List of awards and honorary titles of Stalin. See what "Stalin's Awards" are in other dictionaries Assigning Stalin the title of Hero of the Soviet Union
70 years ago, on June 26, 1945, the title of "Generalissimo of the Soviet Union" was introduced in the USSR. Introduced by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 26, 1945, based on the consideration of the collective petition of workers, engineering and technical workers and employees of the Moscow plant "Ressora" of February 6, 1943 and the proposal of the commanders of the fronts, the General Staff of the Red Army, the Navy dated June 24, 1945
The next day, June 27, 1945, at the suggestion of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the written submission of the front commanders, the title was awarded to Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin "in commemoration of exceptional merits in the Great Patriotic War." In addition, Joseph Vissarionovich was awarded the Order of Victory and he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Generalissimo of Russia
For the entire existence in Russia, only five people have been awarded this highest title. For the first time, the title of generalissimo (from Latin generalissimus - “the most important”) was awarded in 1569 in France to the Duke of Anjou (later King Henry III). In France, the term "generalissimo" meant an honorary military title, which was given to persons of the ruling dynasties and the most prominent statesmen. In the Holy Roman Empire, the Austrian Empire and England, this was the position of the commander of the active army in time of war or the commander-in-chief of all the troops of the state. In Russia and Spain, it was an honorary highest military rank.
In Russia, the word "generalissimo" appeared during the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Foreign officers serving in the Russian Amiya used to address the Great Governor, who was considered the commander of the army. Tsar Peter Alekseevich in 1696 for the first time granted the title of generalissimo to the voivode Alexei Semyonovich Shein. Aleksey Shein came from an old boyar family and was noted by Peter for his successes in the Azov campaigns of 1695-1696, which ended with the capture of the Turkish fortress of Azov. During the first, unsuccessful Azov campaign, Aleksey Shein commanded the guards - the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments. During the second Azov campaign, in 1696, the Russian governor was the commander of the ground forces. After that, the tsar appointed Shein commander-in-chief of the Russian army, commander of artillery, cavalry and head of the Inozemsky order. Shein was responsible for the southern strategic direction, fought the Turks and the Crimean Tatars. However, Shein soon fell out of favor (due to the case of the archers) and died in 1700.
Officially, the military rank of Generalissimo in the Russian state was introduced by the Military Regulations of 1716. Therefore, formally, the first generalissimo of Russia was the "chick of Petrov's nest", the royal favorite Alexander Danilovich Menshikov. It was a controversial person. On the one hand, he was Peter's faithful companion for a long time, fought successfully, played a big role in the decisive battle of Poltava, where he commanded first the vanguard, and then the left flank of the Russian army. At Perevolochna, he forced the remaining Swedish troops to capitulate. On the other hand, he was power-hungry, and greedy for money and wealth. In terms of the number of serfs, he became the second soul owner in Russia after Tsar Peter. Menshikov was repeatedly convicted of embezzlement. Peter let this go for a long time, recognizing his services to the Fatherland and under the influence of his wife Catherine. However, at the end of Peter's reign, Menshikov fell into disgrace, he was deprived of his main posts.
Under Peter Menshikov did not receive the title of Generalissimo. After the death of Peter, he was able to become the de facto ruler of Russia under Catherine I and Peter II. When on May 6 (17), 1727, Peter II Alekseevich became the third All-Russian emperor, Menshikov received the rank of full admiral. And on May 12 he was awarded the title of Generalissimo. As a result, Menshikov received the rank of generalissimo not in recognition of military merits, but as a favor of the tsar. However, Menshikov was defeated in the fight against other dignitaries and nobles. In September 1727, Menshikov was arrested and exiled. He was stripped of all awards and positions.
The next generalissimo, Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick, also did not have any special merits before Russia, which would be worth noting with such a sign of attention. Anton Ulrich was the husband of Anna Leopoldovna. When Anna Leopoldovna became the regent (ruler) of the Russian Empire under the young emperor Ivan VI, her husband received the highest military rank on November 11, 1740. This happened after a palace coup that ended Biron's reign.
Anton Ulrik did not possess, unlike the same Menshikov, any managerial and military talents, he was a soft and limited person. Therefore, he was unable to protect his family. On the night of December 5-6, 1741, another palace coup took place in Russia: the Braunschweig family was overthrown, and Elizaveta Petrovna ascended the throne. Anton Ulrik was stripped of all ranks and titles and sent into exile with his entire family.
On October 28, 1799, the great Russian commander Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov became Generalissimo of the Russian land and sea forces. He was awarded by Emperor Pavel in honor of the legendary Swiss campaign of 1799, when the Russian miraculous heroes of Suvorov defeated not only the French, but also the mountains. Alexander Suvorov rightfully received this title. He did not lose a single battle, smashed the Poles, Ottomans and French. Suvorov was the author of "The Science of Victory", a brief instruction to soldiers, where the Russian spirit was expressed, allowing you to emerge victorious in the most difficult conditions. The commanders of the Suvorov school were M. I. Kutuzov, P. I. Bagration and others.
Supreme
After the generalissimos of the 18th century, no one else was awarded the highest military rank in Russia, although the Russian army still fought a lot. The winner of Napoleon's Great Army, Mikhail Kutuzov, was awarded the rank of Field Marshal for his distinction at Borodino. Even such a great war as the First World War did not lead to the appearance of Russian generalissimos. After the October Revolution of 1917, the former military ranks were abolished, and with them the title of generalissimo.
Only during the most terrible and bloody war of the 20th century - the Great Patriotic War, which became sacred for Russia-USSR, since it was a question of the survival of Russian civilization and the Russian superethnos, did they return to the idea of reviving this title. After the Great Patriotic War, on June 26, 1945, the highest military rank "Generalissimo of the Soviet Union" was introduced by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and on June 27 it was awarded to Joseph Stalin, who during the war years was the Soviet Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
A very interesting legend is connected with the assignment of the title of Generalissimo to Stalin. As you know, Stalin was indifferent to titles and signs of power, he lived modestly, even ascetically. The Supreme did not like sycophants, believing that helpful bastards are worse than obvious enemies. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the issue of conferring the title of Generalissimo to Stalin was discussed several times, but the “leader of the peoples” constantly rejected this proposal. At the same time, senior military leaders especially insisted on the revival of this title, for them the hierarchy was of great importance. One of these discussions took place in the presence of Stalin. Marshal of the Soviet Union Konev recalled that Stalin reacted as follows: “Do you want to assign a generalissimo to Comrade Stalin? Why does Comrade Stalin need this? Comrade Stalin does not need this. Comrade Stalin already has authority. You need titles for authority. Just think, they found a title for Comrade Stalin - Generalissimo. Chiang Kai-shek - Generalissimo, Franco Generalissimo. Nothing to say, good company for Comrade Stalin. You are marshals, and I am a marshal, do you want to put me out of the marshals? Some kind of generalissimo?..” Thus, Stalin gave a categorical refusal.
However, the marshals continued to insist and decided to exert influence through Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, one of Stalin's favorite commanders. Rokossovsky was able to convince Marshal Stalin with a simple but correct argument showing the military hierarchy. He said: “Comrade Stalin, you are a marshal and I am a marshal, you cannot punish me!” As a result, Stalin surrendered. Although later, according to Molotov, he repented of this decision: “Stalin regretted that he had agreed to the generalissimo. He always regretted. And rightly so. This was overdone by Kaganovich, Beria ... Well, the commanders insisted.
Although, to be honest, he reproached himself in vain. Stalin deserved this high title. His enormous, simply titanic work still affects the position of Russia as a great power.
Joseph Stalin was the only generalissimo in the history of Russia who not only had the highest military rank of the country, but was also its leader. Under his leadership, Russia-USSR was prepared for war: the army, economy and society. The Union became the most powerful industrial power, which not only managed to survive the war with almost all of Europe, led by Nazi Germany, but also won a brilliant victory. The Soviet armed forces became the most powerful force on the planet. And the Soviet Union became a superpower, which was the world leader in the field of science and advanced technologies, education and culture, leading humanity into the future. The Red Empire then was a kind of "beacon" for the entire planet, instilling hope in humanity for a brighter future.
After Stalin, the title of Generalissimo of the Soviet Union was not awarded, but was listed in the statutes until 1993. In 1993, along with other individual military ranks of the Armed Forces of the USSR, the title of Generalissimo of the Soviet Union was not included in the list of military ranks of the Russian Armed Forces.
I wholeheartedly welcome you! Igor Vasilyevich, good afternoon. Good afternoon. Long time no see. Well, yes, already somehow ... What is today about? Today we will continue our conversation about the Great Patriotic War and touch on such a topic, in general, already worn out by our accusers, such as penal units, these famous penal battalions, penal companies, about which we compose all sorts of nonsense, films are shot, and so on. . In principle, here, before starting this conversation, I want to, one might say, make such a message. Here is my book "The Great Slandered War", according to which we, in fact, are talking, in many respects. By the way, here I liked it when, in one of the comments to one of our conversations about barrage detachments, someone wrote there that, like, is it time for me to write another book on this text. It's time, yes. Well, it’s the same as after we had The Master and Margarita filmed, there, too, some of us such erudite citizens came to the bookstore and were indignant that, wow, what hacks, only the film came out, already a book was written on it. They made a fuss. Yes, they've been hustling. So, it means that here in all our conversations this book is the primary source, i.e. it was written at its core back in 2005, but in principle, what I voice aloud is already on its topic. Although, of course, yes, it is slightly different, i.e. I still don’t read it, I can add something here or, conversely, not mention it. 7th edition, enlarged and corrected. In fact, this is a stereotypical publication, i.e. we have there, when our cycle began, there was a black edition, now it's such a green one. It has been published somewhere in a new way since the end of January. Unfortunately, we now have such a policy of publishers that they want the money to be immediately, so instead of publishing immediately, say, in a larger circulation, so that they lie and, say, go out in a year, they will publish a small one like this circulation, there the circulation will be sold out, then they will publish more. Therefore, in principle, if someone wants to buy, then ... The book business is not an easy thing. It looks like it's still on sale. As a last resort, it seems that at the end of the summer they promised an additional print. This is such a lyrical digression. Actually, now according to our conversation, i.e. for these unfortunate penalties. Probably, I'll start with the fact that in general, however sad it may seem, but, in principle, our citizens, and not only ours, tend to break laws. Those. they can commit offenses or even crimes, and at the same time, in general, military personnel also sin with this, and, naturally, such offenses should be punished somehow, which is not surprising, again, for our human rights fighters . Those. if you committed a crime, get punished. And it is natural that when there is a war, and such a total war, a war of annihilation, as we had the Great Patriotic War, then in this situation, of course, the actual question of punishing stumbled citizens, they, in general, their it is worth reconsidering a little, because the question arises whether it is worth it for the guilty to be put in places of detention ... Servicemen. Yes, military personnel. And, in fact, in general, men of military age. Or somehow they can be used, so to speak, more rationally for the benefit of the homeland that is at war. And indeed, practically from the beginning of the war, such a thing began in our country that such a legal trick as a delay in the execution of a sentence began to be applied to convicted servicemen on a rather massive scale. This, if I am not mistaken, is 28... Such an opportunity, in principle, was provided for by Article 29 of the then Criminal Code, and in fact it resulted in the fact that the serviceman, as they say, screwed up, committed some kind of crime, he was sentenced, say , 5 years' imprisonment, suspended until the end of the war. It used to be 10 years. In principle, I even know, in general, precedents when they were sentenced to capital punishment, again, with a delay until the end of the war. Naturally, this did not mean that he would fight here until victory, and then they would shoot him, but that during this time he would be able to atone for his guilt and, accordingly, it means that he would, as it were, be considered freed from punishment and at the same time will be useful at the front. And what are the methods for atonement? Methods arose a little later, because here, as they say, the joke is that initially such a practice took place, but at the same time it actually turned out that this is exactly the mechanism of atonement for guilt, and it’s clear here that, roughly speaking, a person who has committed a fine and his comrade, who, in general, is not guilty of anything, they should not be on an equal footing. Those. in principle, it would seem that the one who has committed a fine should have some kind of, let's say, he should be in a more dangerous situation. Well, it turned out that initially, in the first year of the war, I mean the year, of course, starting from June 22, in fact, it was given, in general, to the discretion of these fighters and commanders, as well as their superiors. Those. no mechanism was spelled out how to force them to atone for this matter. Well, then, of course, yes, since this is not entirely fair, naturally, the idea has already arisen that all these people who, as they say, have broken the law in this way, should be used in a special way so that they take more risks and, accordingly could thus atone for their guilt. In principle, in general, in fact, the idea is quite sensible. And even here, in principle, I can even just give an example from my own practice, because when I was in Luhansk in August 14, in the Zarya battalion, we then had dry law there. In principle, it was forbidden to drink at all. But, of course, this, of course, was violated there, but it’s one thing when I drank 100 grams before going to bed and covered myself in a blanket - this is one thing. There, it means, there was one especially gifted comrade, who not only got drunk, he also began to bawl songs, and right under the window of the battalion commander. Naturally, the next morning, at the morning formation, he was taken out in front of us in handcuffs, he said there, “I'm sorry, guys,” and he was sent to demining work. Those. in principle, it turns out that ... He returned, no? To be honest, I didn’t see him anymore, but it’s not a fact that he died. Maybe everything ended quite and safely, but at least the principle is clear here that if a person not only violated an order, but committed such, in general, a daring offense, which, in general, would clearly undermine discipline if leave it unpunished, then, in general, it is logical to send him to some especially dangerous combat work so that he can, as it were, atone for it. And in the end, we really did, when, therefore, we had this famous order No. 227 “not a step back” dated July 28, 1942, then there were also such provisions, which means: “To the military councils of the fronts and, above all, to the commanders of the fronts: to form within the front from one to three (depending on the situation) penal battalions (800 people each), where to send medium and senior commanders and relevant political workers of all branches of the military who are guilty of violating discipline due to cowardice or instability, and put them in more difficult areas front, to give them the opportunity to atone for their crimes against the Motherland with blood. 2. To the military councils of the armies and, above all, to the commanders of the armies: to form within the army from five to ten (depending on the situation) penal companies (from 150 to 200 people each), where to send ordinary soldiers and junior commanders who are guilty of violating discipline through cowardice or instability, and to place them in difficult sectors of the army in order to give them the opportunity to atone for their crimes against the Motherland with blood. Those. it is clear that here, according to this order, penal battalions are being created for the middle and senior command staff, but these are also officers. Those. then, in principle, the term “officer”, as you know, in the Red Army in the first 2 decades it was not accepted, but just around that time it was already being introduced, but this is the middle and senior command staff - this is the officer actually composition. Accordingly, for them penal battalions, for privates, sergeants - penal companies. At the same time, it means that it is interesting here ... I.e. if we are watching the feature film "Penal Battalion", then it is quite obvious that there are solid ones from the lieutenant and above, yes, should they be? From a junior lieutenant, from a military assistant, i.e. this, roughly speaking, from the junior officer rank and above. Yes, and, in fact, of course, there cannot be criminals there, criminals, they are in a penal company. But I will say more about this a little later. This means that it is interesting here - firstly, there is such a moment that here, when they talk about barrage detachments, we have such a generally accepted misconception that it is believed that they appeared only with this order 227. But I have already talked about this in our In conversations, he said that in fact we, in general, had the views of some barrage detachments from the first days of the war. And order 227, he introduced just another variety of them. But with the penal parts, there is a misconception just the opposite, i.e. for some reason, quite a few of us think that they were there in an earlier period. It is clear that today we have an era when, in general, we have a catastrophic decline in erudition among the population and people do not know anything, are not interested, but even, it would seem, in such a condo Soviet era, when we had such a poet Alexander Mezhirov, who wrote the famous “Communists, forward”, although this did not prevent him from becoming an anti-Soviet after perestroika, it means that he has such a poem, called “Echelon”, which describes such a tragic fate of a soldier who, at the stop of a military train, went out to smoke , relaxed, and, accordingly, the echelon left. Well, there are further lines that “Volkhovstroy, 41 years old, for actions of this kind a wall or a penal company, the motherland does not give less.” I must say that, firstly, of course, at the age of 41 there were no penal companies and, in general, he also got a little excited about the wall. Those. how, again, in one of our previous conversations, we considered this fate of our servicemen, who were detained just in 41 by the same barrage detachments and rear guard units. And there it turned out that in fact, in the vast majority of cases, this would have ended for such an eagle, let's say, with a slight fright, he would have simply been sent, in the end, to his unit. Although, yes, I could really run into a more serious punishment, but that would be if I was not lucky. But in reality, penal units appeared precisely from the end of July 42. Then the second point, which should be noted here, is this order 227, when he introduces these penal formations, he refers to the fact that they say it was successful there, that the Germans have such a successful experience in using penalty boxes, and why not do not copy them. And here, indeed, in this case, Stalin is absolutely right with us, because the Germans really had a system of penal units, which was created much earlier than ours, i.e. even before the war, and it was like that, quite numerous and branched out. Those. there they had, firstly, they had the so-called "five hundredth" battalions. Here, then, I simply won’t pronounce the German name, because I didn’t learn German, so I won’t embarrass myself with pronunciation. So, in short, the five hundredth battalions, they were created in December 40, and were intended mainly for military personnel who had committed criminal offenses. Approximately 80,000 people passed through them during the war. Is there a German name? And here. Don't know. My knowledge is … Bewährungstruppe, that is… Well, the Germans, it is customary for them to create such compound words, there will be an even more cool word there. This means that at the beginning of the war they had these formations, five hundredth battalions, then, since there, it means, when Hitler, as they say, smelled of kerosene, from October 1, 42, they began to create the so-called 999 battalions, already for political, those. there are even politically unreliable ones, and about 30,000 people also passed through them. And, finally, there were still field penal units, and now they were called, here is such a completely kilometer-long word, I don’t even dare to pronounce it. Well, here it is clear, on the contrary. Feldstrafgefangenabteilungen. Well, it is clear that the penalties. Yes, well, there are field, these are free kicks, which means, i.e. Here. And all this economy, it was actively used against us. Those. it should be noted that in the army of the European type for military crimes, personnel were punished, apparently, by military tribunals, and sent to be corrected as part of the penal units of this very European army. Something no one was soared, yes. Quite right. And here, just like that ... Well, in all - I'm sorry, I'll interrupt - apparently they were not used at all in rear work, hole diggers, something else. And here, then, just here I can read excerpts from the diary of the chief of staff of the German ground forces, Haldur. From July 9, 1941, that means a record, he reports to the head of the organizational department of the headquarters of the German ground forces, Major General Walter Bulle, there "the organization of penal battalions turned out to be a good idea." Well, why did it turn out to be a good idea - we see this from further entries. For example, this means the entry dated August 1: “The penal battalion has so far had 25% losses, 170 people have arrived as replenishment. “A special field battalion (a battalion staffed with penitentiaries) was used in the west for the people to clear mines. 450 people are used to clear the area of past battles." Then there is the record of September 25, where the blockade of Leningrad has already been established, but the Germans are advancing further, they are trying to close the 2nd ring, i.e. along Lake Ladoga. And there was just the 16th German army, which was advancing along Lake Ladoga, it just failed at that time, its 8th tank division was thrown back and, accordingly, the Fuhrer's decision was to send a penal battalion there as well. Those. this is literally under our city, these German penalty boxers fought. So, as for our penalty boxes, then, as I said, they were created by order No. 227 of July 28, 42. Their formation began almost immediately, but, nevertheless, the provision on penal battalions and penal companies, it was put into effect much later. More precisely, not much later, but after, it turns out, 2 months, i.e. September 28th. And I'll just read out some key points from this position. So the first one. The purpose of penal battalions is to enable persons of middle and senior command, political and commanding staff of all branches of the armed forces who are guilty of violating discipline due to cowardice or instability, to atone for their crimes against the Motherland with a brave fight against the enemy in a more difficult area of combat operations. The organization, strength and combat composition, as well as salaries for the maintenance of the permanent composition of the penal battalions are determined by a special staff. Penal battalions are under the jurisdiction of the military councils of the fronts. Within each front, from one to three penal battalions are created, depending on the situation. A penal battalion is attached to a rifle division (separate rifle brigade), on the sector of which it was placed by order of the military council of the front. And further here, then, the rights of the permanent composition of the penal battalions are signed. This means that the permanent composition is those people who are not penalized themselves, i.e. these are commanders, political workers and others who, in fact, should perform their functions in this capacity. The commanders and military commissars of the battalion and companies, the commanders and political leaders of platoons, as well as the rest of the permanent commanding staff of penal battalions are appointed to the post by order of the troops of the front from among the strong-willed and most distinguished commanders and political workers in battle. Those. don’t play around, play around, they didn’t set anyone. In general, yes. At the same time, of course, this is, in general, a big responsibility, a big risk, but, accordingly, the corresponding bonuses are provided for this, which will be painted here further. So yes. The commander and military commissar of a penal battalion use the disciplinary power of the commander and military commissar of the division in relation to the penalized; deputy commander and military commissar of the battalion - by the authority of the commander and military commissar of the regiment; company commanders and military commissars - by the authority of the battalion commander and military commissar, and platoon commanders and political leaders - by the authority of company commanders and political leaders. For the entire permanent staff of penal battalions, the terms of service in ranks are reduced by half compared to the command, political and commanding staff of combat units of the Army in the Field. Those. even compared with the active army, the term of service here is even half as long. And further: Each month of service in the permanent composition of the penal battalion is counted when assigning a pension for six months. Wow. All in all, it's probably quite reasonable. Knowing their native country, they didn’t give anything like that for nothing and could not give it. Well, now, actually, about the penalty box. So what is said about them. This means that the following is said: “Persons of the middle and senior command, political and commanding staff are sent to penal battalions by order by division or brigade (by corps - in relation to the personnel of corps units or by army and front - in relation to units of army and front subordination, respectively) for a period of one to three months. Persons of the middle and senior command, political and commanding staff, convicted with the use of a suspended sentence (note 2 to article 28 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR) may also be sent to penal battalions for the same periods by the verdict of military tribunals (the army and the rear). Those. just the very suspension of the sentence until the end of the war or until some other period, about which I spoke. Those. here, as it were, the freebie has already ended, and now it’s not just there at the discretion of your conscience, but, it means that you received a sentence with a delay - go to serve in a penal battalion. But, in fact, not everything is so bad, because here it turned out such, in general, a fairly good offset. Those. if a person received from the tribunal, say, a punishment for a period of less than 5 years, then in order to atone for this, one had to spend 1 month in a penal battalion. If around 5 years, it's about 2 months usually. If ten, i.e. 10 years is 3 months. It is clear that, say, 10 years in prison or 3 months at the front, although yes, in dangerous conditions, these things are not entirely comparable, i.e. people were given a real opportunity to atone for their guilt. So, what is said about them further: Persons of the middle and senior command, political and commanding staff, sent to the penal battalion, by the same order for the division or brigade (corps, army or front troops, respectively) are subject to demotion to the rank and file. Before being sent to the penal battalion, the penal is placed in front of the formation of his unit (unit), the order for the division or brigade is read out and the essence of the crime committed is explained. Orders and medals are taken away from the penal and for the time of his stay in the penal battalion are transferred for storage to the personnel department of the front. Penitentiaries are issued a special Red Army book. For non-execution of an order, self-harm, escape from the battlefield or an attempt to go over to the enemy, the command and political staff of the penal battalion is obliged to apply all measures of influence up to and including execution on the spot. Well, then there is an interesting point that these penalized prisoners could be assigned the military rank of corporal, junior sergeant, sergeant for the time they were in the penal battalion. Accordingly, they could be appointed to the positions of squad leader. Field money was not paid to them, but a salary of 8 rubles was paid. 50 kopecks, which, of course, is very sparse. But there, those who got to the sergeant's position, the more. Accordingly, the payment of money to the family according to the monetary certificate is terminated and it is transferred to the allowance established for families of Red Army soldiers and junior commanders of decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. But then there are, again, as they say, buns. Those. for military distinctions, a penal can be released ahead of schedule on the proposal of the command of the penal battalion, approved by the military council of the front. For particularly outstanding military distinction, the penal, in addition, is presented to the government award. Before leaving the penal battalion, the person released ahead of schedule is placed in front of the formation of the battalion, the order for early release is read out and the essence of the accomplished feat is explained. Further, accordingly, all those released from the penal battalion are restored in their ranks and in their rights. But here they are released both after the accomplishment of a feat or injury, as well as after the expiration of the term. By the way, with regard to injuries, there is also a separate point further on that fines who were wounded in battle are considered to have served their sentence, are restored in rank and in all rights, and upon recovery are sent for further service, and disabled people are assigned a pension from the salary of maintenance in the last position before enrollment in the penal battalion. Accordingly, i.e. namely that a pension is assigned not as a private, but as an officer, i.e. for that position. It is the same with the dead, i.e. this is the next point that the families of the dead penalized are assigned a pension on a common basis with all the families of commanders from the salary of maintenance in the last position before being sent to the penal battalion. Extremely humane. Here. Those. in fact, it turns out that these offending officers, while they were in the penal battalion, lost their rights and were demoted to the rank and file, but at the same time, after serving their term, they were fully restored in their rights and could continue to serve in their already officer positions. At the same time, with regard to awards, here at one time I repeatedly communicated with Major General Alexandrov Vasilyevich Pyltsyn, he is such a worthy person, he lives in our city, as I heard, it seems that there was also an Intelligence Interrogation with him. They went to his house. Yes. He told me what they had there, during the war he was just an officer in a penal battalion, and it was a commander, that is. He started out as a platoon leader, then as a company commander. So he said that there, with the same awards, there was such a moment that they could give the penalty box the Order of Glory, which was just intended for privates and junior officers, i.e. for privates and sergeants. And then it turned out that officers were not entitled to such an order, with the exception of junior lieutenants in aviation. Accordingly, it turned out that, on the one hand, the penalty box distinguished himself, received the Order of Glory, on the other hand, now everyone can see that he was in the penal battalion. Therefore, there was ambiguous attitude to this. But, nevertheless, there were such precedents, the penalty box was awarded orders too. At the same time, the Regulations on penal companies were put into effect, here, in general, it is natural that most of the points there coincide, but I will still read out some key points. Penal companies are intended to enable ordinary soldiers and junior commanders of all branches of the armed forces who are guilty of violating discipline due to cowardice or instability, to atone for their guilt before the Motherland with a brave fight against the enemy in a difficult area of combat operations. Those. it is clear that here it is, respectively, privates and sergeants, it turns out, in a penal company. Further - Penal companies are under the jurisdiction of the military councils of the armies. Within each army, from five to ten penal companies are created, depending on the situation. A penal company is attached to a rifle regiment (division, brigade) on whose sector it is assigned. So, about the permanent composition. The commander and military commissar of the company, commanders and political leaders of platoons and the rest of the permanent commanding staff of penal companies are appointed to the position by order in the army from among the strong-willed and most distinguished commanders and political workers in battle. Further, they, again, have the same benefits, i.e. this is a halved term of service, a month for 6 months when calculating a pension. Accordingly, it means that ordinary penalized soldiers are ordinary soldiers and junior commanders who are sent to penal companies by order of a regiment or a separate unit for a period of 1 to 3 months. Rank-and-file soldiers and junior commanders who have been sentenced with a suspended sentence may also be sent to penal companies for the same periods by the verdict of military tribunals. Further there, again, everything is the same, i.e. there, respectively, orders and medals were taken away from them, which were taken away for storage, there a Red Army book of a special type was issued. Again, in the event of some heroic feat or injury, they were released ahead of schedule, or released after the expiration of their stay in the penal company. So, what else should be noted here - I just said at the beginning of our conversation that criminals also fell into penal companies. Here the situation, in fact, is as follows: when the war started in our country, then, on the one hand, the army really demanded men of military age, and on the other hand, again, not all convicts and prisoners are complete scum, t .e. There are still some normal people out there. Naturally, they expressed a desire to be sent to the front as well, to give them the opportunity to fight for their country, which was attacked by an enemy who was going to just stupidly destroy us and enslave the rest. And therefore, during the war, in general, almost a million people were sent from the Gulag to the active army. At the same time, somewhere around 420,000 were sent there for 41 years, then there was another portion somewhere over there, in my opinion, 157,000 people, but in total during the war there 975,000 prisoners were sent to the army. At the same time, again, what is interesting is that 117,000 employees of this system were also sent from the Gulag along with them. Moreover, most of them, i.e. there are 93,500, they were people from the paramilitary guard, i.e. VOKhRA. Since our current filmmakers are very fond of when they shoot their masterpieces about the Gulag, like the same “Major Pugachev’s Last Fight”, there they portray VOKhR as some kind of fat bulls who sit out in the rear, and, accordingly, this is very satisfied. In fact, we see that they, too, quite massively, in general, petitioned to be sent to the front, and indeed they were sent there. But at the same time, the system was as follows, that those prisoners who got to the front, let's say, in the first year of the war, they were lucky. They were lucky in the sense that they were sent on a common basis, i.e. by ordinary Red Army soldiers to ordinary units. Well, accordingly, when the system of penal units was already put into effect in our country, it was decided there that it was right to send these prisoners not to the usual unit, but to the penal companies so that they would first serve their term, atoned for their guilt by being in the penal unit, and then they would have served on a common basis. On this occasion, an order was issued on January 26, 1944 "On the procedure for applying note 2 to article 28 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR and sending convicts to the active army." It was signed by Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Marshal Vasilevsky, People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Beria and People's Commissar of Justice Rychkov and USSR Prosecutor Gorshenin. So that's what was said. The audit found that the judiciary in a number of cases unreasonably apply the suspension of the execution of the sentence with the direction of convicts to the army (note 2 to article 28 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR and the corresponding articles of the Criminal Code of other union republics) to persons convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes, banditry, robbery, robbery , recidivist thieves, persons who already had a previous conviction for the listed crimes, as well as those who repeatedly deserted from the Red Army. At the same time, there is no due order in the transfer of convicts with a suspension of execution of sentences to the active army. As a result, many convicts have the opportunity to desert and commit crimes again. In order to eliminate these shortcomings and streamline the practice of transferring convicts to the active army, I order: To prohibit courts and military tribunals from applying Note 2 to Article 28 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (and the corresponding articles of the Criminal Code of other union republics) to those convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes, banditry, robbery, robbery, recidivist thieves, persons who already had a previous conviction for the crimes listed above, as well as those who repeatedly deserted from the Red Army. For other categories of cases, when deciding on the suspension of the execution of the sentence with the direction of the convict to the active army, courts and military tribunals take into account the personality of the convict, the nature of the crime committed and other circumstances of the case. So, what you need to understand here is that this order, it was issued in January 44, i.e. this is still not 41 years old, i.e. it is already, in general, clear that the war has been won, and therefore, let's say that those of the prisoners who at that time expressed a desire to join the army, but they are no longer so much patriots as, perhaps, pragmatic people, who thus want to be freed. And therefore, such restrictions are already being introduced here, i.e. that those who are convicted under Article 58 of “counter-revolutionary crimes” are not allowed to do this, those who are convicted under Article 59, i.e. “State crimes”, here, too, a number of categories are listed, for example, who was convicted of banditry, i.e. it doesn't work for them now either. And then there, I’ll skip a part, which means, “Persons recognized as fit for service in the active army should be accepted by military registration and enlistment offices in places of detention on receipt and sent to penal battalions of military districts for subsequent sending them to penal units of the active army along with copies of sentences. Upon admission of convicts to penal units, the terms of stay in them shall be established by the commanders of military units. So there is no confusion here. It turns out that these prisoners, who have expressed a desire and are found fit to serve in the army, are first sent to the penal battalion of the rear district, this is a different system, another military unit, and then from there they are transferred to a penal company in the army. Well, there the term of stay is already set, based on what, apparently, the term of that person, and, apparently, there it is decided by the commander of the military unit. Then we must also mention another type of penal units that we had - these are assault battalions. This structure was created just about a year after order 227, i.e. they were created by order ORG / 2/1348 of August 1, 43, just at the height of the Battle of Kursk, and, therefore, it was an order "on the formation of separate assault rifle battalions", which, in fact, prescribed that in order to provide an opportunity commanding staff, who were for a long time in the territory occupied by the enemy, and did not take part in partisan detachments, with weapons in their hands, I order to prove their devotion to the Motherland: 1. Form by August 25 this year. from the contingents of command and command personnel contained in special camps of the NKVD: the 1st and 2nd separate assault rifle battalions - in the Moscow military district, the 3rd separate assault rifle battalion - in the Volga military district, the 4th separate assault rifle battalion - in the Stalingrad military district. Formation of battalions to be carried out according to the state No. 04/331, numbering 927 people each. Battalions are intended for use on the most active sectors of the front. So, what’s next is interesting: The period of stay of personnel in separate assault rifle battalions is set to two months of participation in battles, either before being awarded an order for valor shown in battle or until the first wound, after which personnel, if they have good attestations, can be assigned to field troops to the corresponding positions of the commanding staff. Those. in fact, it turns out, as it were, such a penal battalion light, expressed in such modern jargon, because what, then, is the difference here: firstly, it means, i.e. these are assault rifles created for our officers released from captivity. More precisely, as I already said, when we had a conversation about this, that about 1/3 of the released officers at that time got there, i.e. those who, let's say, did not show themselves, let's say, in captivity, i.e. was not in the partisans, but there, let's say, he was simply released. But at the same time, there is no particularly compromising data on him. What is the difference from the penal battalion, that here, firstly, they were not deprived of their rank while they were in the assault battalion, there was still an officer salary, which was transferred to the family, although in fact they were in the position of privates. Although, again, they could be appointed to the post of squad leader. But also, by the way, unlike the penal battalion, and for the position of platoon commander and company commander, i.e. there, only the command of the battalion is a permanent staff, the rest is already from among these, let's say, offending officers. And, again, let's say, there the maximum period of stay is 2 months, but in reality, again, it was often less, because there, if they performed some kind of heroic feat or simply fought well, then they were restored to their rights in an earlier period. By the way, I said something wrong here - there the company commanders in the assault battalion are also a permanent staff, but the platoon commanders - it could already be appointed from among these offending officers. Yes, by the way, also, again, here in one of, or even in several comments on our Intelligence Questioning about the fate of the prisoners, there was such an idea that they say I'm confusing it about these assault units. In fact, the confusion here is not mine, but the confusion is a little different, because we had 2 different types of military units with such names. Those. there were these assault officer battalions, separate assault battalions for offending officers, and almost simultaneously almost simultaneously with them, more precisely, a little earlier, in May 43, separate assault engineering brigades were created, which were intended to break through the enemy’s fortified defensive lines, i.e. e. this is just there, by the way, their fighters were just given these cuirasses, which, therefore, were put on, these are such metal breastplates. Those. this, in principle, is also, of course, these brigades were used, of course, in general, in the most active sectors of the front, while they were not affected in their rights, i.e. there they are not for misconduct, but simply such a way of breaking through enemy defenses. Those. they are different structures. Now, then, naturally, the question arises - how many of these penal fighters did we have, because, if you believe our creators, then it turns out in general that the war was won by penal battalions, which, in their opinion, consisted of criminals, here, with a certain number of repressed officers who joined them, but in reality, they say, here they were at war, and the rest sat somewhere behind them. And for this, again, what can we do - we can take a list of penalty parts, here it is in my appendix to this book. The list, it is so very solid, hefty, here. And by the way, I’ll be honest that I didn’t watch this masterpiece, the series “Penal Battalion”, but there seems to be at the end, which means that such a collage was made, when this one, such a roughly list, he, i.e. there, in the form of separate inscriptions, it is given that, they say, such a huge heap that we have there, it turns out, during the war there were 68 penal battalions, there were 29 assault battalions ... Well, 70 pages. Yes, and 1102 penal companies. There, by the way, there were still 6 penal platoons, but more on that later. Those. such a huge number of all these formations. But here, if you look at the note, it reveals such a very interesting thing that the vast majority of these penal parts existed for a very short time. Those. it just worked out there, which means that they were recruited into a penal company and a penal battalion, they completed their tasks there, after which they were disbanded. Accordingly, the personnel there have been restored in their rights. Or, let's say, he is on reorganization, then he already, therefore, acts there, maybe even under a different number, i.e. it’s here there all the time, it means it’s changing, and if we look not at the general list, but at these notes, as well as at the dates of their validity, which are marked there, then the picture is completely not so brutal. It turns out that in general, speaking, in principle, if we take the year 44, then there the number of penal battalions that existed at the same time ranged from 8 pieces in May to 15 in January. More precisely, it turns out the other way around - from 15 to 8. On average, it's somewhere around 11. That is. this is not such a brutal picture. Again, there were also much fewer penal companies there, i.e. their number fluctuated somewhere from 199 to 300 approximately, and on average approximately 240 operating simultaneously. At the same time, again, contrary to the states that I voiced at the beginning, i.e. in the penal battalion, there were not 800 people, but the average number there was somewhere around 225 people in the penal company, somewhere around 102 people. Accordingly, if taken in total, more precisely, in general, as it were, i.e. the number of all penalized in all penal units, it turned out that their average monthly number in 1944 was 27,326 people. So it seems like a lot. But at the same time, the joke is that the average monthly payroll of the active army in the same 44 was approximately 6.5 million. Those. it turns out that the share of these penalized soldiers from the active army was 0.42%. They are the ones who won. Well, yes, i.e. it seems to work out, apparently, this, so to speak, handful, it solved all the issues. But here I can be reproached that, they say, I incorrectly believe that there were simply so few of them, because they were dying all the time. Let's count there by the number of those who passed through these parts. Well, you can calculate it this way, and the figures are approximately the following: during the war, somewhere a little less than 428,000 people passed through the penal units, in fact 427,910, and more than 34 million passed through the entire army. Those. it turns out that yes, here the share is higher, i.e. it turns out somewhere around 1.24%. I will notice that somehow it was not very well put with war crimes. These are small numbers. Those. people in the war were engaged in war, not crimes. Well, in general, yes. Indeed, the number of those who stumbled there was not so great, and it is natural that they did not play any decisive role there. Although it is clear that they really fought in the most dangerous sectors of the front, they suffered losses there, I am in no way going to belittle these merits. But really, in general, this did not play a decisive role at all. By the way, as for the losses, since we are talking about this, then, in general, they were not so brutal. Those. how is it that for 44 years we found that their average number was somewhere around 27,000 people, and the losses in killed, dead and wounded, sick during this year amounted to somewhere around 10,000 from the penalty box and somewhere a little more than 3,500 from the permanent staff. That is, in principle, in fact, when compared with ordinary units, this is somewhere from 3 to 6 times more than for ordinary, linear units of our infantry, but at the same time, again, this is by no means a meat grinder, t .e., in general… Not certain death. Yes, i.e. In general, they had a chance to survive, and quite high. Yes, there are still a couple of interesting points that are worth noting. When I mentioned the total number of these penal units that were there, I mentioned 6 more penal platoons. These are our sailors, that is, again, people who served in our navy and had, let's say, the imprudence to commit some kind of crime. Because when here we have Order 227 introduces, respectively, this in itself, establishes the existence of penal units, respectively, the provision on them was introduced, as I said, exactly 2 months later, i.e. September 28, 42 years old. And 3 days later, by order of the People's Commissar of the Navy No. 276 of October 1, 42, a provision was introduced on penal platoons and companies. In fact, in general, it practically copies what was applied to the army, but there is a fundamental difference - that since, after all, our navy is much less numerous than the army, then here, respectively, for, therefore, persons Penal platoons were created for the middle and senior command, political, commanding staff. Well, for, respectively, private and non-commissioned officers - penal companies. Also there with them almost everything is the same. Well, and, accordingly, they indulged in the marines, again, in order to act on the most dangerous sectors of the front and be able to atone for their guilt. Then another 1 moment, connected, again, with the same our prisoners who were released from the army, i.e. released from prison, sent to the army. So, as you know, here, as in Russian folk tales, there are such verbal cliches, verbal constructions that are used all the time, some kind of “beautiful girl”, “good fellow”, and we, when they don’t talk about Stalin’s times, there are also such turns that there are innocent victims and illegal repressions. Those. there the victims are necessarily innocent, the repressions are illegal. And at the same time, accordingly, for example, if we take our very same state security agencies, then at one time Pavel Anatolyevich Sudoplatov, this famous veteran of them, who was a high-ranking employee in the state security organs under Beria, and then under Khrushchev he was in prison, but he lived until the 90s, left memoirs. He writes the following in his book: “At the beginning of the war, we experienced an acute shortage of qualified personnel. Eitingon and I suggested that former intelligence and state security officers be released from prisons. Beria's cynicism and simplicity in deciding people's destinies were clearly manifested in his reaction to the proposal. Beria was not at all interested in whether those whom we recommended for work were guilty or innocent. He asked a single question: - Are you sure we need them? “Quite sure,” I replied. - Then contact Kobulov, let him release. And use them immediately. I got to view the case of the people I requested. It followed from them that everyone was arrested on the initiative and direct order of the top leadership - Stalin and Molotov. Well, then he tells how he used these people, respectively. But here, unfortunately, Pavel Anatolyevich is silent about 1 key point, that, in general, these people with whom this unpleasant story happened, these were basically the very “Yezhov eagles” who covered up these fake investigative cases during the "great purge" of 1937-38. So people are good. By the way, in general, people are really ambiguous, because here I have a whole series of biographies of them, I will even read some of them. Here, for example, Agabekov Leon Andreevich, born in 1903, Armenian, member of the CPSU (b) since the age of 30, secondary education, head of the 4th department of the NKVD of Uzbekistan. On January 21, 1939, he was arrested on testimony, both were sentenced to capital punishment as a member of an anti-Soviet conspiratorial organization, on the instructions of which he falsified investigation files and made unreasonable arrests. Didn't admit guilt. Condemned by a special meeting at the NKVD on July 2, 40 for 5 years in labor camp. By the way, again, it’s a surprise that since the rehabilitators already in the Gorbachev-Yeltsin era decided that all persons convicted by such bodies as troikas or special meetings are automatically rehabilitated, then this person should also be rehabilitated, i.e. although, in principle, he sort of organized illegal repressions. Although, of course, I’m not sure that there was a special organization that dealt with this, but ... What happened to him next: he was released in October 42 in connection with a request to be sent to the front. He underwent appropriate training in the NKVD and in 1943 he was parachuted into the rear of the enemy as the head of the operational group of the NKGB of the USSR. On November 21, 1942, a special meeting reduced the term to the served one. Kobulov noted that Agabekov's task force had done serious work to uncover the activities of a number of anti-Soviet Polish and Belarusian underground organizations that were actively working against the Soviet state. Agabekov also obtained important military data, his group derailed 10 echelons with manpower and equipment. On August 19, 1944, a special meeting removed the conviction. Agabekov during his work in the NKVD was awarded the Order of the Red Star and the medal of the partisan of the Patriotic War, 1st degree. During the war - a badge of an honorary Chekist, an honorary diploma of the Central Committee of Uzbekistan, and personalized weapons. This appears to be earlier. That is, in principle, in general, a person really acted quite successfully in the enemy rear and, in general, he honestly deserved the medal of the partisan of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree. So, further, for example, such a person as Pyotr Romanovich Perminov, born in 1906, Russian, employee, incomplete secondary education, member of the CPSU (b) from the age of 28, lieutenant of state security, then from October 37 - senior lieutenant of state security, in Altai Territory was. In January 1938, together with his deputy I.Ya.Yurkin, he arrested 810 alleged "rebels", of which 29 were shot and 242 were released. Then he created a case for 25 people, of which 16 were shot and 9 were released. On March 7, 1939, he was expelled for violations of the law, sentenced to the VMN of the Military Commissariat of the USSR Armed Forces on May 28-29, 1941. VT VNKVD ZSO was sentenced to 10 years in labor camp and sent to the front. Those. just with a delay until the end of the war. From January, he performed special tasks as part of the operational group of the NKGB Directorate, “in the most difficult combat conditions, he participated in battles ... traveled over 2 thousand km behind enemy lines, working as a commander of a reconnaissance group, organized a raid in August 1943 in Kiev, where he personally conducted reconnaissance ". Was in the rear since December 1942, Perminov personally identified "up to 200 German spies-traitors and members of counter-revolutionary nationalist formations in Ukraine ... he was wounded and shell-shocked twice, after being cured, from September 1944, while serving as deputy commander of the operational group The NKGB of the USSR was again thrown into the occupied territory to conduct sabotage reconnaissance work behind enemy lines. .. extracts valuable intelligence information and carried out significant sabotage work. So, that is, again, the person is very ... Well, he did an excellent job. Yes, how to say, at first he actually organized massive illegal repressions, indeed, including, therefore, execution sentences, but during the war he, in general, showed himself quite actively and worthily, in including the disposal of Bandera, fighters for the freedom of Ukraine. So, here, for example, TEREKHOV Pavel Vasilievich, 1905, Russian, secondary education, member. VKP(b) since 1925, 9-10.7.1939 was expelled from the party by the regional committee for the grossest perversion of the methods of investigative work, arrested in 1939 and sentenced in March 1941 to 10 years. Released in December 1941 and sent to the partisans; was behind enemy lines for 2.5 years. Deputy commander of the partisan detachment in Karelia and the Crimea. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class, and the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War," 1st class, his conviction was expunged. Well, these are, as they say, people devoted to the cause of the party. It looks kind of surreal. Here, how to say, what is the problem with these people, that, as we have seen in general, that they have a very low level of education, and therefore, in fact, when they were put on investigative work, they messed up firewood there simply out of ignorance, out of ignorance. Those. they acted on the principle that, come on, it is necessary to condemn more enemies of the people, and, accordingly, they themselves created, in this way, fake cases. But when they were sent to work against a real enemy, then, in general, they showed themselves quite well. That is, in general, he says once again that our situation is often not black and white, but multicolored. Those. yes, a person is abandoned to the rear, and it would seem that if he is a bastard, then he should run across, he didn’t run anywhere, 2000 km ... Yes, that is. people were devoted to our state, but this loyalty was not always expressed in the right way. Well, of course, Beria, of course, is cynical, since he used them. And what else is he, I would like to know, but what was he supposed to be? Naturally. For some reason, we believe that, in general, our leaders of our state or state security should follow some lofty ideals, i.e. I don’t know, there ... Well, they followed them, apparently, but specifically here - should I use it? - use it. And what? The most important ideal is that, as they say, “the native country would live”, i.e. the interests of their homeland. Yes sir. And for this it is already possible to act not always in white gloves, but, in general ... Nevertheless, for the benefit of your country. Those. this is roughly the picture that turns out with penal units and with what was around them during the war. Well, as usual, bullshit drives bullshit. I do not advise you to watch the disgusting series "Penal Battalion", it is disgusting. It is not surprising that our liberal friends like this abomination so much, because it is as it seems to them, and not at all as it really was. Thank you, Igor Vasilievich. About what next? Next time I will probably again, since in one of the comments I was asked this question on YouTube, I will probably talk about the role of Poland and the Poles during World War II. Great. Because there really, again, the situation, as they say, is ambiguous; there, as they say, there is heroism, there is meanness. I remind you - the 7th edition, supplemented and corrected. Hurry up to fill up. Thank you. And that's all for today. See you again.
Brilliant interpretation by Yuri Mukhin of a well-known historical fact.
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STRISHOK TO THE PORTRAIT OF STALIN
I want to write not even about a historical moment, but just a hint at one moment in our history, which still remains unnoticed.
Starting from the Civil War in the USSR, awards "for battle and for work" were established. Stalin could not refuse to award them, since this would be a disregard for state awards, although Stalin himself never wore orders, making an exception only for the star of the Hero of Socialist Labor, which, from the moment he was awarded this title in 1939, appears from time to time on his chest. In total, before the war, he had three orders - the Order of Lenin and two Red Banners.
During the war, he began to command all front-line operations and received five more awards - one Order of Lenin, two Orders of Victory, one of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov 1st degree (as for another Order of Lenin, I will talk about it separately). That is, Stalin, like all marshals of the USSR, accepted the awards due to him, since he was obliged to accept them, and, most likely, agreed that he deserved them.
Marshal Timoshenko, who for a year and a half on the eve of the war was People's Commissar (Minister) of Defense, fought well during the war and was awarded six orders - one Order of Lenin, one Order of Victory, three Orders of Suvorov 1st degree and one Red Banner. That is, he was awarded even more orders than Stalin.
Marshal Voroshilov, from 1925 to the beginning of 1940 was the people's commissar of defense. During the war he was awarded three orders - one Order of Lenin, one Order of Suvorov 1st degree and one Red Banner.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union began to be awarded to military leaders from the moment this award was established, Zhukov, for example, had this title for Khalkhin Gol, marshals Kulik and Timoshenko for the Finnish war, and General Stern for leading troops in Spain for fulfilling international duty. That is, conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to the highest command staff of the Red Army was already an established practice. Accordingly, during the Great Patriotic War, the assignment of this rank to senior military leaders was continued, but already in a sharply increased number. Some were awarded this title twice (Marshals Rokossovsky, Zhukov), and at the end of the war and following its results, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was generally awarded with a chokh, and those who, in conscience, were supposed to be shot were included in the lists of awarded generals.
However, Marshals Timoshenko and Voroshilov were not awarded this title either during the war or following its results. It turns out that Stalin, approving the lists of those submitted for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, simply crossed out these generals, although throughout the war he agreed with awarding them with military orders. For example, Stalin three times presented Timoshenko to be awarded the highest commander's order of Suvorov, 1st degree (Zhukov has only two of them, Stalin has one), introduced Timoshenko to the unique Order of Victory, that is, he believed that Timoshenko deserved these orders. But I didn't consider him a hero. Why??
Another moment. Not a single commissar (later "member of the military council") became a Hero of the Soviet Union. Although such political workers as Khrushchev, Brezhnev and, especially, Mekhlis, cannot be accused of cowardice. Commissar Poppel, who fought out the remnants of his corps 800 km along the rear of the Germans, wrote that such an instruction regarding the commissars had been received since the beginning of the war.
So why, in Stalin's understanding, pre-war people's commissars and, in general, all commissars are not heroes?
I think that's the point.
By June 22, 1941, the Red Army had everything from the Soviet people to defeat the Germans - excellent human material (even Zhukov considered the young Soviet soldier to be the main factor in the victory), completely modern weapons and equipment, and, most importantly, all this in quantities that exceeded weapons and equipment Germans. The Red Army had enough ammunition, fuel and equipment. But in 1941 she suffered shameful defeats, gave the Germans vast territories of the USSR and almost 40% of the population. Was Stalin tormented by the question why? I think that I tormented from the beginning of the war and the rest of my life. And I think that he saw the reason for these defeats in the abomination that the cadre command staff of the Red Army showed in the war - he saw massive meanness, betrayal, cowardice, inability to fight and contempt for the life of soldiers. The cadre command staff of the Red Army preserved and preserved all this infamy inviolable from the tsarist officers, and at the beginning of the war this tsarist officer abomination in the Red Army remained uneradicated.
And the ministers of defense and commissars were responsible for the quality of the personnel command staff of the army.
But why did Stalin never mention this in a single word? Because nothing like this could be spoken aloud during the war and immediately after it. Start talking about this general-officer villainy or even shoot for it during the war, and confidence in the command staff will collapse, respectively, the army will not, but even with the victory over the Germans and the Japanese, the military threat to the USSR constantly remained, in view of the superiority of the United States in the atomic weapons.
But what about Stalin himself? He is the leader, is it not his fault in such a composition of the command of the Red Army? Yes, he was a leader, yes, he was responsible for everything. And, if I understand correctly, Stalin understood and accepted this guilt.
When, immediately after the end of the war with the Germans, all front commanders signed a collective petition to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet to award their commander-in-chief the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR granted this request - awarded this title to Stalin with the award of the Golden Star and the Order of Lenin. But Stalin categorically refused to accept the signs of these awards, and for the first time they appeared only on pillows near his coffin. (Later, the artists began to paint on his portraits both a star and another Order of Lenin, but during his lifetime, Stalin not only did not wear them, but did not receive them either). Stalin did not consider himself a Hero of the Soviet Union.
Here is such a touch to the portrait of Stalin.
I already wrote that I was on a program in the Liberal Democratic Party, and the organizers fussed, so I took part not only in the discussion about the Malaysian Boeing 777, but also about Stalin. I give this record, perhaps it will be of interest to someone.
Stalin had various medals and orders in his treasury of awards, and he was also awarded many honorary titles. But eyewitnesses claimed that the generalissimo, whose name is known all over the world, really valued only one distinguishing mark, which he wore at all official events.
Various speculations about numerous medals and awards
At the time when Stalin was in power, not even the most courageous person would have dared to express doubt aloud that the Commander-in-Chief of the USSR received some titles undeservedly. But after the end of his authoritarian rule, such statements could be heard more and more often. One of the versions voiced regarding Stalin's awards was the statement that he specifically wrote out various military awards for himself in order not to look in an unfavorable light in the eyes of his subordinates. It is worth noting right away that some military leaders of these very awards often had much more than Stalin.
In addition, today you can read a lot of authoritative evidence that confirms that Stalin, the man who ruled the Soviet Union for about 30 years, remained quite modest until the end of his life and preferred an ascetic lifestyle. He did not particularly like to brag about material wealth and achievements, so it is really difficult to imagine that such a person could specially reward himself with something in order to look worthy next to military commanders.
Stalin's special attitude to his awards
In their memoirs, books and memoirs, people who had the opportunity to personally communicate with Stalin, and also spent some time with him, note that he had a modest attitude towards awards. He never liked to brag about them and did not flaunt them. Even received in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, "he wore very rarely.
Given this, it can hardly be assumed that Iosif Vissarionovich specially issued awards for himself and put forward his candidacy for state titles. Why did the generalissimo need orders and medals that he was not going to brag about, and did not even consider it necessary to wear them to various official events?
Despite how many awards Stalin had, he always, without exception, had only one gold medal, the Hammer and Sickle.
A gold medal depicting a hammer and sickle was awarded to Stalin in 1939 by the decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet for special merits in building the socialist society of the USSR, maintaining friendly relations between peoples and for merits in organizing the Bolshevik Party. It was not clear to many why Stalin valued this particular award so much. But authoritative historians and biographers say that this award, like no other, reflected the meaning of his life - work for the development and prosperity of the socialist Fatherland.
Reproach to Marshal Zhukov
It is worth noting that Iosif Vissarionovich still occasionally wore some of his awards, which he received before the war. Those that were awarded during the war years, the Generalissimo wore very rarely. But those awards of Stalin, which were presented after the war for the Great Victory, it was almost impossible to see on it.
It can be assumed that he believed that most of these medals were given out undeservedly. Or perhaps Stalin considered them well-deserved, but received at a disproportionately high price. In favor of such reflections, one can cite the situation described by Yu. Mukhin in one of his books.
According to the author, at a banquet organized for the high command in honor of the Victory, Zhukov sat at the same table with Stalin. At the same time, no expected laudatory odes in honor of the First Marshal of Victory Zhukov sounded. The marshal himself and some of those present found this strange. Zhukov decided to take the initiative into his own hands and say a toast.
He began by saying that the most difficult time he had to endure during the entire Second World War was the defense of Moscow. Stalin, after listening to this whole speech, confirmed that the time was difficult and in many respects decisive for the subsequent outcome of the war. He mentioned that at the same time, many defenders of the capital did not receive well-deserved awards, because, having distinguished themselves in battles, they were seriously wounded or remained disabled. Then Stalin hit the table hard with his fist and noticed that those who did not need to be encouraged by these awards were not forgotten, got up from the table and left, never returning to the banquet.
The first awards of young Stalin
Despite the specific attitude to the medals "For Victory", Stalin still valued his first awards. In addition to the star of the Hero of Labor, these include the following:
- The order was awarded in 1919 for the final capture of Tsaritsyn by the Red troops.
- The Order was awarded in 1937 for services rendered on the front of social construction.
- Medal "XX years of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army" issued in 1938
Awards received during the war years
Since Iosif Vissarionovich was the commander-in-chief of the USSR troops, during World War II he was awarded medals and orders:
Orders and medals received in the post-war period
Medals issued precisely in the post-war period were not particularly popular with Stalin. Among them are:
Awards issued by various republics
In addition to state awards, I.V. Stalin also had awards received for his services from other republics. These include:
- Awards issued by the Czechoslovak SSR: two Military Crosses of 1939 (the first was awarded in 1943, the second - in 1945) and two Orders of the White Lion (I class and "For Victory") were awarded in 1945.
- Order received from the Tuva People's Republic: Order of the Republic of the TPR issued in 1943.
- Ranks, medals and orders of the Mongolian People's Republic: a medal issued for the "Victory over Japan" (1945); order to them. Sukhe-Bator received in 1945; conferring the title of Hero of the Mongolian Republic with the receipt of the "Gold Star"; medal dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Mongolian Revolution, issued in 1946
- Stalin was awarded the Order of the Red Star, issued by the Bukhara Soviet Republic, in 1922.
Ranks received
After the victory at Stalingrad in March 1943, a new military rank was awarded to Stalin - Marshal. After the end of the Second World War, in the circles of those close to him, there was more and more talk that the Commander-in-Chief should be awarded the title of Generalissimo. But Stalin was not interested in honorary titles, and he refused for a very long time. Unexpectedly, a letter from K. Rokossovsky could have an impact on him, in which the author, referring to Stalin, noted that they were both marshals. And if someday Stalin wants to punish Rokossovsky, he will not have enough authority for this, because their military ranks are equal.
Such an argument turned out to be very reasoned for Joseph Vissarionovich, and he gave his long-awaited consent. This title was awarded to him in June 1945, but until his last days, Stalin refused to wear a uniform with He considered it too elegant and luxurious.
The highest award for Labor, from the Peoples of Russia.
On December 20, 1939, for exceptional services in organizing the Communist Party, creating the Soviet state, building a socialist society in the USSR and strengthening friendship between peoples, Comrade Stalin was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.
Why did Stalin refuse the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
I want to write not even about a historical moment, but just a hint at one moment in our history, which still remains unnoticed.
Starting from the Civil War in the USSR, awards "for battle and for work" were established. Stalin could not refuse to award them, since this would be a disregard for state awards, although Stalin himself never wore orders, making an exception only for the star of the Hero of Socialist Labor, which, from the moment he was awarded this title in 1939, appears from time to time on his chest. In total, before the war, he had three orders - the Order of Lenin and two Red Banners.
During the war, he began to command all front-line operations and received five more awards - one Order of Lenin, two Orders of Victory, one of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov, 1st degree (as for another Order of Lenin, I will talk about it separately). That is, Stalin, like all marshals of the USSR, accepted the awards due to him, since he was obliged to accept them, and, most likely, agreed that he deserved them.
Marshal Timoshenko, who for a year and a half on the eve of the war was People's Commissar (Minister) of Defense, fought well during the war and was awarded six orders - one Order of Lenin, one Order of Victory, three Orders of Suvorov 1st degree and one Red Banner. That is, he was awarded even more orders than Stalin.
Marshal Voroshilov, from 1925 to the beginning of 1940 was the people's commissar of defense. During the war he was awarded three orders - one Order of Lenin, one Order of Suvorov 1st degree and one Red Banner.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union began to be awarded to military leaders from the moment this award was established, Zhukov, for example, had this title for Khalkhin Gol, Marshals Kulik and Timoshenko for the Finnish war, and General Stern for leading troops in Spain for fulfilling international duty. That is, conferring the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to the highest command staff of the Red Army was already an established practice. Accordingly, during the Great Patriotic War, the assignment of this rank to senior military leaders was continued, but already in a sharply increased number. Some were awarded this title twice (Marshals Rokossovsky, Zhukov), and at the end of the war and following its results, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was generally awarded with a chokh, and those who, in conscience, were supposed to be shot were included in the lists of awarded generals.
However, Marshals Timoshenko and Voroshilov were not awarded this title either during the war or following its results. It turns out that Stalin, approving the lists of those submitted for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, simply crossed out these generals, although throughout the war he agreed with awarding them with military orders. For example, Stalin three times presented Timoshenko to be awarded the highest commander's order of Suvorov, 1st degree (Zhukov has only two of them, Stalin has one), introduced Timoshenko to the unique Order of Victory, that is, he believed that Timoshenko deserved these orders. But I didn't consider him a hero. Why??
Another moment. Not a single commissar (later "member of the military council") became a Hero of the Soviet Union. Although such political workers as Khrushchev, Brezhnev and, especially, Mekhlis, cannot be accused of cowardice. Commissar Poppel, who fought out the remnants of his corps 800 km along the rear of the Germans, wrote that such an instruction regarding the commissars had been received since the beginning of the war.
So why, in Stalin's understanding, pre-war people's commissars and, in general, all commissars are not heroes?
I think that's the point.
By June 22, 1941, the Red Army had everything from the Soviet people to defeat the Germans - excellent human material (even Zhukov considered the young Soviet soldier to be the main factor in the victory), completely modern weapons and equipment, and, most importantly, all this in quantities that exceeded weapons and equipment Germans. The Red Army had enough ammunition, fuel and equipment. But in 1941 she suffered shameful defeats, gave the Germans vast territories of the USSR and almost 40% of the population. Was Stalin tormented by the question why? I think that I tormented from the beginning of the war and the rest of my life. And I think that he saw the reason for these defeats in the abomination that the cadre command staff of the Red Army showed in the war - he saw massive meanness, betrayal, cowardice, inability to fight and contempt for the life of soldiers. The cadre command staff of the Red Army preserved and preserved all this infamy inviolable from the tsarist officers, and at the beginning of the war this tsarist officer abomination in the Red Army remained uneradicated.
And the ministers of defense and commissars were responsible for the quality of the personnel command staff of the army.
But why did Stalin never mention this in a single word? Because nothing like this could be spoken aloud during the war and immediately after it. Start talking about this general-officer villainy or even shoot for it during the war, and confidence in the command staff will collapse, respectively, the army will not, but even with the victory over the Germans and the Japanese, the military threat to the USSR constantly remained, in view of the superiority of the United States in the atomic weapons.
But what about Stalin himself? He is the leader, is it not his fault in such a composition of the command of the Red Army? Yes, he was a leader, yes, he was responsible for everything. And, if I understand correctly, Stalin understood and accepted this guilt.
When, immediately after the end of the war with the Germans, all front commanders signed a collective petition to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet to award their commander-in-chief the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR granted this request - awarded this title to Stalin with the award of the Golden Star and the Order of Lenin. But Stalin categorically refused to accept the signs of these awards, and for the first time they appeared only on pillows near his coffin. (Later, the artists began to paint on his portraits both a star and another Order of Lenin, but during his lifetime, Stalin not only did not wear them, but did not receive them either). Stalin did not consider himself a Hero of the Soviet Union.
(Yu. Mukhin)
I draw your attention to the fact that even here they could not do without lies. Order No. 270 clearly condemns those who surrendered captured, and not those who were captured ... All military personnel who were captured and released from it went through filtration camps. So, in total, according to the results of the war, over 90% of Soviet military personnel released from captivity, having successfully passed the necessary check , returned to duty or were sent to work in industry. The number of those arrested was about 4% and about the same number sent to penal battalions ...
And as always, the icing on the cake:
fkmrf123 » Georgy Shakhov Today 08:29
For those to whom it was all thoroughly interesting to know, perhaps not a curiosity. But for those who came across such a "truth" by chance, it's just how amazing the fact turns out.
Mikhail Naida » fkmrf123 Today 08:48
Stalin did not consider himself a Hero. And it is right. A hero is a specific act, in a specific place... who does in the Name of People what the absolute majority... is not capable of. Later, freeloaders (mostly Jews) defiled this Title, starting to reward each other in order to amuse their own ego. A typical example today is the title of academician ... 90% of which, the essence is scum-mold ... no right to this once honorary title ... they do not have. In the State, there are probably a couple of awards left, which the Jews have not yet turned into tsatski ... I think these are the Order of Victory and the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called with Swords. Yes, sir...
