On October 6, 1995, an attempt was made on the life of Commander of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Anatoly Romanov.
The wife of the former Commander-in-Chief of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Anatoly Romanov Larisa Romanova. Photo: RIA Novosti / Oleg Lastochny
During his passage under the bridge near Minutka Square, a controlled explosive device went off. Almost all the soldiers who accompanied the general in armored vehicles, and assistant Alexander Zaslavsky, died. Romanov was severely wounded - for 22 years he has been bedridden. And all this time next to him his devotee wife Larisa Vasilievna.
And here he is so serious! So haughty!..
They met 47 years ago in Saratov. Larisa, after graduating from a book college, got a job at the House of Books. The cadet of the military command school of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Anatoly Romanov had a vacation.
“My friend Nina once admitted that she was dating two cadets,” Larisa Vasilievna recalled. - Tolya was already a foreman of the battalion, his friend from Ukraine Sasha Kolesnikov was a senior sergeant. And now they took turns, then together they went to her on dismissal. Both are good: they took her to the cinema, to museums, gave her flowers and sweets. But nothing more. She tells me: help, let me meet with Sasha, and you with Tolya.
On October 3, 1970, Nina introduced her friend to her future husband. 20-year-old Larisa had not seen either Tolya or Sasha before, and she was by and large no matter who you are friends with. Well, since a friend asked...
- We met. And you know... I liked Sasha more. Tolya even then had a very beautiful, purely male figure of Apollo. He went in for volleyball, devoted a lot of time to gymnastics ... And now he is so serious! Such over-man-ny! Carelessly smoking a cigarette...
Sasha immediately perked up: “Oh, our regiment has arrived! Well, let's go for a walk." And it was scary to approach Tolya. Kolesnikov is a carefree, joker, the kind girls usually like: you can giggle with him, poison jokes. Anatoly - complete opposite: serious, restrained. It was affected by the fact that he came to the school after serving - at his 22, many already had lieutenant shoulder straps. In addition, the eighth child in the family, the last child, as the parents said, who had high hopes for him. His father, a disabled person of the first group, had a leg amputated - Tolya took care of him, helped him. After school, he worked at the Belebeevsky (in Bashkiria) machine plant. Larisa Vasilievna still keeps a clipping from a local newspaper with a note about the young milling machine Romanov. Anatoly was very proud, he said: they already noticed me then ...
- We have a beautiful embankment in Saratov, and all the young people usually flocked there. We walked and talked. We agreed to meet next weekend, but the guys were not released. We saw each other probably only a month later. But then preparations began for a military parade. We had to communicate in breaks between rehearsals, snatches. Tolya, of course, became softer. And Nina had a stronger desire to start a serious relationship with Sasha. Although, most likely, neither one nor the other then had plans to marry. Yes, and I did not think about marriage - I wanted to go to college.
However, six months later, on March 8, the "arrogant" Anatoly offered the girl a hand and a heart. Gallant, he always came with flowers. From the camps he brought field. Or he borrowed from someone in the country, justifying himself: "they grow ownerless."
- Tolya explained that being the wife of a military man is extremely responsible; he has a very secret part, almost at the level of the Kremlin: everything is controlled, questioned, you can’t take a wrong step. “It's not what you think,” he said. And I didn't think anything. It's just that he spoke so romantically about Franz Josef Land, where only the barracks of soldiers and polar bears (what kind of girls are there?), About Svalbard, which intrigued me.
Anatoly Romanov knew how to infect with his work, idea, lead. Later, many years later, Larisa Vasilievna will understand why, despite the difference in rank and age, young guys loved him so much - he was very A good conversationalist. It will be fun, interesting, the future general promised the bride. But he did not promise mountains of gold ...
And before that, the guys declared their love to Larisa, but so seriously ?! She was touched.
Chechen mother addresses Lieutenant General Anatoly Romanov, Commander of the Joint Group of Federal Forces Photo: RIA Novosti
- I'm a Gemini according to the horoscope: spontaneous, emotional. He is Libra, more balanced. I think the difference in characters brought us even closer and created that aura that allowed us to live happily ever after.
Larisa fell in love without memory. Secret troops, distant islands... Romance! And the father reacted differently to the forthcoming marriage of the third, youngest daughter. Didn't really like the military. And not because the cadet didn't like it. Simply, having fought for ten years (started with the Finnish, and ended in the forests of Lithuania), he probably reasoned more sensibly.
Larisa and Anatoly got married only a year later.
- Either study, then cholera in Saratov. Then he built a military camp and disappeared almost all summer. He ran on dates after work, in a tracksuit, so that the patrol would not spot him. We have such a Kumys meadow there: he had to go down the mountain for 6 kilometers and the same amount to climb back ...
Methodically, like a cadet, he taught his wife how to iron trousers.
The Romanovs lived in Saratov for 12 years - as the best graduate, Tolya was left to pass on experience to the cadets. During this time he graduated from the Academy. Frunze, Larisa - an economic institute, they had a daughter, Vika. And in 1984 Anatoly Alexandrovich was transferred to the Urals.
“A completely different life began there. Much more difficult ... Of course, it was hard to get used to. You understand: no one is waiting for an officer's wife anywhere. In addition, Tolya really had serious troops and extremely responsible work. All the time - cadets: first a platoon, then a company, a battalion; all day at work. And since he always treated his duties very scrupulously, everything affected us.
Larisa Vasilievna worked, and in the evenings she sat down with Vika to do her homework. She also cooked, washed, and cleaned. The husband had no time for his daughter. If, on a rare day off, a family managed to get out of the city, into the mountains, it was a great joy for everyone.
The whole house was on me. But how? Tolya is a pedant: every day there should be a fresh shirt, pressed trousers. God forbid, at the parade one half of the greatcoat will go over the other by a centimeter. And how it had to be steamed - a whole science! I remember the first time I ironed his pants... It was something! Methodically, like a cadet, he taught me how to iron so that there were no three arrows.
That it was interesting with Tolya, Larisa was convinced in the first years of their life together. As a trade union leader, she often organized contests and competitions at work - her husband took part in them, helped with advice. And, despite all his seriousness, in family life he turned out to be very sentimental. He liked that the table was well set, that there were flowers and candles were lit. To play music.
- Tolya spoiled us. Sometimes on Sunday we dined at the best Saratov restaurant in those years, Volga - from an early age he accustomed his daughter to secular manners.
In all other respects, perhaps, the life of officer Romanov and his family was not even sentimental at all. Larisa worried about her husband, sometimes, like any woman, she was offended that he pays little attention to the family.
A Chechen mother addresses Lieutenant General Anatoly Romanov, Commander of the Joint Group of Federal Forces. Photo: RIA Novosti
- There was no particularly rich environment in the house: it is unrealistic to carry headsets with you all the time. Of course, many lived better. And we have only a camp bed and the only asset is a huge library, which, due to its weight, created a lot of inconvenience. The rest was constantly bought and sold. Such a life...
What was the most difficult thing about her, I asked Larisa Vasilievna, realizing that, probably, this was not moving and not even a permanent feeling of temporary housing.
- The most difficult thing is to wait, the officer's wife answered. First, when he comes on leave, he will return from the camp. Then - from the service, from business trips.
She is waiting now. She is waiting for her husband's condition to improve ... Otherwise, how to live?
The wife took it upon herself too... She is waiting for her husband to leave the service - he will return tired... She begins to calm down, slowly disposes to a normal conversation.
- Then, homework of course he was distracted. He did everything himself, even repaired the TV. When? What is the night for? We painted and glued wallpaper at night ...
After the first trip to Chechnya, he became more rigid, nervous
Moving to Moscow was Anatoly's dream. He immediately said to his wife: the soldier who does not dream of becoming a general is bad; I will. And she tried not to believe it.
Although Larisa herself did not like the capital. She loved to come here: to climb museums, theaters, wander around Zamoskvorechye, the places of Pushkin, Chekhov ... But she considered it difficult to live here.
- Probably, in the Urals it is harder in the everyday sense, in the intellectual sense, but the people there are more soulful, sincere. There are more places in Moscow where you can have fun and express yourself. And the city itself is tough: everyone is secretive, there is a lot of disunity. Remember the phrase from the movie "The most charming and attractive": "Are you from the Urals?" This is how we looked at first: gullible, naive.
Experiences of Larisa Vasilievna in the capital increased. The husband's work became more and more difficult over the years. At the same time, the well-being of the family probably increased. However, here Romanova immediately got a job. And worked for many years commercial director large bookstore.
Since 1993, the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been increasingly used in hot spots. Anatoly Alexandrovich became deputy commander, more than once went to North Caucasus. But as soon as the armed conflict began in Chechnya, the wife had bad thoughts. Anatoly said more than once that he was Kulikov's "deputy for combat and scuffle", that is, for combat training. That is why Larisa understood well: it was her husband who would go to the war. And implicitly all the time waiting for this moment.
- The troops were brought in at the end of October 1994, and in the 20th of December, Tolya had already returned. It was the first business trip to Chechnya. Active fighting began on New Year's Eve, and when a month or two later his children began to die, he was very worried. I went there several times and came back completely different. A person who has been in the war, the psyche is changing. This is immediately noticeable. Tolya became more rigid, more nervous...
Larisa Vasilievna was in alarm all the time. One thing was shown on TV - the husband was telling the truth. The tension increased, the body malfunctioned, but the general could not afford to get sick. I got stronger, began to run more, did exercises more actively. I knew: to fall down, to leave the troops is impossible.
I dreamed of leaving for a desert island, if only without "turntables"
- On September 27, we celebrated his 47th birthday, and a day later Tolya left. Of course, he couldn't write. Agreed to call. I tried every day: alive, healthy ... I don’t need anything else ...
After October 10, the general promised his wife to come for a couple of weeks on vacation. Larisa Vasilievna was getting ready, she wanted to finish the repairs in the apartment before his arrival. And Romanov dreamed of going somewhere for desert island so as not to see or hear anyone ... Even to a banal dacha with roosters. If only without the "turntables".
At noon on October 6, 1995, Anatoly Alexandrovich, as usual, dialed his home number. But Larisa Vasilievna had health problems, and she went to the hospital. The master who did the repair told about the call. And an hour later Vika's daughter came. After graduation, she began teaching at school and arranged to meet with her classmates over the weekend.
I didn't let her leave. Everything had to be washed, hung, set. What are you saying, dad will be here soon - no weekends. We had a little quarrel.
Offended, Vika went to the kitchen. I turned on the TV and heard a fragment of the announcer's phrase: "... Zaslavsky died, Romanov was wounded." She ran to her mother - she waved it off: come on ... But in the next news release, the information was repeated.
Larisa Vasilievna sat in a daze. Didn't cry. Tears will come later. All the time... Even when we talked to her in the hospital, she did not hide them, but only silently swallowed
I rushed to call the Ministry of Internal Affairs - everyone is silent. No one wanted to say anything to the wife of the seriously wounded general. As if the unknown would make her feel better.
- He is seriously wounded, but alive, said Tolin deputy, General Shkirko. And Kulikov advised me not to go to Chechnya: you won’t help him, and it’s not worth looking at all this once again. A scalpel plane was sent for Tolya... I did not personally know his assistant, Colonel Zaslavsky. I only knew that the family had two student daughters, and they lived in a hostel. Tolya asked Kulikov to give Sasha an apartment. On that day, the colonel called his wife: “The minister signed the report, we will be given an apartment in the near future.” Those were his last words...
Lieutenant General Anatoly Romanov, Commander of the United Group of Federal Forces in Chechnya. Photo: RIA Novosti / Podlegaev
Month did not know whether he will live or not
And again, for the umpteenth time, the Romanovs began another life. Only now she was completely different from the one before. There is nothing to even compare with. As there are no analogues of the general's injury, he has a severe contusion of the brain. Doctors wrote Larisa Vasilievna a whole list of reasons why her husband should not have survived. At best, he could hold out for 5-7 days. And after the injury, it's been ... almost 22 years.
- All this iron, so to speak, fell on him ... The condition was deplorable. Several surgeries were made immediately. But they didn't let me into intensive care for a long time. Tolya was lying on a huge bed - all in tubes, sensors, systems. And for a month the doctors could not say whether he would live or not. They kept repeating one thing: his injury is not compatible with life.
November 5, 1995 Romanov was awarded the title of Hero of Russia, two days later he became a colonel general. Some time later, the doctors were finally convinced that Anatoly Alexandrovich had conquered death.
- For a long time he was on artificial nutrition, he lost a lot of weight. Probably, it was better to get out of Buchenwald. They began to feed. At first, he did not react to anything. Still can't speak. Because there are holes in the throat. But the swallowing reflex is restored ....
The day of the general in the hospital is scheduled literally by the minute. Three times - massage, exercise therapy, walks. He already understands everything. And answers questions with his eyes. He is taught to read again, to distinguish colors. Together with his wife and daughter, Romanov watches old family videos, follows the events...
- The reaction is different. It happens that he defiantly closes his eyes, and that's it ... But we try to instill in him those reflexes that were. Before the injury, he only drank vodka or good cognac. When we celebrate something, we give a little cognac - he, as before, savored it for a long time, then swallowed it. At one time, Tolya read all of Kuprin, Chekhov, Alexei Tolstoy - we are trying to put this information anew. There is improvement from new drugs. But no one knows how much more to come. After all, he always considered himself healthy, therefore, when they are filming now, he has complexes ...
Doctors call the general's condition stable, they say there are manifestations of active mental activity, but due to large brain lesions, communication is limited. Yes, there are a lot of fragments.
— I wouldn't want to work... But I won't live on his pension. She is not elevated - like all the heroes of Russia. And the costs, unfortunately, are high. You have to buy a lot: the same diapers, children food. At Tolya severe allergy- we get out with the help of baby creams, powders. Last year, distinguished guests arrived, felt how warm it was here - they immediately brought a split system. The hospital has no money for this. Even our bed. The hospital broke down, I suffered, suffered, then I asked the guys who served with Tolya - they gave me a new one.
Anatoly Romanov, former commander of the united group of troops in Chechnya, in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, where the Gifts of the Magi are presented. Photo: RIA Novosti / Valery Melnikov
Tired of this life? I asked, knowing the answer.
- Oh, I'm used to it. And, probably, adapted to it ... But what to do?
Get used to everything. Even to grief, suffering. But to see the torment of a loved one and understand that you are not able to help him is unbearable. Larisa Vasilievna perks up, remembering something pleasant, not connected with her husband's illness. But where can you run away from it?
- Tolya always followed the fashion: to make everything fit, it was discreet, but stylish. He loved French perfumes, changed shirts, ties. The first among the military began to wear wedding ring. They couldn't, it was considered bad manners. And he didn't hesitate. They recognized him by the ring - he was so wounded ...
Everyone has their share. Of course, says Larisa Vasilievna, it would be better if all this did not happen, and she and her husband would live peacefully in the Urals. Go to waste positions, titles, improved living conditions. She never had a crush on them. But nothing can be returned. You have to live in this reality.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have another one.
P.S. We talked with Larisa Vasilievna in the ward of Anatoly Alexandrovich in the military hospital named after N.N. Burdenko. But for several years, the colonel-general has been treated at the Main Clinical Hospital of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Balashikha. Larisa Vasilievna is not working now. Their granddaughter Anastasia is 12 years old. And Anatoly Romanov himself turns 69 on September 27 ... Who knows how long he would have lived after the assassination attempt in Chechnya if there had not been a loving devoted wife nearby? What Larisa Vasilievna does is akin to a daily feat. And her dedication seems to have no limits. Definitely, the general is very lucky in love...
When it comes to the traitors of the Great Patriotic War, as a rule, General Andrey Vlasov comes to mind first. The owner of the Order of Lenin and two Orders of the Red Banner, who distinguished himself in the Battle of Moscow, then went over to the side of the enemy and even began to lead the Russian Liberation Army (ROA) created in the Third Reich. The unit consisted of exactly the same defectors and, worst of all, had to fight against the Russian people. This was enough for Vlasov's name to become a household name.
However, after decades, another view arose on Vlasov's actions - captivity and cooperation with Hitler. A version appeared that the general was actually a person collaborating with counterintelligence, sent specifically to kill the Fuhrer, but failed the mission. Supporters of this theory point out that his ROA entered the battle only in April 1945 - when the outcome of the war was, in fact, a foregone conclusion. And some researchers, in support of their conjectures, also point to the fact that the Vlasov family was treated much softer in the post-war period than was customary with relatives of “enemies of the people”.
Although at first it is worth noting that, as such, the general had several families. There were official wives in his life, and front-line, and ordinary mistresses. All his adventures are described in detail in the book “Vlasov. Two faces of the general" by Nikolai Konyaev.
triple cheating
With his first wife - Anna (maiden name Voronina) - Vlasov married in 1926. Probably, their marriage can be called successful with a big stretch, because ten years later the general got himself a passion - Ulyana Osadchaya. As a result of this affair, he had a daughter. Interestingly, the military managed to avoid a big scandal and divorce (in Soviet times). The only thing that backfired for him was treason - a change of duty station.
In 1941, Anna went to the evacuation, and the general, having got to the front, got along with his second, now common-law wife, Agnes Podmazenko, who was a doctor. However, they did not stay together for long. Already in January 1942, she was demobilized from the army during pregnancy. A little later, she will give birth to a boy, who will be named after his father - Andrei.
However, Vlasov was not alone for long. Podmazenko was replaced by cook Maria Voronova. Together with him, she was captured after the encirclement of the 2nd Shock Army, together with her he experienced many hardships until he got together with his last "wife" - German Adele Bilenberg (Heidi von Bilenberg). The new passion was the widow of an SS officer and head of the recreation center for returning German soldiers. Vlasov celebrated his wedding with her in the spring of 1945 in the city of Karlsbad.
For other people's sins
Be that as it may, the last moments of the traitor general's life set his priorities. Filling out the questionnaire of the arrested person, in the column about marital status Vlasov wrote: wife - Anna Mikhailovna Vlasova, nee Voronina. Whether because she was the first, or because the most expensive. Or maybe only because he had the longest and most formal relationship of all with his first wife.
Anna Vlasova spent five years in the Nizhny Novgorod prison for the betrayal of her husband, and at the same time for correspondence with a traitor to the Motherland. After leaving prison, she lived in the city of Balakhna, Nizhny Novgorod Region, and was rehabilitated in 1992.
The first front-line wife Agnese Podmazenko, who even in the documents indicated that she was allegedly the wife of Vlasov, was also arrested by the decision of the Special Assembly and received five years in prison as an accomplice of a traitor. Then she lived and worked as a doctor in Brest. She was rehabilitated in 1989. Agnes Pavlovna worked at the clinic until 1991, after which she retired. She died in 1997, she was buried in the city cemetery in the city of Brest.
Andrei, the son of Vlasov and Podmazenko, lives and works in Samara. He graduated from Saratov State University and graduate school, after which he received the degree of Doctor of Science. In 1971, the general's son went to work at the Kuibyshev (now Samara) State University), where he even held senior positions, including assistant to the rector and secretary of the Communist Party Committee of Kuibyshev University. Since 1991, he worked at the Samara Institute of Business and Management.
Andrew has two daughters. One granddaughter of the general now lives in France, the other was one of the leaders of the State Television Company of Samara.
Another front-line mistress, Maria Voronova, also served several years for her "friendship with a traitor." Most of all, the German woman Adele Bielenberg was lucky. After the war, she remained alive and unharmed and, according to the memoirs of the anti-Soviet emigration activist Sergei Froelich, she even claimed a general's pension. She, of course, was denied this, because Vlasov is not a general of the German Wehrmacht. In addition, the tragedy of the last wife of the traitor was that she was left without the money that Vlasov left her - they were taken from her by his friends, assuring that the funds were needed to help him.
Vlasov himself was convicted of treason in 1946. He was stripped of his military rank and awards, and then hanged.
September 1, 1901 was born perhaps the most famous in modern history our country, its traitor is Andrey Vlasov. It would seem that the negative image of this historical figure is quite unambiguous. But Andrey Vlasov still meets different assessments even from domestic historians and public figures. Someone is trying to present him not even as a traitor to the Motherland, but as a fighter against Bolshevism and "Stalinist totalitarianism." The fact that at the same time Andrei Vlasov created an army that fought on the side of the most fierce enemy of our country, who committed genocide against the peoples of the USSR and destroyed millions of ordinary Soviet people, for some reason is not taken into account.
Andrey Vlasov in a matter of four years has gone from one of the most promising and respected Soviet generals to the gallows - "traitor number one" of the Soviet Union. Coming at the age of 18, during the years of the Civil War, to the Red Army, Andrei Vlasov, from the age of 21, held staff and command positions. At 39, he was already a major general, commanding the 99th Infantry Division. Under his command, the division became the best in the Kiev military district, Vlasov himself received the Order of the Red Banner. By the beginning of World War II, Vlasov commanded the 4th mechanized corps stationed near Lvov. Then Joseph Stalin personally summoned him and ordered him to form the 20th Army, which then operated under the command of Vlasov. Vlasov’s fighters especially distinguished themselves in the battles near Moscow, after which, on a special assignment from the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army, they even wrote the book “Stalin’s commander” about Vlasov. On March 8, 1942, Lieutenant General Vlasov was appointed deputy commander of the Volkhov Front, and a little later, retaining this position, he became commander of the 2nd shock army. Thus, in the first year of the war, Andrei Vlasov was considered one of the most capable Soviet military leaders, taking advantage of the personal location of Joseph Stalin. Who knows, if Vlasov had not been surrounded, maybe he would have risen to the rank of marshal and become a hero, not a traitor.
But, having been captured, Vlasov eventually agreed to cooperate with Nazi Germany. For the Nazis, it was a huge achievement - to win over to their side an entire lieutenant general, commander of the army, and even one of the most capable Soviet military leaders, a recent "Stalinist commander" who enjoyed the favor of the Soviet leader. On December 27, 1942, Vlasov proposed to the Nazi command to organize the "Russian Liberation Army" from among the former Soviet prisoners of war who agreed to go over to the side of Nazi Germany, as well as other elements dissatisfied with the Soviet government. For the political leadership of the ROA, the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia was created. Not only high-ranking defectors from the Red Army who went over to the side of Nazi Germany after being captured, but also many white emigrants were invited to work in the KONR, including Major General Andrei Shkuro, Ataman Pyotr Krasnov, General Anton Turkul and many others who gained fame during the Civil War. In fact, it was the KONR that became the main coordinating body of the traitors who went over to the side of Nazi Germany, and the nationalists who joined them, who were in Germany and other European countries even before the war.
Vlasov's closest associate and chief of staff was the former Soviet Major General Fyodor Trukhin, another traitor who, before being captured, was the deputy chief of staff of the North-Western Front, and after being captured agreed to cooperate with the German authorities. By April 22, 1945, the Armed Forces of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia included a whole motley conglomerate of formations and subunits, including infantry divisions, the Cossack Corps, and even its own air force.
The defeat of Nazi Germany put the former Soviet Lieutenant General Andrei Vlasov and his supporters in a very difficult position. As a traitor, especially of such a rank, Vlasov could not count on indulgence from Soviet power and understood it very well. Nevertheless, for some reason, he several times refused the asylum options offered to him. 
One of the first asylum Vlasov was offered by the Spanish caudillo Francisco Franco. Franco's offer followed at the end of April 1945, when only a few days remained before the defeat of Germany. Caudillo was going to send a special plane for Vlasov, which would take him to the Iberian Peninsula. Although Spain did not take an active part (with the exception of sending volunteers from the Blue Division) in World War II, Franco was positively disposed towards Vlasov, as he saw him as an ally in the anti-communist struggle. It is possible that if Vlasov then accepted Franco's proposal, he would have lived safely in Spain to a ripe old age - Franco hid many Nazi war criminals, and much more bloody than Vlasov. But the commander of the ROA refused the Spanish asylum, as he did not want to leave his subordinates to the mercy of fate.
The next offer came from the opposite direction. After the victory over Germany, Andrei Vlasov found himself in the occupation zone of the American troops. On May 12, 1945, Captain Donahue, who served as commandant of the zone where Vlasov was located, suggested that the former commander of the ROA secretly go deep into the American zone. He was ready to provide Vlasov with asylum on American soil, but Vlasov also refused this offer. He wanted asylum not only for himself, but for all the soldiers and officers of the ROA, which he was going to ask the American command for.
On the same day, May 12, 1945, Vlasov headed deep into the American zone of occupation, intending to meet with the American command at the headquarters of the 3rd US Army in Pilsen. However, along the way, the car in which Vlasov was located was stopped by servicemen of the 25th Tank Corps of the 13th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front. The former commander of the ROA was detained. As it turned out, the former captain of the ROA P. Kuchinsky told the Soviet officers about the possible whereabouts of the commander. Andrei Vlasov was taken to the headquarters of the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, Marshal Ivan Konev. From the headquarters of Konev Vlasov was transferred to Moscow.
As for Vlasov's closest associates in the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia and the command of the Russian Liberation Army, generals Zhilenkov, Malyshkin, Bunyachenko and Maltsev were able to get to the American occupation zone. However, this did not help them. The Americans successfully handed over the Vlasov generals to the Soviet counterintelligence, after which they were also transferred to Moscow. After the arrest of Vlasov and his closest henchmen, the KONR was headed by Major General of the ROA Mikhail Meandrov, also a former Soviet officer, a colonel who was captured while serving as deputy chief of staff of the 6th Army. However, Meandrov did not manage to walk free for long. He was interned in an American POW camp and long time was in it until February 14, 1946, almost a year after the end of the war, was issued by the American command to the Soviet authorities. Upon learning that they were going to extradite him to the Soviet Union, Meandrov tried to commit suicide, but the guards of the high-ranking prisoner managed to stop this attempt. Meandrov was transferred to Moscow, to the Lubyanka, where he joined the rest of the defendants in the case of Andrei Vlasov. Vladimir Baersky, also a general of the ROA and deputy chief of staff of the ROA, who, together with Vlasov, stood at the origins of the Russian Liberation Army, was even less fortunate. On May 5, 1945, he tried to travel to Prague, but on the way, in the city of Pribram, he was captured by Czech partisans. The commander of the Czech partisan detachment was a Soviet officer, Captain Smirnov. The detained Baersky began to quarrel with Smirnov and managed to slap the commander of the partisan detachment. After that, the Vlasov general was immediately seized and hanged without trial or investigation.
All this time, the mass media did not report on the detention of "traitor number one". The investigation into the Vlasov case was of tremendous national importance. In the hands of the Soviet authorities was a man who was not just a general who went over to the side of the Nazis after being captured, but led the anti-Soviet struggle and tried to fill it with ideological content.
After arriving in Moscow, he was interrogated personally by the head of the SMERSH Main Directorate of Counterintelligence, Colonel-General Viktor Abakumov. Immediately after the first interrogation by Abakumov, Andrei Vlasov was placed as a secret prisoner with number 31 in the Lubyanka inner prison. The main interrogations of the traitor general began on May 16, 1945. Vlasov was "put on the conveyor", that is, they were interrogated continuously. Only the investigators who carried out the interrogation and the guards guarding Vlasov changed. After ten days of conveyor interrogation, Andrei Vlasov fully admitted his guilt. But the investigation into his case continued for another 8 months.
Only in December 1945, the investigation was completed, and on January 4, 1946, Colonel-General Abakumov reported to Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin that the top leaders of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia Andrei Vlasov and his other associates were being held in custody in the SMERSH Main Directorate of Counterintelligence. Abakumov suggested that all those detained for treason be sentenced to death penalty through hanging. Of course, the fate of Vlasov and his closest associates was a foregone conclusion, and yet the sentence to the former Soviet general was discussed in great detail. This is to the question of how Stalin's justice was administered. Even in this case, the decision was far from being made immediately and not single-handedly by any senior person in the structure of state security agencies or a military tribunal.
Another seven months passed after Abakumov reported to Stalin about the completion of the investigation into the case of Andrei Vlasov and the top leadership of the KONR. On July 23, 1946, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks decided that the leaders of the KONR Vlasov, Zhilenkov, Malyshkin, Trukhin and a number of their other associates would be judged by the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR in a closed court session chaired by Colonel General of Justice Ulrich without participation sides, i.e. lawyer and prosecutor. Also, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks ordered the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR to sentence them to death by hanging, and to carry out the sentence in prison. It was decided not to cover the details of the trial in the Soviet press, but after the end of the trial, to report on the court's verdict and its execution.
The trial of the Vlasovites began on July 30, 1946. The meeting lasted two days, and immediately before the sentencing of Vlasov and his associates, members of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR deliberated for seven hours. Andrei Vlasov was sentenced on August 1, 1946. Messages about the sentence and its execution appeared in the central newspapers of the Soviet Union the next day, August 2, 1946. Andrei Vlasov and all the other defendants pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them, after which, in accordance with paragraph 1 of the Decree of the USSR PVS of April 19, 1943, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the USSR sentenced the defendants to death by hanging, the sentence was carried out. The bodies of the hanged Vlasovites were cremated in a special crematorium, after which the ashes were poured into an unnamed ditch near the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow. Thus ended his life a man who called himself Chairman of the Presidium of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia and Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Liberation Army.
Many decades after the execution of Vlasov and his assistants, voices began to be heard from some of the Russian right-wing conservative circles about the need to rehabilitate the general. He was proclaimed a fighter against "Bolshevism, atheism and totalitarianism", who allegedly did not betray Russia, but simply had his own view of its future fate. They talked about the "tragedy" of General Vlasov and his supporters.
However, one should not forget that Vlasov and the structures he created fought to the last on the side of Nazi Germany, the terrible enemy of our state. Attempts to justify the behavior of General Vlasov are very dangerous. And the point is not so much in the personality of the general himself, which can and can be called tragic, but in the deeper consequences of such an excuse for betrayal. First, attempts to justify Vlasov are another step towards revising the results of World War II. Secondly, Vlasov's justification breaks the value system of society, since he claims that betrayal can be justified by some lofty ideas. Such an excuse can be found for all traitors in this case, including for ordinary policemen who took part in the robbery and terror of the civilian population, in the genocide of the Soviet people.
In the summer of 1942, Lieutenant General Andrei Vlasov of the Red Army was captured by the Nazis. He was not the first Soviet general to fall into the hands of the Germans. But Vlasov, unlike others, went to active cooperation, agreeing to take the side of Hitler.
From the beginning of the war, the Nazis were looking for collaborators among the captured Soviet military leaders. First of all, they staked on those who are older, in the hope of playing on nostalgic feelings for imperial Russia. This calculation, however, was not justified.
Vlasov, for the Germans, was a real surprise. A man agreed to cooperate with them, who owed his entire career to the Soviet system, a general who was considered Stalin's favorite.
How did General Vlasov end up in captivity, and why did he embark on the path of betrayal?
"I always stood firmly on the general line of the party"
The thirteenth child in a peasant family, Andrei Vlasov was preparing for a career as a priest. The revolution changed priorities - in 1919, an 18-year-old guy was drafted into the army, with which he connected his life. Having shown himself well in the final part of the Civil War, Vlasov continued his military career.
Young commander of the Red Army Vlasov with his wife Anna, 1926.
In 1929 he graduated from the Higher Army Command Courses "Shot". In 1930 he joined the CPSU (b). In 1935 he became a student of the MV Frunze Military Academy.
The repressions of 1937-1938 not only did not hurt Vlasov, but also helped his career growth. In 1938, assistant commander of the 72nd Infantry Division. In the fall of 1938, Vlasov was seconded to China as a military adviser, and in 1939 he became acting chief military adviser to the USSR under the government of Chiang Kai-shek.
After returning to the USSR in January 1940, Vlasov was appointed commander of the 99th Infantry Division. Soon the division becomes the best in the Kiev military district, and one of the best in the Red Army.
Hero of the first months of the war
In January 1941, Vlasov was appointed commander of the 4th Mechanized Corps of the Kiev Special Military District, and a month later he was awarded the Order of Lenin.War can be a difficult test for those officers who make a career not thanks to knowledge and skills, but with the help of intrigues and groveling before their superiors.
However, this does not apply to Vlasov. His corps fought with dignity in the first weeks near Lvov, holding back the onslaught of the Germans. Major General Vlasov earned high praise for his actions, and was appointed commander of the 37th Army.
During the defense of Kiev, Vlasov's army was surrounded, from which hundreds of thousands did not leave Soviet soldiers and officers. Vlasov was among the lucky ones who managed to escape from the "boiler".
In November 1941, Andrei Vlasov received a new appointment. He is ordered to form and lead the 20th Army, which will take part in the counteroffensive near Moscow.
The 20th Army took part in the Klinsko-Solnechnogorsk offensive operation, the troops defeated the main forces of the 3rd and 4th tank groups of the enemy, threw them back to the line of the Lama River - the Ruza River and liberated several settlements, including Volokolamsk.
Rewarding General Vlasov in 1942.
Andrei Vlasov was included in the official Soviet propaganda among the heroes of the battle for Moscow. On January 4, 1942, for these battles, Vlasov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner and promoted to lieutenant general.
Appointment to the Volkhov Front
Leading Soviet and foreign correspondents are interviewing Vlasov, and a book about him is planned. Everything indicates that Vlasov was considered by the top Soviet leadership as one of the most promising military leaders. That is why in early March 1942 he was assigned to one of the most important sectors of the Soviet-German front - Vlasov became deputy commander of the Volkhov Front.Since January 1942, the troops of the front, in cooperation with units of the Leningrad Front, have been carrying out offensive operation, the purpose of which is to break the blockade of Leningrad. At the forefront of the Soviet offensive is the 2nd shock army, which managed to break through the enemy's defenses and move forward significantly.
However, the troops had to advance through forest and swampy terrain, which seriously hampered operations. In addition, the breakthrough has not been able to expand. At the most successful moment, the width of its neck did not exceed 12 kilometers, which created the danger of a German counterattack and the encirclement of Soviet units.
In February 1942, the pace of the offensive dropped sharply. The task set by Moscow to take the settlement of Lyuban by March 1 was not fulfilled. On July 12, 1942, the commander of the 2nd shock army, General Vlasov, was captured by the Germans. He pointed out the reason: heavy losses of the 2nd shock army, lack of reserves, supply problems.
Andrey Vlasov was sent to strengthen the command staff of the front.
Break the blockade at any cost
Things were getting worse. On March 15, 1942, the German counteroffensive began, and a direct threat of encirclement loomed over the 2nd shock army. They did not stop the offensive and withdraw the divisions. This is usually interpreted as a whim and stupidity of the Soviet leadership.But we must not forget that the offensive was carried out for the sake of the blockade of Leningrad, Famine in the besieged city continued to methodically kill people. Refusal to advance meant a death sentence for hundreds of thousands of people. Furious battles were going on behind the supply corridor of the 2nd shock army. It then closed completely, then again made its way, however, with a much smaller width.
On March 20, a commission headed by Lieutenant General Vlasov was sent to the 2nd shock army with a check. The commission returned back without him - he was left to control and help the commander Nikolai Klykov.
In early April, Klykov fell seriously ill. On April 20, Vlasov was approved as commander of the army, with the post of deputy front commander retained. Vlasov was not happy with the appointment - he got not fresh, but badly battered troops, who were in a difficult situation. Meanwhile, the Volkhov Front was united with the Leningrad Front under the general command of Colonel General Mikhail Khozin. He received an order to release the army.
General Khozin thought about the plans promised to the Headquarters for three weeks, and then suddenly reported that the 2nd shock army should be taken to the neck of the breakthrough, expanded, and then consolidated at this line, and the offensive should be moved to another sector.
In fact, Khozin repeated what Meretskov had insisted on earlier, but three weeks were wasted senselessly. All this time, the troops of the 2nd shock army, eating breadcrumbs and horsemeat, suffering heavy losses, continued to hold their positions.
On May 14, the Stavka issues a directive on the withdrawal of the 2nd shock army from the Luban salient. General Khozin himself received a similar order verbally two days earlier.
But what about Vlasov himself? He carried out the duties assigned to him, but did not show any large-scale initiative. The fate of his army was determined by others. Despite everything, the first stage of the withdrawal of the 2nd shock army was successful. But the Nazis, realizing that prey was escaping, stepped up the pressure.
The disaster began on May 30. Taking advantage of the overwhelming advantage in aviation, the enemy launched a decisive offensive. On May 31, the corridor through which the 2nd shock army exited slammed shut, and this time the Germans managed to strengthen their positions in the area.
More than 40 thousand Soviet soldiers ended up in the "cauldron". Exhausted by hunger, people under continuous attacks by German aircraft and artillery continued to fight, breaking out of the encirclement.
The path to salvation through the "Valley of Death"
Later, Vlasov and his supporters would say that the Soviet command "left the 2nd shock army to its fate." This is not true, attempts to deblockade did not stop, units tried to break through a new corridor to the encircled.On June 8, 1942, General Khozin was removed from his post, the Volkhov Front again became a separate unit, and General Meretskov was sent to save the situation. Personally, Stalin set him the task of withdrawing the 2nd shock army from the "cauldron", even if without heavy weapons.
Meretskov gathered all the reserves of the front into a fist in order to break through to Vlasov's army. But on the other hand, the Nazis were transferring more and more new forces.
On June 16, a radiogram arrives from Vlasov: “The personnel of the troops are exhausted to the limit, the number of deaths is increasing, and the incidence of exhaustion is increasing every day. As a result of the cross-fire of the army area, the troops suffer heavy losses from artillery mortar fire and enemy aircraft ...
The combat composition of the formations has sharply decreased. It is no longer possible to replenish it at the expense of rears and special units. Everything that was taken. On the sixteenth of June in battalions, brigades and rifle regiments, on average, several dozen people remained.
On June 19, 1942, a corridor was broken through which several thousand Soviet soldiers were able to get out. But the next day, under air strikes, the saving path from the encirclement was again blocked.
On June 21, a corridor with a width of 250 to 400 meters was opened. It was shot through, hundreds of people died, but still several thousand people were able to go out to their own.
On the same day, a new radiogram came from Vlasov: “Army troops have been receiving fifty grams of crackers for three weeks. Last days there was absolutely no food. We eat the last horses. People are extremely exhausted. Group mortality from starvation is observed. There is no ammunition ... ".
The corridor for the exit of fighters at the cost of heavy losses was held until June 23. The agony of the 2nd shock army was coming. The territory she controlled was now being shot through by the enemy.
On the evening of June 23, the soldiers of the 2nd shock army went to a new breakthrough. It was possible to open a corridor about 800 meters wide. The space, which was narrowing all the time, was called the "Valley of Death". Those who went through it said that it was a real hell. Only the luckiest managed to break through.
The last hours of the 2nd shock
On the same day, the Germans attacked Vlasov's command post. The fighters of the company of the special department managed to repulse the attack, which allowed the staff workers to retreat, but the leadership of the troops was lost.In one of the last radiograms, Meretskov warned Vlasov that on June 24 the troops outside the “cauldron” would make a last decisive attempt to save the 2nd Shock Army. Vlasov appointed for this day the exit from the encirclement of the headquarters and rear services. On the evening of June 24, the corridor was opened again, but now its width did not exceed 250 meters.
The headquarters column, however, having gone astray, ran into German bunkers. Enemy fire fell on her, Vlasov himself was slightly wounded in the leg. Of those who were next to Vlasov, only the head of the intelligence department of the army Rogov managed to break through to his night, who alone found a saving corridor.
Around 9:30 am on June 25, 1942, the ring around the 2nd shock army slammed shut completely. More than 20 thousand Soviet soldiers and officers remained surrounded. In the following weeks, singly and in small groups, several hundred more people managed to escape.
But what is important is that German sources record that there were no facts of mass surrender. The Nazis noted that the Russians in Myasny Bor preferred to die with weapons in their hands. The 2nd shock army died heroically, not knowing what a black shadow would fall on it because of its commander ....
Rescue of General Afanasiev
Both the Germans and ours, knowing that the command of the 2nd shock army remained surrounded, tried to find him at all costs. Vlasov's headquarters, meanwhile, tried to get out. The few surviving witnesses claimed that a breakdown occurred in the general after the failed breakthrough. He looked indifferent, did not hide from the shelling.The command of the detachment was taken over by the chief of staff of the 2nd shock army, Colonel Vinogradov. The group, wandering around the rear, tried to get to their own. She entered into skirmishes with the Germans, suffered losses, gradually decreasing.
The key moment occurred on the night of 11 July. Vinogradov, the chief of staff, suggested that we divide into groups of several people and go out to our own. He was objected to by the chief of communications of the army, Major General Afanasyev. He suggested that everyone go together to the Oredezh River and Lake Chernoye, where they could feed themselves by fishing, and where partisan detachments should be located.
Afanasiev's plan was rejected, but no one began to prevent him from moving along his route. 4 people left with Afanasiev.
Literally a day later, Afanasiev's group met with partisans who contacted the "Great Land". A plane arrived for the general, which took him to the rear.
Aleksey Vasilyevich Afanasyev turned out to be the only representative of the senior command staff of the 2nd shock army who managed to get out of the encirclement. After the hospital, he returned to duty, and continued his service, ending his career as the chief of artillery communications of the Soviet Army.
"Don't shoot, I'm General Vlasov!"
Vlasov's group was reduced to four people. He broke up with Vinogradov, who was ill, because of which the general gave him his overcoat.On July 12, Vlasov's group split up to go to two villages in search of food. The cook of the canteen of the military council of the army, Maria Voronova, remained with the general.
General Vasov in a POW camp.
They entered the village of Tukhovezhi, introducing themselves as refugees. Vlasov, who called himself school teacher asked for food. They were fed, after which they unexpectedly pointed their weapons and locked them in a barn. The “hospitable host” turned out to be the local headman, who called for help from local residents from among the auxiliary police.
It is known that Vlasov had a pistol with him, but he did not resist. The headman did not recognize the general, but considered the newcomers to be partisans.
On the morning of the next day, a German special group drove into the village, which the headman asked to pick up the prisoners. The Germans waved it off, because they were following ... General Vlasov.
The day before, the German command received information that General Vlasov had been killed in a skirmish with a German patrol. The corpse in the general's overcoat, which was examined by the members of the group upon arrival, was identified as the body of the commander of the 2nd shock army. In fact, it was Colonel Vinogradov who was killed.
On the way back, having already passed Tukhovezhi, the Germans remembered their promise and returned for the unknown. When the barn door opened, a phrase in German sounded out of the darkness:
- Do not shoot, I am General Vlasov!
Two Fates: Andrey Vlasov vs. Ivan Antyufeev
At the very first interrogations, the general began to give detailed testimony, reporting on the state of the Soviet troops, and giving characteristics to the Soviet military leaders. And a few weeks later, while in a special camp in Vinnitsa, Andrei Vlasov himself would offer the Germans his services in the fight against the Red Army and Stalin's regime.What made him do this? Vlasov's biography shows that from the Soviet system and from Stalin, he not only did not suffer, but received everything he had. The story about the abandoned 2nd shock army, as shown above, is also a myth.
For comparison, we can cite the fate of another general who survived the Myasny Bor disaster.
Ivan Mikhailovich Antyufeev, commander of the 327th Rifle Division, took part in the battle for Moscow, and then with his unit was transferred to break the blockade of Leningrad. The 327th division achieved the greatest success in the Luban operation. Just as the 316th Rifle Division was unofficially called "Panfilovskaya", the 327th Rifle Division received the name "Antyufeevskaya".
Antyufeev received the rank of major general at the height of the fighting near Lyuban, and did not even have time to change the colonel's shoulder straps to the general's, which played a role in his future fate. The divisional commander also remained in the "boiler", and was wounded on July 5 while trying to escape.
Ivan Mikhailovich Antyufeev
The Nazis, having taken the officer prisoner, tried to persuade him to cooperate, but were refused. At first he was kept in a camp in the Baltic states, but then someone reported that Antyufeev was in fact a general. He was immediately transferred to a special camp.
When it became known that he was the commander of the best division of Vlasov's army, the Germans began to rub their hands. It seemed to them self-evident that Antyufeev would follow the path of his boss. But even having met with Vlasov face to face, the general refused the offer of cooperation with the Germans.
Antyufeev was shown a fabricated interview in which he declared his readiness to work for Germany. They explained to him - now for the Soviet leadership he is an undoubted traitor. But even here the general answered "no."
General Antyufeev stayed in the concentration camp until April 1945, when he was liberated by American troops. He returned to his homeland, was reinstated in the cadres of the Soviet Army. In 1946, General Antyufeev was awarded the Order of Lenin. He retired from the army in 1955 due to illness.
But here's a strange thing - the name of General Antyufeev, who remained faithful to the oath, is known only to lovers military history, while everyone knows about General Vlasov.
"He had no convictions - he had ambition"
So why did Vlasov make the choice he made? Maybe because in life he loved fame and career growth more than anything. Suffering in the captivity of lifetime glory did not promise, not to mention comfort. And Vlasov stood, as he thought, on the side of the strong.Let us turn to the opinion of a person who knew Andrei Vlasov. The writer and journalist Ilya Ehrenburg met the general at the peak of his career, in the midst of a successful battle for him near Moscow. Here is what Ehrenburg wrote about Vlasov years later:
“Of course, the alien soul is dark; yet I dare to state my conjectures. Vlasov is not Brutus and not Prince Kurbsky, it seems to me that everything was much simpler. Vlasov wanted to complete the task entrusted to him; he knew that Stalin would congratulate him again, he would receive another order, he would exalt himself, he would amaze everyone with his art of interrupting quotations from Marx with Suvorov jokes.
It turned out differently: the Germans were stronger, the army was again surrounded. Vlasov, wanting to save himself, changed his clothes. Seeing the Germans, he was frightened: a simple soldier could be killed on the spot. Once in captivity, he began to think about what to do. He knew political literacy well, admired Stalin, but he had no convictions - he had ambition.
He knew that his military career was over. If the Soviet Union wins, it will be demoted at best. So, there is only one thing left: to accept the offer of the Germans and do everything so that Germany wins. Then he will be the commander-in-chief or the minister of war of a ripped Russia under the auspices of the victorious Hitler.
Of course, Vlasov never said that to anyone, he declared on the radio that he had long hated the Soviet system, that he longed to “liberate Russia from the Bolsheviks,” but he himself gave me a proverb: “Every Fedorka has his own excuses” ... Bad people is everywhere, it does not depend on the political system, nor on education.
General Vlasov was mistaken - betrayal did not bring him back to the top. On August 1, 1946, Andrei Vlasov, deprived of his title and awards, was hanged in the courtyard of the Butyrka prison for treason.
He and eight other generals became heroes of the Battle of Moscow. How does the story of the betrayal of General Vlasov begin? His personality is as legendary as it is mysterious. Until now, many facts related to his fate remain controversial.
A case from the archives, or a dispute of decades
The criminal case of Andrei Andreevich Vlasov consists of thirty-two volumes. For sixty years, there was no access to the history of the betrayal of General Vlasov. She was in the archives of the KGB. But now she was born without a stamp of secrecy. So who was Andrei Andreevich? A hero, a fighter against the Stalinist regime or a traitor?
Andrei was born in 1901 in a peasant family. The main occupation of his parents was agriculture. First, the future general studied at a rural school, then at a seminary. Passed civil war. Then he studied at the Academy General Staff Red Army. If you trace his entire service, it can be noted that he was a man who was incredibly lucky. The history of the betrayal of General Vlasov in this case, of course, is not meant.
Highlights in military career
In 1937, Andrey Andreevich was appointed commander of the 215th rifle regiment, which he commanded less than a year, since already in April 1937 he was immediately appointed assistant division commander. And from there he went to China. And this is another success of Andrei Vlasov. He served there from 1938 to 1939. At that time, three groups of military specialists were active in China. The first is illegal immigrants, the second is undercover workers, the third is military specialists in the army.
They worked simultaneously both for Mao Zedong and in the troops of Chiang Kai-shek. This part of the gigantic Asian continent, for which all the intelligence services of the world fought then, was so important for the USSR that intelligence worked in both opposing camps. Andrei Andreevich was appointed to the post of adviser to the department in the troops of Chiang Kai-shek. Further, General Vlasov, whose history of betrayal today causes a huge amount of controversy, again falls into a streak of luck.
Lucky General's Awards
In November 1939, Vlasov was appointed commander of the 99th division in the Kiev military district. In September 1940, observation district exercises were held here. They were conducted by the new People's Commissar of Defense Tymoshenko. The division was declared the best in the Kiev district.
And Andrei Andreevich became the best division commander, a master of training and education. And it was presented in the fall at the end of the school year to What happens next defies any explanation. Because, contrary to all orders and rules, he is awarded
Two patrons and political career
All these events could be explained by another lucky coincidence. But it is not so. Andrei Andreevich made great efforts to create his positive image in the eyes of the leadership. Start political career Andrei Vlasov was given two people. This is the commander of the Kiev military district Tymoshenko and a member of the military council, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine Nikita Khrushchev. It was they who offered him the post of commander of the 37th army.
At the end of November 1940, Andrei Vlasov was waiting for another certification. His next promotion to a higher position was being prepared. How did the story of the betrayal of General Vlasov begin? Why did a man with such a fate become dark spot in the history of the USSR?
The beginning of hostilities, or mistakes of leadership
The war has begun. Despite stubborn resistance, the Red Army suffers serious defeats in major battles. Hundreds of thousands of Red Army soldiers are captured by the Germans. Some of them volunteer for the German army or political opinions, or in order to avoid starvation and death like millions of prisoners of Nazi camps.
In the Kiev cauldron, the Germans destroyed more than six hundred thousand Soviet soldiers. Many commanders of the fronts, chiefs of staff of the army were then shot. But Vlasov and Sandalov will remain alive, and fate will bring them together in the battle near Moscow. IN archival documents those years, it is recorded that on August 23, due to a mistake made by the command of the southwestern front and the commander of the 37th army, General Vlasov, the Germans managed to force the Dnieper in its sector.
The death of the army, or the opportunity to be captured
Here Andrei Andreevich for the first time gets into an environment, abandons his positions and hastily tries to get out of it. What, in fact, destroys his army. Which is amazing. Despite the difficulties of getting out of the encirclement, the general confidently walked along the rear of the enemy. He could easily be captured. But, apparently, even the slightest opportunity for this did not take advantage. The story of the betrayal of General Vlasov is yet to come.
In the winter of 1941, German troops came close to Moscow. Stalin declares Commander, he appoints Andrey Andreyevich. It was Khrushchev and Timoshenko who offered Vlasov for this position. In the winter battle near Moscow, the myth of the invincibility of the German army disappears. The troops of four Soviet fronts managed to inflict the first crushing blow on the Germans, more than a hundred thousand Wehrmacht soldiers were killed or captured. The 20th army under the leadership of General Vlasov also contributed to this victory.
New appointment and captivity
Stalin promotes Andrey Andreevich in the rank to lieutenant general. So he becomes famous among the troops. After the battle near Moscow, he reaps the fruits of glory. He's lucky all the time. His finest hour is coming, but all luck comes to an end. Now the reader will be presented with General Vlasov, whose history of betrayal crossed out all previous achievements.
Andrei Andreevich becomes deputy commander of the 2nd Shock Army, and then heads it. During heavy bloody battles, a significant part of it dies in the forests. But those who sought to get out of the encirclement, in small groups, could break through the front line. However, Vlasov deliberately remained in locality. The next day, when the German patrol began to find out his identity, he suddenly introduced himself unexpectedly: Lieutenant General Vlasov, commander of the 2nd Shock Army.
The subsequent fate and history of Andrei Vlasov. Anatomy of betrayal
After being captured, Andrei Andreevich ends up in a special camp of the propaganda department in Vinnitsa, where German specialists work with him. He surprisingly quickly accepted the offer of the Nazis to lead the non-existent Russian army of the ROA. In mid-1943, Wehrmacht propaganda disseminates information that a Russian liberation army and a new Russian government have been created. This is the so-called "Smolensk Appeal", in which Vlasov promises the Russian people democratic rights and freedom in Russia liberated from Stalin and Bolshevism.
In the spring of 1944, Andrei Andreevich spent under house arrest at his villa in Dahlem. He was sent there by Hitler for a memorable trip through the occupied territories, where he showed too much independence. But November 14, 1944 was the day of the triumph of Andrei Vlasov as the commander of the ROA. The entire political elite of the Wehrmacht arrived at the official ceremony on the occasion of the formation of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia. The culmination of the event is the announcement of the political program of this committee.
The last years of the war
What was General Vlasov thinking at that time? The history of betrayal, Russia and the people, who will never forgive him for this act, did not frighten him? Did he really believe in the victory of Germany? The turn of 1944 and 1945 is marked by numerous events in Berlin. On them, he chooses Soviet prisoners of war and osterbeiters for his political goals. In early 1945, Goebbels and Himmler met with him.
Then, on January 18, he signs a loan agreement between the German government and Russia. As if the final victory of the Germans is only a matter of time. In the spring of 1945, things were going very badly for Germany. In the west, the allies are advancing, in the east, the Red Army does not leave a single chance for the victory of the Wehrmacht, occupying one German city after another. So how could the story of betrayal end for a man like General Vlasov? An epilogue awaits the reader.
First division or endless defeat
Andrei Andreevich does not seem to notice the events taking place. For him, everything seems to be going well again. On February 10, he solemnly receives his first division, which is sent for verification to Eastern front. The encounters here were brief. The Red Army cannot be stopped. The ROA soldiers are running, leaving their positions. The Vlasovites made their last attempt to somehow rehabilitate themselves in the war in Prague. But even there they were defeated.
Fearing captivity Soviet troops, Vlasov together with the Germans hastily leave Prague. Separate groups surrender to the Americans. Two days earlier, General Vlasov himself did this. The tank corps of the Fomins and Kryukov were tasked with breaking through to the base where Andrei Andreyevich and his closest associates were being held, capturing them and delivering them to Moscow.
Then, an investigation will go on at Lubyanka during the year. Eleven officers and Vlasov himself, whose history of betrayal has been carefully studied by Lubyanka specialists, on July 30, 1946, are sentenced to death by hanging on charges of treason.