Russian National People's Army
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The Russian National People's Army (, ), abbreviated RNNA, was a
Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th ...
military unit during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, led primarily by Russian émigrés with ties to American-based Russian fascist
Anastasy Vonsiatsky Anastasy Andreyevich Vonsiatsky (, ; June 12, 1898 – February 5, 1965), better known in the United States as Anastase Andreivitch Vonsiatsky, was a Russian anti-Bolshevik White émigré, émigré and fascism, fascist leader based in the United ...
.


Name

The Russian National People's Army, as it was called by its leaders, was known by several names during its existence. Though their chevrons and officially-produced material referred to them as such, German documents referred to them by two alternatively-used names; Sonderverband Graukopf ("Special Group Grey Head") and Russisches Bataillon z.b.V. (Special-Purpose Russian Battalion).


History

The proposal to create the Russian National People's Army was first proposed by émigré Sergei Nikitich Ivanov (a representative of
Anastasy Vonsiatsky Anastasy Andreyevich Vonsiatsky (, ; June 12, 1898 – February 5, 1965), better known in the United States as Anastase Andreivitch Vonsiatsky, was a Russian anti-Bolshevik White émigré, émigré and fascism, fascist leader based in the United ...
with ties to the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
and
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
) in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. The proposal was supported by a number of high-ranking Wehrmacht officers, among them generals
Max von Schenckendorff Max von Schenckendorff (24 February 1875 – 6 July 1943) was a German military general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was the commander of Army Group Rear Area behind Army Group Centre from March 1941 until his deat ...
, Hellmuth Stieff, and
Claus von Stauffenberg Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer who is best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair, part of Op ...
. The idea proliferated throughout the
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht The (; abbreviated OKW
ː kaːˈve The colon alphabetic letter is used in a number of languages and phonetic transcription systems, for vowel length in Americanist Phonetic Notation, for the vowels and in a number of languages of Papua New Guinea, and for grammatical tone in s ...
Armed Forces High Command) was the Command (military formation), supreme military command and control Staff (military), staff of Nazi Germany during World War II, that was directly subordinated to Adolf ...
as a way to compensate for the losses of German troops on the Eastern Front. In March 1942, Ivanov met with Field Marshal
Günther von Kluge Günther Adolf Ferdinand von Kluge (30 October 1882 – 19 August 1944) was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) during World War II who held commands on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, until his suicide in connection with ...
, and received permission to form a Russian military unit from Soviet prisoners of war in
Barysaw Barysaw or Borisov (, ; , ) is a city in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Barysaw District. It is located on the Berezina, Berezina River and north-east from the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 1 ...
,
Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...
,
Roslavl Roslavl (, ) is a town and the administrative center of Roslavlsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia. It is a road and rail junction and a market town. Population: History Roslavl was founded as Rostislavl in the 1130s or 1140s. The name is ...
, and
Vyazma Vyazma () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the ...
. The
Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...
also soon took interest in the RNNA, and wanted to use the unit's personnel not simply to fight
Soviet partisans Soviet partisans were members of Resistance during World War II, resistance movements that fought a Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war against Axis powers, Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Territories of Poland an ...
in the rear of the German troops, but also to deploy the RNNA behind personnel as saboteurs in Soviet-held territory. The RNNA was formed in the village of ,
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
, 35 kilometres north of
Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...
, the RNNA's headquarters. Ivanov was head of the unit, while Igor Sakharov was appointed as Ivanov's adjutant.
Constantine Kromiadi Constantine Gregorievich Kromiadi (, ; 21 January 1893 – 25 April 1990) was a Russian military officer of Greek origin. A staunch anti-communist, he served in the Imperial Russian Army and the White Army, later heading the collaborationist ...
was made commandant of the central headquarters. Initially, the RNNA's leadership sought only to recruit anti-communists from the prisoners of war, but later began to accept everyone. In March 1942, the strength of the RNNA was 150 people, and by May had reached a size of 400. To increase the RNNA's appeal to prisoners of war, Ivanov proposed the appointment of a Soviet military commander who was "well-known and respected among the military personnel", offering the position to . However, Lukin refused to join the RNNA. In addition to combat training, dissemination of propaganda to personnel was carried out. The RNNA's leadership told soldiers that their task was, "the fight against Bolshevism and Jewry for the creation of a new Russian state and the restoration of the pre-revolutionary system." According to information from Soviet partisans at the time, up to 40% of RNNA personnel believed this. From the time they were first noticed, the RNNA became the object of close attention of the Soviet partisans. In the first period, contacts were limited to agitation, but partisans managed to get intelligence from those who served in the RNNA, as well as smuggling military equipment from the RNNA over to partisan lines. The RNNA was beset by constant defections to Soviet partisans. In only a three-day period in August 1942, roughly 200 RNNA soldiers defected to Soviet partisans. Only the 3rd Battalion of the RNNA, located in Byerazino, did not suffer from such issues. On 1 September 1942, Vladimir Boyarsky was appointed head of the RNNA, and shortly after, the training of the 4th and 5th battalions of the RNNA began. However, only a month later, the organisation was taken over by the Germans directly, with Boyarsky and , head of the propaganda department of the RNNA, both being taken prisoner. By 1943, the RNNA had ceased to exist. Its forces were transferred to the Western Front. Following the creation of the
Russian Liberation Army The Russian Liberation Army (; , ), also known as the Vlasov army () was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Russians, that fought under German command during World War II. From January 1945, the army was led by Andrey Vlasov, ...
, some personnel of the RNNA (among them Zhilenkov and Kromiadi) joined it.


See also

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Collaboration in the German-occupied Soviet Union A large number of Soviet citizens of various ethnicities collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II. It is estimated that the number of Soviet collaborators with the Nazi German military was around 1 million. Aftermath of the German i ...
*
Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia The Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (, ', abbreviated as , ') was composed of military and civilian Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborators with Nazi Germany from territories of the Soviet Union, mo ...
*
Russian Liberation Army The Russian Liberation Army (; , ), also known as the Vlasov army () was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Russians, that fought under German command during World War II. From January 1945, the army was led by Andrey Vlasov, ...
*
Russian Liberation Movement Andrey Andreyevich Vlasov (, – August 1, 1946) was a Soviet Russian Red Army general. During the Axis-Soviet campaigns of World War II, he fought (1941–1942) against the ''Wehrmacht'' in the Battle of Moscow and later was captured attem ...


References

{{Reflist Foreign volunteer units of the Wehrmacht Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 White Russian collaborators with Nazi Germany