Andrey Sorokin: 657 11 Heroes of the Soviet Union who received this title during the great Patriotic war, represent 33 nationalities of the Soviet Union. The amount awarded medal “gold star” in the first place the Russian – 7998 characters, Ukrainians rank second – 2021 people. Third – Belarusians – 299. There is no reason to deny the contribution of the representatives of a particular nationality in the common cause of Victory. But to make a special emphasis on the contribution of strange to me. Won the great Patriotic war of the Soviet state and people. Point.
But until recently, for anybody, and there was no doubt that the Victory in the great Patriotic war was won by the Union all, without exception, republics, Nations and nationalities within the Soviet state. However, the search for “separate” from the history of the USSR the way bring some of the former Soviet republics to the alternative vision of our shared past.
Andrey Sorokin: we are Talking more about the politics of remembrance in the national States that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union and in Central and Eastern Europe, in the so-called “Soviet camp”. These national States, but rather, their political elite are now searching the grounds for the construction of the nation and state in its historical past. In the vast majority of cases there is a desire to have their share in the world to the glory and heroism of the Victory over Nazism, on the one hand. On the other hand, to emphasize the contribution from the point of view of losses: human and material. Another thing is that any of a number of of these nation-States or their elites in the era of which we speak, did not exist. In the present post-Soviet space in the framework common to all state machinery functioned the Soviet elite. Representatives of all nationalities of the USSR were included in it. But their participation in the overall feat of Victory was determined not by their own will, but the will of the Soviet state. If we analyze deeper, we are dealing with a distorted focus, when the construction of national identity is on the patterns of bygone days. In most cases, is based not civil, not political nation, which would include representatives of all Nations, ethnicities, religions… And use the sample in the best case the XIX century, when the Foundation of the state was based on the categories of ethnicity, national identity, etc.
Ukraine never ceases to amaze accounts to total Victory.
Andrey Sorokin: with regard to Auschwitz, allegedly liberated by Ukrainians, the approval was first heard not in Ukraine, and in Western Europe a few years ago when talking about the fact that Europe was freed Ukrainian fronts, then, and the merit of being memberit is not the Soviet Union, and Ukraine. People who say that, at best, poorly educated, at worst politically biased. And they follow their primitive logic. We in Russia know, and they, apparently, unaware that in the hostilities took part in Ukrainian fronts, the Belarusian fronts, the Baltic fronts, the Bryansk, don, Stalingrad, etc. So, following the stated principle, the territory of the USSR, and then and Europe freed who? You still need to explain to adults that the personnel of the Soviet fronts were formed not on a national or territorial basis, and the place or field of action. All these speculations, even the ironic smile is not called.
But unfortunately, we are dealing already with the phenomena of political practice, and we constantly have to deal with it. And archival document becomes a tool of confrontation, or rather of reduction to a common denominator different interpretation of history with which we are faced.
Here one of these documents: letter of Stalin to the commander of the Transcaucasian military district on the formation of divisions – in Tbilisi, Yerevan, Baku… did for Stalin, the special value of the creation units of Georgians?
Andrey Sorokin: 12 Soviet republics and four Autonomous republics of the RSFSR in late 1941 – early 1942 on a national basis was 54 formed military units, and not all of them will have to participate in the fighting. All in all, the red army in this period (as of March 1, 1942) consisted of 416 units.
was Stalin Paid special attention to the formation of parts of the territory of the Caucasus? We have no documents which could diagnose his special interest. Stalin delved into the details of the vast majority of issues discussed at meetings of the State defense Committee of the Politburo of the CPSU(b), the Council of people’s Commissars, people’s Commissariat of defense, etc. We find a handwritten note by Stalin and his litters and resolution for the consideration of incoming documents. Among the solutions of the t-bills we do find, for example, resolution No. 218 of July 20, 1941 about the formation of the Transcaucasian military district at the expense of resources of the County infantry division. But this document is one of many similar documents that were kept on the table of Stalin. No special intensity study of the Transcaucasian Georgian question or issue in the documents of this time we discover. Implemented common approaches on the formation of national military units. Thus, the order of people’s Commissar of defense from February 3, 1942 (recall that during the war Stalin had taken this position) has been formed by five Georgian and Armenian divisions, four of Azerbaijan.
military historical��and Georgia recently flashed an unexpected turn. As they say in “RG” members from the country, local media broadcast point of view that those who collaborated with the Germans during the war, the fighters for independence. But Georgia, to be historically accurate, she asked to be part of Russia, concluded in 1783 the Treaty of Georgievsk.
Andrey Sorokin: there is Nothing original in such statements about the struggle for independence there. This kind of attitude voiced thirty years ago in the Baltic republics. In the same way is the case in Ukraine, where Bandera is a national hero. Everyone is free to choose a vector of development and allies, “designate” enemies, but also bear the responsibility of choice. Idle talk about the struggle for independence cannot and should not obscure the fact of collaboration and Alliance with Nazism and the Nazis this kind of “liberators.” Soldiers of the Legion of the Wehrmacht “Georgia” have made their choice, this choice was condemned by the international community at the Nuremberg Tribunal. Let’s hope that this Republic will not come to make this approach part of public policy of memory. Georgians made a huge contribution to the Victory. And among them, incidentally, quite a large number of Heroes of the Soviet Union – 90. The memory of the war in this state must be different from what takes place in some other former Soviet republics.
the Guerrilla movement was a multinational, too?
Andrey Sorokin: since we’re talking about the guerrillas, it is impossible not to mention two major centers of the Soviet partisan movement. It was directed by the Central headquarters of the partisan movement (GCPD), created by decree of the State Committee of defense on 30 may 1942. It was headed by the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist party of Belarus Panteleimon Ponomarenko. It should be remembered that after the abolition of tsshpd (13 Jan 1944) on the territory of Ukraine and Belarus continued to operate a separate headquarters of the partisan movement. And in Belarus, the movement acquired a nationwide character, at the end of the great Patriotic war joined the red army more than 190 thousand partisans, during the entire period of hostilities, according to the Belarusian headquarters of the partisan movement, the number of units of Belarus amounted to more than 370 thousand people.
was partisan units in the Baltic republics?
Andrey Sorokin: Yes, in the same Latvia socialist idea and the example of the Soviet Union for many people was not an empty sound. Some of them in the years of the great Patriotic war fought in the Soviet national parts, the part in partisan detachments. In September 1942, was established the Latvian headquarters of the partisan d��to achieve leadership in the Baltic States. It was headed by Colonel A. K. Sprogis. In the period of maximum amplitude in the early autumn of 1944 the number of the partisans in the territory of the Latvia reached 2700 people. 3 November of the same year was established the Estonian partisan movement headquarters, 26 November the Lithuanian headquarters, headed by A. J. Snechkus. More than 9 thousand of Lithuanian partisans set name, more than 62 percent of them were Lithuanians. Speaking about the partisan resistance in the Baltic States, not to forget the national military units of the red army. In the summer, in the winter of 1941 was formed the Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian division, later reorganised into the rifle corps, which became the largest national connections during the war.
But a huge part of the population of the Baltic republics was calculated using the Germans to get rid of the Soviet presence.
Special documents in your archive on the theme of deportation during the war. For example, a team composed of Chechens, Ingush, Kalmyks. Served if the representatives of these peoples in the army after deportation?
Andrey Sorokin: the Deportation was carried out by the Soviets in 1941-1942 and 1943-1944. They affected Germans, Chechens, Ingush, Kalmyks, Crimean Tatars and others. Representatives of all these peoples fought in the army. Among the Chechens – six Heroes of the Soviet Union. Among the Crimean Tatars – five was awarded the Gold star. However, on whole Nations, using the principle of collective responsibility, were blamed for the participation of their representatives in collaborationist movements. And one of the elements of the policy of deportation was the retirement of those soldiers, who at this time were in the ranks of the army. Regardless of the merits, to an official position which was occupied by a particular officer. And it was also.
Panfilov’s division stopped the Germans at Moscow. Ashamed to admit it, but in addition in the mass consciousness there is almost no information about the contribution to the victory of Central Asia…
Andrey Sorokin: In Sredne-Asian military district by the end of 1941 was formed 16 infantry and 21 cavalry division, 25 infantry brigades. In November 1941 the GKO adopt a special resolution N 894 “About the national military compounds.” Only in accordance with this decision will be formed by three Kazakh divisions, two Kyrgyz, Turkmen and Uzbek divisions, one Tajik. Autumn and winter of 1941, five divisions and three brigades, formed in Kazakhstan, took part in the battle of Moscow, including the most famous of these – 316-Yu (later 8th guards). National military units will be formed until February 1942. In the future, the Soviet political leadership OTKageda from this principle, because, according to military command, their training did not meet all the requirements of modern war. But the contribution of the Central Asian republics, as, indeed, all republics of the Soviet Union, does not exhaust the number of conscripts drafted into the army. Labor mobilization has covered all population of the USSR, and not in the last place of the Central Asian region, with its concentration of “excess” labor. As a result of the evacuation of industrial enterprises located in the republics of the region, there were industrial centres, who have made a significant contribution to the economy of the Victory. We won the war together, and this is the main result and lesson of those times.
