![Vlasov A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Vlasov_A.A._Listovka_1942_001.jpg)
"Why I Have Taken Up the Struggle Against Bolshevism" (russian: «Почему я стал на путь борьбы с большевизмом») is a two-page
open letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally.
Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an indiv ...
by the Russian
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
and the commander of the
Russian Liberation Army Andrey Vlasov. After the twenty-three years' service in the Soviet military,
Vlasov changed his allegiance during World War II to
collaborate with Nazi Germany. According to
Robert Service, Vlasov was outraged when
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
denied him permission to retreat in time from an unavoidable
encirclement
Encirclement is a military term for the situation when a force or target is isolated and surrounded by enemy forces. The situation is highly dangerous for the encircled force. At the strategic level, it cannot receive supplies or reinforcemen ...
of the
2nd Shock Army
The 2nd Shock Army (russian: 2-я Ударная армия) was a field army of the Soviet Union during the Second World War. This type of formation was created in accordance with prewar doctrine that called for Shock Armies to ''overcome diffi ...
. In June 1942 Vlasov refused to be airlifted for evacuation to the
rear
Rear may refer to:
Animals
*Rear (horse), when a horse lifts its front legs off the ground
*In stockbreeding, to breed and raise
Humans
*Parenting (child rearing), the process of promoting and supporting a child from infancy to adulthood
*Gende ...
and chose to stay with his men. Having been captured by the Germans in the same month, Vlasov published his open letter in the newspaper ''Zarya'' on March 3, 1943. For his speeches about future independent Russia Vlasov was placed by Germans under
house arrest.
Background
Vlasov was drafted into the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
in 1919. Having attended an infantry tactics course, he became a battalion commander. In 1930 Vlasov became a tactics instructor. Several years later Vlasov was entrusted with command of the 11th Infantry Regiment, that shortly afterwards was officially recognized as the best in the
Kiev Military District
The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exis ...
.
In 1939 Vlasov became the chief military adviser to
Chiang Kai-shek, who awarded Vlasov the
Golden Order of the Dragon.
Upon his return to the Soviet Union, Vlasov was appointed the commander of the 99th Infantry Division, which he retrained and reformed, bringing it out of disarray. For this work Vlasov received the
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...
and a gold watch.
During World War II, Vlasov failed to defend
Kiev, but successfully recaptured
Solnechnogorsk
Solnechnogorsk (russian: Солнечного́рск, lit. ''sunny mountain town'') is a town and the administrative center of Solnechnogorsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Moscow–St. Petersburg Highway and the Moscow ...
and
Volokolamsk
Volokolamsk (russian: Волокола́мск) is a town and the administrative center of Volokolamsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Gorodenka River, not far from its confluence with the Lama River, northwest of Moscow. Po ...
from Germans. In that period, American journalist
Larry LeSueur
Laurence Edward LeSueur (June 10, 1909 – February 5, 2003) was an American journalist and a war correspondent during World War II. He worked closely with Edward R. Murrow and was one of the original Murrow Boys.
Early life
LeSueur was born on ...
, who interviewed Vlasov, and the French journalist
Ève Curie
Ève Denise Curie Labouisse (; December 6, 1904 – October 22, 2007) was a French and American writer, journalist and pianist. Ève Curie was the younger daughter of Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie. Her sister was Irène Joliot-Curie an ...
both mentioned Vlasov's popularity among soldiers.
Contents
Vlasov begins his letter with the commitment to answer the question, why he had started the struggle against
Bolshevism
Bolshevism (from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, ...
.
Vlasov explains, that he fought in the ranks of the Soviet army because he believed that "
the revolution would give the Russian people land, freedom and happiness", but he "realized that the victory of the Bolsheviks had brought the Russian people none of the things it had fought for during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
years".
Criticizing Stalin, Vlasov expresses his opposition to
collectivization
Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...
,
political commissars and the
purge of the Soviet army command in the 1930s.
In Vlasov's opinion, "Bolshevism has fenced off the Russian people from Europe by an impenetrable wall".
As the commander of the defeated
2nd Shock Army
The 2nd Shock Army (russian: 2-я Ударная армия) was a field army of the Soviet Union during the Second World War. This type of formation was created in accordance with prewar doctrine that called for Shock Armies to ''overcome diffi ...
, Vlasov wrote that "perhaps nowhere else did the Stalin's disregard for the life of the Russian people manifest itself as much, as in the practice of the 2nd Shock Army".
According to Vlasov, "the soldiers and commanders received 100 or even 50 grams of rusks a day, swelled up from hunger and many became incapable of moving through the swamps to which they had been sent on the direct orders of the high command".
"With a full sense of responsibility to the motherland, the people and history for the actions" he commits, Vlasov calls people to fight and "build a new Russia".
The letter emphasizes several points in bolded font and ends with the belief, that the Russian people "will find the strength to unite in the time of severe calamities, overthrow the hateful yoke and build a new state in which they will find happiness".
Notes
References
*{{cite book , last =Andreyev , first =Catherine , title =Vlasov and the Russian Liberation Movement: Soviet Reality and Emigré Theories, publisher =Cambridge University Press , year =1989 , isbn =0521389607
See also
*
Smolensk Declaration
*
Prague Manifesto
The Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (russian: Комитет освобождения народов России, ', abbreviated as russian: КОНР, ') was a committee composed of military and civilian Nazi collaborator ...
External links
Abridged English translation
1943 documents
1943 in the Soviet Union
Anti-communist works
Collaboration with Nazi Germany
Open letters
Works originally published in Russian newspapers