerschmitg-110, shot him down and survived. There is a version that he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for this feat, but his name is not on the list of persons who were deprived of this title. AT Soviet aviation Tennikov served until the fall of 1943, when he was shot down and considered missing. While in a prisoner of war camp, he entered the service of German intelligence and was then transferred to the Vlasov army. For health reasons, he could not fly and served as a propaganda officer. O future fate Tennikov after April 1945 nothing is known. According to the documents of the Main Directorate of Personnel of the Ministry of Defense, he is still missing.

White emigrant pilots also served with Vlasov: Sergei Konstantinovich Shabalin, one of the best aviators of the First World War, Leonid Ivanovich Baidak, who in June 1920 initiated the defeat of the 1st cavalry corps of Dmitry Zhlob, Mikhail Vasilyevich Tarnovsky, the son of a famous Russian gunsmith, colonel of the Russian army, hero of the Russo-Japanese War Vasily Tarnovsky. At the age of 13, Mikhail left his homeland with his family. He lived first in France, then in Czechoslovakia, where he graduated from flight school, becoming a professional pilot. In 1941, Tarnovsky entered the service of German propaganda. He was an announcer and editor of a number of programs of the Vineta radio station, developed scripts and hosted radio programs of an anti-Stalinist and anti-Soviet nature. In the spring of 1943, in May, he applied to join the ROA. He served near Pskov in the Guards shock battalion, and then transferred to the Air Force, where he commanded a training squadron.

Why do we focus on Tarnovsky? The fact is that, surrendering to the Americans, he, as a citizen of the Czechoslovak Republic, was not subject to extradition to the Soviet occupation zone. However, Tarkovsky expressed a desire to share the fate of his subordinates and follow them to Soviet zone. On December 26, he was sentenced to death by a military tribunal. Shot on January 18, 1946 in Potsdam. In 1999 he was rehabilitated by the prosecutor's office of St. Petersburg.

The third Hero of the Soviet Union in the ROA was pilot Ivan Tennikov

And finally, a few words about the ideological component of the Vlasov movement. Briefly state the theses - draw your own conclusions. Contrary to very common stereotypes and myths, most of Vlasov officers began to cooperate with the enemy after Stalingrad, that is, in 1943, and some joined the army of the general in 1944 and even in 1945. In a word, the life risks of a person, if he enrolled in the ROA after 1943, did not decrease, but increased: the situation in the camps had changed so much compared to the first months of the war that only a suicide could join the Vlasov army in these years.

It is known that Vlasov had completely different people not only by military ranks, but also by political views. Therefore, if during such a terrible war there is such a massive betrayal of captured generals and officers to their own state, the oath, you still need to look for social causes. During the First World War, the enemy had thousands of officers of the Russian army in captivity, but there was nothing like that, not a single defector officer (except Ensign Yermolenko) was even close. Not to mention the situation of the XIX century.

As for the trial of General Vlasov and other leaders of the ROA, at first the leadership of the USSR planned to hold a public trial in the October Hall of the House of the Unions. However, this intention was later abandoned. Perhaps the reason was that some of the accused could express views in court that could objectively coincide with the moods of a certain part of the population dissatisfied with the Soviet regime.

On July 23, 1946, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks issued a decision on the death sentence. On August 1, General Vlasov and his followers were hanged.

The history of the creation, existence and destruction of the so-called Russian Liberation Army under the command of General Vlasov is one of the darkest and most mysterious pages of the Great Patriotic War.

First of all, the figure of its leader is amazing. Nominee N.S. Khrushchev and one of the favorites of I.V. Stalin, lieutenant general of the Red Army, Andrey Vlasov was taken prisoner on the Volkhov front in 1942.

Leaving the encirclement with the only companion - the cook Voronova, in the village of Tukhovezhi, he was given to the Germans by the local headman for a reward: a cow and ten packs of makhorka.

Almost immediately after being imprisoned in a camp for senior military near Vinnitsa, Vlasov goes to cooperate with the Germans.

Soviet historians interpreted Vlasov's decision as personal cowardice. However, Vlasov's mechanized corps in the battles near Lvov proved to be very good.

The 37th Army under his leadership in the defense of Kyiv too. By the time of his capture, Vlasov had the reputation of one of the main saviors of Moscow. He did not show personal cowardice in battles.

Later, a version appeared that he was afraid of punishment from Stalin. However, leaving the Kyiv Cauldron, according to Khrushchev, who was the first to meet him, he was in civilian clothes and was leading a goat on a rope. No punishment followed, moreover, his career continued.

In favor of the latest version, for example, Vlasov's close acquaintance with the repressed in 1937-38 speaks. the military. Blucher, for example, he replaced as an adviser to Chiang Kai-shek.

In addition, his immediate superior before the capture was Meretskov, the future marshal, who was arrested at the beginning of the war in the case of "heroes", gave confessions, and was released "on the basis of instructions from the directive bodies for reasons of special order."

And yet, at the same time as Vlasov, the regimental commissar Kernes, who went over to the side of the Germans, was kept in the Vinnitsa camp.

The commissar went out to the Germans with a message about the presence in the USSR of a deeply conspiratorial group. Which covers the army, the NKVD, Soviet and party organs, and stands on anti-Stalinist positions.

A high-ranking official of the German Foreign Ministry Gustav Hilder came to meet with both of them. Documentary evidence of the last two versions does not exist.

But let's go back directly to the ROA, or, as they are often called "Vlasovites." You should start with the fact that the prototype and the first separate "Russian" unit on the side of the Germans was created in 1941-1942. Bronislav Kaminsky Russian Liberation People's Army - RONA. Kaminsky, born in 1903 to a German mother and a Pole father, was an engineer before the war and served time in the Gulag under Article 58.

Note that during the formation of RONA, Vlasov himself still fought in the ranks of the Red Army. By the middle of 1943, Kaminsky had 10,000 fighters, 24 T-34 tanks and 36 captured guns under his control.

In July 1944, his troops showed particular cruelty in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising. On August 19 of the same year, Kaminsky and his entire headquarters were shot by the Germans without trial or investigation.

Around the same time as RONA, the Gil-Rodionov squad was created in Belarus. Lieutenant Colonel of the Red Army V.V. Gil, acting under the pseudonym Rodionov, in the service of the Germans created the Fighting Union of Russian Nationalists and showed considerable cruelty against Belarusian partisans and local residents.

However, in 1943, with most of the BSRN, he went over to the side of the Red partisans, received the rank of colonel and the Order of the Red Star. Killed in 1944.

In 1941, the Russian National People's Army, also known as the Boyarsky Brigade, was created near Smolensk. Vladimir Gelyarovich Boersky ( real name) was born in 1901 in the Berdichevsky district, it is believed that in a Polish family. In 1943 the brigade was disbanded by the Germans.

From the beginning of 1941, the formation of detachments of people calling themselves Cossacks was actively going on. Quite a lot of different divisions were created from them. Finally, in 1943, the 1st Cossack division was created under the leadership of a German colonel von Pannwitz.

She was thrown into Yugoslavia to fight the partisans. In Yugoslavia, the division worked closely with the Russian Security Corps, created from white emigrants and their children. It should be noted that in the Russian Empire, the Kalmyks, in particular, belonged to the Cossack estate, and abroad all emigrants from the Empire were considered Russians.

Also in the first half of the war, formations subordinate to the Germans from representatives of national minorities were actively formed.

The idea of ​​​​Vlasov about the formation of the ROA as the future army of Russia liberated from Stalin, Hitler, to put it mildly, did not cause much enthusiasm. The head of the Reich did not need an independent Russia at all, especially having its own army.

In 1942-1944. The ROA as a real military formation did not exist, but was used for propaganda purposes, to recruit collaborators.

Those, in turn, used separate battalions mainly to perform security functions and fight partisans.

Only at the end of 1944, when the Hitlerite command simply had nothing to plug the gaps in the defense with, was the go-ahead given to the formation of the ROA. The first division was formed only on November 23, 1944, five months before the end of the war.

For its formation, the remnants of the units disbanded by the Germans and battered in battles that fought on the side of the Germans were used. As well as Soviet prisoners of war. Few people looked at nationality here.

The deputy chief of staff Boersky, as we have already said, was a Pole, the head of the combat training department, General Asberg, was an Armenian. Great help in the formation was provided by Captain Shtrik-Shtrikfeld. As well as figures of the white movement, such as Kromiadi, Chocoli, Meyer, Skorzhinsky and others. The rank and file, in the circumstances, most likely, no one checked for nationality.

By the end of the war, the ROA formally numbered from 120 to 130 thousand people. All units were scattered over vast distances and did not represent a single military force.

Until the end of the war, the ROA managed to take part in hostilities three times. On February 9, 1945, in the battles on the Oder, three Vlasov battalions under the leadership of Colonel Sakharov achieved some success in their direction.

But these successes were short-lived. On April 13, 1945, the 1st division of the ROA took part in battles with the 33rd Army of the Red Army without much success.

But in the battles of May 5-8 for Prague, under the leadership of her commander Bunyachenko, she showed herself very well. The Nazis were driven out of the city, and could not return to it.

At the end of the war, most of the "Vlasovites" were extradited to the Soviet authorities. Leaders hanged in 1946. The rest were waiting for camps and settlements.

In 1949, less than half of the 112,882 “Vlasov” special settlers were Russians: - 54,256 people.

Among the rest: Ukrainians - 20,899; Belarusians - 5,432; Georgians - 3,705; Armenians - 3,678; Uzbeks - 3,457; 807, Kabardians - 640, Moldovans - 637, Mordovians - 635, Ossetians - 595, Tajiks - 545, Kirghiz -466, Bashkirs - 449, Turkmens - 389, Poles - 381, Kalmyks -335, Adyghes - 201, Circassians - 192, Lezgins - 177, Jews - 171, Karaites - 170, Udmurts - 157, Latvians - 150, Mari - 137, Karakalpaks - 123, Avars - 109, Kumyks - 103, Greeks - 102, Bulgarians -99, Estonians - 87, Romanians - 62, Nogais - 59, Abkhazians - 58, Komi - 49, Dargins - 48, Finns - 46, Lithuanians - 41 and others - 2095 people.

Alexey Nos.

Thank you colleague a011kirs for a link to .

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, the Cossack Camp of Domanov, the ROA of General Vlasov, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the Eastern divisions of the Wehrmacht, police, Khiv 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 story.

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 (7000 people) is the only commander of a large unit not issued by the US occupation authorities 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" Truth"(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 offers all the peoples of Europe the opportunity to build their own lives in their own way. For this, each people needs living space. Hitler considers possession of it the fundamental right of every people. Therefore, the occupation of Russian territory by German troops is not aimed at the destruction of the Russians, but on the contrary - the victory over Stalin will return to the Russians their Fatherland within the framework of the New Europe family.

September 16, 1944 at the headquarters of the Reichsfuehrer SS in East Prussia a meeting took place between Vlasov and Himmler, during which the latter declared: "Mr. General, I spoke with the Fuhrer, from now on you can consider yourself the 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 introductory remarks 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. Behind you 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 round of troops by Vlasov. Bunyachenko raised his hand in an Aryan greeting and reported. Having finished the tour, 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 regiments of infantry with rifles at the ready, artillery regiment, anti-tank 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 assault rifles and faustpatrons, the group was put into battle on February 9 in the area between Vritsen and Gustebize in the Kyustrin region in order to dislodge Soviet troops from the bridgehead on west bank 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." The detachment was entrusted with the task of freeing a number of settlements on the site of the 230th SD of the Red Army and persuade 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, Infantry General 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.

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

1. Commander-in-Chief: Lieutenant General Andrei 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 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 military academy them. 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. 02.1945 military intelligence separated from civilians. 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. Graduated 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. From 07.43 chief preparatory courses 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 educational institutions US Army, worked for 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.

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 badge, 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. Lectures were based on harsh criticism existing system in 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 famous present time controversy 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".

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. However, let's take a closer look at the number of Soviet citizens who fought on the side of Germany and their motives.

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 understand this or not, you should answer a few questions: how many were there? who were they? how did they get into service? how and with whom did they fight? and what motivated them?

WHO TO COUNT?

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 armed struggle- from the Baltic SS volunteers who fiercely fought 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 trembling. Usually, these ranks include those who received rations from the German military or police department, or who held weapons 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;
- construction 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 "Vlasovites" and other collaborators in uniform were transferred to the authorities. The upper estimate can probably be taken from the works of Drobiazko, which serve as the main source of figures for the proponents of the "Second Civil" version. According to his calculations (the method of which he unfortunately 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 the estimate from above as a basis for further reasoning. Drobyazko.

WHO WERE THEY?

Hiwi and soldiers of the construction battalions can hardly be considered civil war fighters. Of course, their work freed up for the front German soldiers, but exactly the same applies to the "ostarbeiters". Occasionally, the hiwi were given weapons and fought alongside the Germans, but such incidents 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 Drobyazko gives about 675,000, if you add construction parts and take into account the loss during the war, then I think we will not be much mistaken in assuming that this category covers about 700-750,000 people from total 1.2 million. This is consistent with the share of non-combat among 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 should be noted that the proportion of Caucasians enlisted 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 so while holding weapons. 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). Taking into account 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 parts by others, 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 guard "Ostbattalions" were formed, through which about 80,000 people passed, including here the "Russian National People's Army" reorganized into five guard 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 "Ostbattalions" and the remnants of the 30th SS division. The second division is formed from "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 the 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, the Ostbattalions showed themselves poorly in battles with the allies (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 formation of the German Cossack troops - formed in the summer of 1943, the 1st Cossack division of 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 Baltics gave the largest number troops to the front - in addition to the 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 last fights 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 battles 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 partisans. Since Yugoslavia is not far from 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 carried out the second battle already against its ally, attacking on May 5 German troops in Prague.

WHAT MOVED THEM?

The driving motives were completely different.

Firstly, among the eastern troops, one can single out national separatists who fought to create 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 completely different from what is drawn by ardent anti-communists. Instead of one (or even two) million Russians, rallied 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 civil war, is not 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 also said for two. And in real history, no "millions under the tricolor flag" were observed.