To the 40th anniversary of the Great Victory
The great liberation mission carried out in Europe by the Soviet Armed Forces in 1944-1945 was a vivid embodiment of Lenin's principles of proletarian internationalism. The U.S.S.R. honourably fulfilled its international duty to the peoples enslaved by fascism, a duty that fully corresponded to the liberation character of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people.
Soviet social scientists, including military historians, have done a great deal of research on the liberation mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe during World War II .1 Much attention is paid to this mission in the memoirs of Soviet commanders and military leaders .2 There are also special works dedicated to it3 . In the last 10 years alone, the Soviet historiography of this problem has been supplemented by a number of monographic studies4 and popular science writings5 .
1 Istoriya Velikoi Otechestvennoi voyni Sovetskogo Soyuza 1941-1945. Tt. 4-5. M. 1962; Istoriya Kommunisticheskoi partii Sovetskogo Soyuza. T. 5, kn. 1. M. 1970; Istoriya SSSR s drevneyshikh vremeni do nashih dni. T. Kh. M. 1973; Istoriya vtoroi mirovoi voyni 1939-1945. Tt. 9-12. Moscow, 1978-1982; Sovetskaya voennaya entsiklopediya, vol. 6. Moscow, 1978; Vtoraya mirovaya voina. Brief History, Moscow, 1984; Velikaya Otechestvennaya voina Sovetskogo Soyuza 1941-1945. Brief History, Moscow, 1984; Zhilin P. A. O voine i voennoi istorii, Moscow, 1984; Samsonov A.M. Vtoroi mirovoi voina 1939-1945. Essay on the most important events, Moscow, 1985.
2 Konev I. S. Notes of the front commander. 1943-1945. Ed. 3-E. M. 1982; Zhukov G. K. Memoirs and reflections. Vol. 3. Ed. 5-E. M. 1983; Vasilevsky A.M. Delo vse zhizni. Ed. 5-E. M. 1984; Rokossovsky K. K. Soldatsky dolg. M. 1984; et al.
3 Chuikov V. I. The end of the Third Reich. Book 3. Moscow, 1975; Moskalenko K. S. Prague operation. - Military Historical Journal, 1975, N 5; Tolubko V. F. International mission of the Soviet Army in Romania. Questions of history, 1979, N 12; Kulikov, V. G. Military cooperation of the Soviet Army and the Polish army in the liberation of Poland from Nazi invaders. - New and recent History, 1984, N 4; and others.
4 Antosiak A.V. In the battles for the freedom of Romania, Moscow, 1974; Liberation mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Second World War, ed. 2-E. M. 1974; Ratnikov A. N. In the fight against fascism: on joint combat actions of Soviet and Yugoslav troops during the Second World War, Moscow, 1974; Zhilin P. A. Problemy voennoi istorii [Problems of military history], Moscow, 1975; Vozrozhdenie narodnykh armii stran-uchastnitsya Varshavskogo Pogo 1941-1949, Moscow, 1975; Chebotarev G. S. Soldaty mira, 2nd ed. Dnepropetrovsk. 1975; The Soviet Union and the struggle of the peoples of Central and South-Eastern Europe for freedom and independence. 1941-1945 Moscow, 1978; Zamlinsky V. A. Po veleniyu mezhdunarodnogo dolga [At the behest of International duty]. The CPSU and the Soviet people fulfilled their international duty in the struggle against German fascism in the Second World War of 1939-1945. Kiev, 1980; Podvig naroda, Moscow, 1981; Levit, I. E. The collapse of the policy of aggression of the Antonescu Dictatorship (19. XI. 1942-23. VIII. 1944). Chisinau. 1983; Liberation struggle against fascism, 1939-1945, Moscow, 1983; Shishov N. I. In the fight against fascism. 1941-1945 (International aid of the USSR to the peoples of European countries), Moscow, 1984; et al.
5 Krupchenko I. E. Osvobozhitel'naya missiya Sovetskogo Soyuza v vtoroi mirovoi voine [Liberation Mission of the Soviet Union in the Second World War].
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This article attempts to characterize some aspects of the history of the great liberation mission of the Soviet Union and its Armed Forces in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe during the Second World War, and to show the falsifying meaning of the latest bourgeois historiography in this regard.
By unleashing World War II, Nazi Germany embarked on the path of gaining world domination, subjugating other peoples, and suppressing their freedom and independence. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Nazis, using their proven method - to crush opponents one by one, conquered 11 European states: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, France, Greece, Yugoslavia - with a total area of almost 2 million square meters.km with a population of about 130 million people. A "new order" was established in these territories: fascist terror raged, more than 18 million people were driven behind the barbed wire of concentration camps, of which 11 million were killed, tortured and burned .6
By June 1941, the aggressive bloc of the most reactionary forces of world imperialism (fascist Germany, Italy, and militaristic Japan) had expanded to include Royal Rumania, Hortist Hungary, tsarist Bulgaria, and the puppet states of Slovakia and Croatia. Finland also entered into a military conspiracy with Germany. The fascist-militarist bloc posed a deadly threat to humanity 7 . In the capitalist world, there was no force that could stop the Hitlerite war machine that was marching for world domination.
The main, decisive assistance to the peoples of Europe in the struggle against German fascism was provided by the Soviet Armed Forces on the Soviet-German front-the main front of World War II since June 22, 1941. From June 1941 to June 1944, the Soviet Armed Forces pinned down from 190 to 270 divisions of the fascist Wehrmacht and the German satellite armies, i.e. up to 70% of the enemy's ground forces, which undoubtedly created favorable opportunities for the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition in preparing a number of strategic operations in the West. Successful military operations of the Soviet Army helped to activate the Resistance movement in the countries occupied by the Nazis and even in Germany itself and in its satellite states.
The USSR's assistance to the peoples of Europe was also manifested in other forms: the creation of national military formations both on the territory of the Soviet Union and on the territory of European states; assistance to the partisan movement; training of military personnel; participation of Soviet people in the resistance movement of other countries, assistance to foreign citizens who were in the USSR; assistance to communist parties in the population and armies of their countries; restoring the war-torn economy on the territory liberated from fascism, etc.
Both in the first days of the Great Patriotic War and during it
Moscow, 1975; Shekhovtsov N. I. Liberation of the peoples of Europe from fascism - the unfading feat of the Soviet Army in the Great Patriotic War. In: On the Paths of Unbreakable Friendship, Moscow, 1977; Shishov N. I. Patriotic and International duty of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, 1980; Bely A. E. Patriotic and international feat of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. Minsk. 1981; Dementiev V. D. Liberation mission of the Soviet Army, Moscow, 1984; Semiryaga M. I. Liberation mission of the Soviet Army during the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, 1984. International feat. M. 1984; et al.
6 Lemeshchuk N. Without bowing his head. On the activities of the anti-Fascist underground in Hitler's concentration camps. Kyiv. 1978, p. 7.
7 Istoriya vtoroi mirovoi voyny 1939-1945 [History of the Second World War 1939-1945], vol. 4, Moscow, 1975, p. I-12.
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The documents of the Communist Party, the Soviet Government, and the Soviet command proclaimed the just, liberating, and international goals of the Soviet Union in the fight against fascism. On July 3, 1941, on behalf of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) and the Soviet Government, J. V. Stalin declared that the goal of the national "Patriotic war against the fascist oppressors is not only to eliminate the danger hanging over our country, but also to help all the peoples of Europe groaning under the yoke of German fascism."8 In a speech on November 6, 1941, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, J. V. Stalin, emphasized:: "We do not and cannot have such goals of war as imposing our will and our regime on the Slavic and other enslaved peoples of Europe who are waiting for help from us. Our aim is to help these peoples in their struggle for liberation against Hitler's tyranny, and then to allow them to settle down quite freely on their land as they wish. " 9
The Red Army began its direct task of liberating neighboring countries from the yoke of fascism in 1944. A characteristic feature of the plans of the Soviet Supreme High Command for the summer-autumn 1944 and winter campaign of 1944-1945 was that along with the military goal of completing the defeat of nazi Germany, an important political goal was also put forward in the first place - to provide direct assistance to the peoples of Europe in their struggle for freedom and independence. Soviet soldiers did not hesitate to fulfill their international duty, coming to the territory of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Norway. Every Soviet soldier, from soldier to marshal, considered it his direct duty to rid humanity of fascism, to extend a fraternal helping hand to the oppressed and enslaved peoples.
The liberation mission of the Soviet Armed Forces, which began immediately with the transfer of military operations to the territory of Romania and Poland, made it necessary for the Soviet government and the highest military and political leadership of the country to develop clear guidelines aimed at defining the tasks of the Soviet military administration and the practical line of conduct of Soviet soldiers in the Such guidelines and specific tasks were formulated in the statement of the Soviet Government in connection with the entry of Red Army units into the territory of Romania (April 2, 1944). It stated: "The Soviet Government declares that it does not pursue the goal of acquiring any part of the Romanian territory or changing the existing social system of Romania, and the entry of Soviet troops the move to the borders of Romania is dictated solely by military necessity and the continued resistance of enemy troops. " 10 On July 26, 1944, the Soviet Government stated that "it considers the military actions of the Red Army on the territory of Poland as actions on the territory of a sovereign, friendly state. In this connection, the Soviet Government does not intend to establish organs of its administration on the territory of Poland, considering this a matter for the Polish people. " 11
Similar statements were made by the Soviet government in connection with the outbreak of hostilities in Hungary, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and the entry of Soviet troops into Bulgaria. By means of special appeals of the Soviet Command statements and resolutions-
8 I. Stalin On the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union, Moscow, 1952, p. 16.
9 Ibid., p. 34.
10 Foreign policy of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War. T. P. M. 1946, p. 105.
11 Ibid., p. 155.
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The decisions of the Soviet Government were brought to the attention of the local population. In these statements, it was proclaimed that the Soviet troops, which, due to military necessity, must remain on the territory of a particular country until the enemy is completely defeated, have only liberating, humane goals. At the beginning of May 1944, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) held a meeting of members of the military councils of the fronts, at which broader tasks of political leadership of the troops were defined and increased requirements for the international education of soldiers were presented .12
The main objectives of the military operations of the Soviet Armed Forces for the second half of 1944 were formulated in the May Day order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The task was "to clear all our land from the fascist invaders and restore the state borders of the Soviet Union along the entire line, from the Black Sea to the Barents Sea", and beyond: "To save our country and our allies from the danger of enslavement, it is necessary to pursue the wounded German beast on its heels and finish it off in its own den... We must rescue from German captivity our fellow Poles, Czechoslovaks and other allied peoples of Western Europe, who are under the heel of Hitler's Germany. " 13 These clearly formulated tasks were the basis for strategic planning of the summer offensive of 1944.
The main forces of the Soviet Army participated in the liberation of Europe. The scale of the liberation mission of the Soviet Armed Forces is evidenced by such offensive operations of the Soviet Troops as the Belorussian, Lviv-Sandomierz, Iasi-Kishinev, Vistula-Oder, Lower and Upper Silesian, Belgrade, Budapest, Vienna, East Pomeranian, East Prussian, Berlin and Prague, which are the largest in scope and included go down in history as a classic example of military art. The main blow of the Soviet Armed Forces was delivered in June 1944 in the center of the Soviet-German front-in the western direction, which was caused by political and strategic considerations, since this was the shortest way to the hotbed of aggression. The successful offensive of the Soviet Army in this strategic direction led to the defeat of the two most powerful Wehrmacht army groups "Center" and "Northern Ukraine" and marked the beginning of the liberation of Poland in July 1944 .14
The Iasi-Kishinev offensive operation, carried out in August 1944 on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front, became a bright page in the history of World War II. In the course of it, the army group "Southern Ukraine" was defeated, which resulted in the elimination of enemy defenses in the Balkan strategic direction. The German-Fascist troops were expelled from a large part of the territory of Romania, which was not only withdrawn from the war against the USSR, but also went over to the side of the anti-Hitler coalition. 15 This victory predetermined the success of the armed popular uprising that began on August 23 under the leadership of the Romanian Communist Party in Bucharest and other cities of Romania. The plan of reactionary circles in Britain and the United States to land Anglo-American troops in the Balkans before the Red Army left, and to maintain pre-war regimes in Central and South-Eastern Europe from the very beginning, was also thwarted.
12 Istoriya Kommunisticheskoi partii Sovetskogo Soyuza [History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union], vol. 5, book 1, pp. 588-589.
13 Stalin I. Uk. soch., pp. 145-146.
14 For more information about the Belarusian operation, see: Liberation of Belarus, Moscow, 1974; Plotnikov Yu. V. In the battles for Belarus. Minsk. 1982; his own. Liberation of Belarus, Moscow, 1984.
15 For more information, see: Iasi-Kishinev Cannas, Moscow, 1964; Antosiak A.V. Uk. soch., pp. 73-103; Istoriya vtoroi mirovoi voyni 1939-1945, vol. 9, pp. 97-133; et al.
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the goal is to turn them into a so-called cordon sanitaire against the Soviet Union.
According to the armistice agreement between the governments of the USSR, Great Britain and the United States on the one hand, and the Government of Romania on the other, signed on September 12, 1944 in Moscow, " Romania from 4 o'clock on August 24, 1944 completely stopped military operations against the USSR in all theaters of war, withdrew from the war against the United Nations, broke off relations with Germany and its satellites." The agreement stipulated that Romania "will wage war on the side of the allied Powers against Germany and Hungary" .16 The agreement defined not only the conditions for ending the war with Romania, but also its position as a member of the anti-Hitler coalition. At least 12 infantry divisions with reinforcement equipment, which Romania pledged to put up, were to take part in the war against Nazi Germany and go under the operational subordination of the Soviet command.
The Soviet Union, whose Armed Forces were operating against Hitler's troops in Romania, did not interfere in the political struggle that was taking place between progressive and reactionary forces inside the country, although the sympathies of the USSR, of course, were on the side of the democratic, anti-fascist forces. The British Times wrote in 1944: "All the information received so far has convinced even skeptical individuals that Russian civilian and military representatives in these countries (in Romania and Bulgaria. - Ed. ) are engaged only in fulfilling the terms of the truce and scrupulously refrain from interfering in internal affairs " 17.
At the beginning of 1945, one of the main tasks of the Soviet troops was to defeat the enemy group between the Vistula and Oder, liberate the entire territory of Poland and reach the approaches to Berlin. This was one of the largest offensive operations carried out by the Red Army during the war. The Vistula-Oder operation convincingly showed the grand scale of the liberation mission of Soviet soldiers. In a few weeks, they cleared the Polish land of Nazi invaders during fierce battles.
In the struggle for the liberation of the enslaved peoples of Europe from fascist oppression, the Soviet Armed Forces lost more than 3 million people killed and wounded .18 About 26,000 Soviet soldiers lost their lives in battles in Austria, more than 140,000 in Hungary, 600,000 in Poland, 69,000 in Romania, and more than 140,000 in Czechoslovakia .19
The most important form of fulfilling the USSR's international duty to the enslaved peoples of Europe was comprehensive assistance in the formation, equipping with military equipment and weapons, and training of foreign units and formations on Soviet territory. Their formation and preparation took place on the basis of intergovernmental agreements or at the request of patriotic organizations of these peoples. By the decision of the State Defense Committee (GKO) in 1943, a special apparatus of the Authorized Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (VGK) for foreign military formations on the territory of the Soviet Union was created in order to provide effective assistance in the creation and training of these formations and maintain communication with them .20
16 Foreign Policy of the Soviet Union in the Patriotic War, vol. II, p. 206.
17 The Times, 9.XI.1944.
18 Liberation Mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Second World War, p. 455; Pravda, 28. IV. 1984.
19 The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union 1941-1945. Brief history, pp. 357, 396, 434, etc.; Krasnaya Zvezda, 26. III. 1971.
20 Istoriya Kommunisticheskoi partii Sovetskogo Soyuza [History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union].
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A concrete expression of international assistance to the patriotic forces of foreign countries eager to fight against fascism was the creation of Polish, Czechoslovak, Romanian, and Yugoslav military units and formations on the territory of the USSR, fully equipped and armed by the Soviet Government. In total, during the war years, with the help of the USSR, 2 combined-arms armies, 3 army, tank and aviation corps, 30 infantry, artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, aviation and training divisions, more than 30 brigades, 180 regiments for various purposes were formed, armed and trained, 9 military schools, 19 officer schools, courses and training centers were created. centers, a large number of individual parts 21 . This huge scale of work was carried out despite the fact that our country was experiencing incredible difficulties associated with the conduct of the war.
If in June 1944 there were Polish, Romanian, Czechoslovak, Yugoslav and French units and formations numbering 103580 soldiers and officers on the territory of the USSR, then by the end of the war the total number of all foreign formations reached more than 555 thousand people .22 The USSR provided significant assistance in training command personnel for foreign units and formations (in military academies, colleges, and courses). The Soviet government transferred about 960,000 rifles, carbines, and submachine guns, 40,627 machine guns, 16,502 guns and mortars, 1,124 tanks and self-propelled guns, 2,346 aircraft, 12,397 trucks, 4,769 radio stations, and many other military equipment, fuel, and foodstuffs to foreign formations .23
The formation, arming and training of military units and formations on the territory of the USSR, staffed by citizens of the countries captured by the Nazis, found the warm support and approval of all patriotic and anti-fascist forces in Europe. Only the bourgeois-landlord reaction of these countries, which placed its egoistic class interests above national ones, reacted warily and even hostilely to this important matter. Between the Communist parties of the countries occupied by Nazi Germany and the Central Committee of the CPSU (b), the Soviet command, there was complete mutual understanding and common views on all issues of the formation and combat use of these foreign formations on the Soviet-German front24 . The Soviet Union's assistance to the patriotic forces of European countries ensured a more effective fight against fascism. Foreign units and formations created on Soviet soil later became the basis of the armies of the people's democratic states of Central and South-Eastern Europe.
The first foreign military formation created on the territory of the Soviet Union was the 1st separate Czechoslovak Infantry Battalion. It was formed on the basis of the Soviet-Czechoslovak Agreement on mutual Assistance and Support in war of July 18, 1941 and the military agreement between the Supreme High Command of the Soviet Union and the High Command of Czechoslovakia of September 27, 1941,25 Colonel L. Svoboda, who later became an army general and President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, was appointed battalion commander. The battalion was made up of Czechoslovak patriots-internationalists. First training courses
21 Voenno-istoricheskiy zhurnal, 1975, No. 6, pp. 98-99.
22 Semiryaga M. I. International feat, p. 7; Sovetskaya Voennaya entsiklopediya, vol. 3. Moscow, 1977, p. 550.
23 Semiryaga M. I. Liberation mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Second World War, p. 40.
24 Istoriya Kommunisticheskoi partii Sovetskogo Soyuza [History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union], vol. 5, book 1, p. 573.
25 Soviet-Czechoslovak relations during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 Doc. Moscow, 1960, p. 14; Na vechnye vremya, Moscow, 1975, p. 83.
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officers and non-commissioned officers for Czechoslovak units opened on March 9, 1942 in Buzuluk. As part of the 25th Guards Rifle Division of the 3rd Tank Army of the Voronezh Front, the 1st Czechoslovak Battalion on March 8, 1943, for the first time entered the battle with the Nazi invaders at the village of Sokolovo in the Zmievsky (now Gottwaldsky) district of the Kharkiv region, showing high resilience and heroism .26
When, in April 1943, the Czechoslovak command applied to the Soviet Government for the formation of the 1st Czechoslovak Infantry Brigade on the territory of the USSR, the GKO issued a decree on April 29, 1943. it was satisfied. After appropriate combat and political training, the 1st Czechoslovak Infantry Brigade was incorporated into the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front on September 20, 1943, and together with the Soviet troops took an active part in the battles with the Nazi invaders. Czechoslovak soldiers who participated in the liberation of Kiev and Bila Tserkva were highly appreciated by the Soviet command. For the courage and military skill shown in these battles, the brigade was awarded the Orders of Suvorov II degree and Bogdan Khmelnitsky I degree by decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR .27
In connection with the withdrawal of the Soviet Army at the beginning of April 1944 to the approaches to the Soviet-Czechoslovak border, the Foreign Bureau of the CPR and the command of the Czechoslovak troops appealed to the Soviet Government to deploy a larger Czechoslovak military formation. The desire of the Czechoslovak military and political leadership, which fully met the aspirations of the Czechoslovak people to take an active armed part in the liberation of their homeland from the yoke of fascism, was fully justified. On April 10, 1944, the Red Army General Staff issued the necessary orders for the formation of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps, 28 which subsequently took part in the Carpathian-Duklin, Prague and other offensive operations of the Soviet Army to liberate Czechoslovakia .29
In connection with the formation of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps, 458 Czechs and Slovaks were trained in Soviet military schools (Ryazan Infantry, Moscow Engineering, Murmansk Communications School, Saratov Tank, Smolensk Artillery) .30 In 1944-1945. The Main Directorate of Personnel of the People's Commissariat of Defense (NKO) of the USSR sent more than 600 Soviet training officers to the corps .31 The 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps under the command of General L. Svoboda, having passed a glorious military path together with the Red Army during the war, became the basis of the Czechoslovak army of a new type - the people's Army. By the end of the war, there were 60,000 soldiers in the corps .32 After its completion, the Soviet Union handed over weapons and military equipment for 10 divisions to the Czechoslovak government .33
26 Sovetskaya voennaya entsiklopediya [Soviet Military Encyclopedia], vol. 7, Moscow, 1979, p. 436.
27 Liberation Mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in World War II, pp. 64-67.
28 Ibid., p. 67.
29 For more information, see: For the Liberation of Czechoslovakia, Moscow, 1965; Svoboda L. From Buzuluk to Prague, Moscow, 1969; Grechko A. A. Through the Carpathians, Moscow, 1972; In the battles for the Carpathians. Uzhgorod-M. 1975; Moskalenko K. S. Prague operation. - Military-historical Journal, 1975, N 5; and others.
30 The Birth of People's Armies, p. 39.
31 Monin M. E. Sodruzhestvo, rozhdennoe v bojakh [The Commonwealth born in battles]. Moscow, 1971, p. 41.
32 Amort Ch. SSSR i osvobozhdenie Chehoslovakii [The USSR and the Liberation of Czechoslovakia], Moscow, 1976, p. 169.
33 Soviet-Czechoslovak relations during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, p. 257.
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At the initiative of the Union of Polish Patriots (SPP), the Polish armed forces began to be created on the territory of the USSR in 1943. The Soviet government granted the SPP's request for assistance in forming an infantry formation and covered all costs associated with the creation of the 1st Polish Infantry Division named after T. Kosciuszko. The NKO of the USSR, at the request of the SPP, sent 325 Soviet commanders, mostly of Polish nationality, for temporary service in the Polish troops .35 On September 1, 1943, the division arrived on the Western Front. It counted in its ranks by October 10, 1943 12144 soldiers and officers 36 . As part of the troops of the 33rd Army, the division received a baptism of fire on the Belarusian land near the town of Lenino on October 12-13, 1943.
On August 10, 1943, the GKO granted the request of the SPP, deciding to create the 1st Polish Corps on the territory of the USSR. Its formation was completed in mid-March 1944,37 The party leadership of the Polish troops stationed on the territory of the USSR was carried out by the Central Bureau of Polish Communists, established in January 1944 in Moscow .38 On the basis of this corps, according to the decision of the Soviet Supreme High Command of March 16, 1944, the formation of a large operational association - the 1st Polish Army, which was the basis of the armed forces of the reborn Poland, began. This army numbered over 100,000 soldiers and officers by July 1944 .39 By the beginning of 1945, the Main Command, the Main Staff, the Main Political Directorate and the commands of the branches of the Armed Forces were created, one army was fully formed, and the formation of the other, the tank and aviation corps, was coming to an end. In total, the Polish armed forces numbered 286 thousand people at that time, and by the beginning of the Berlin operation, their number reached 400 thousand soldiers and officers 40 .
These Polish armed forces were provided with military equipment and weapons at the expense of the Soviet Union. About 700,000 rifles and submachine guns, 15,000 heavy machine guns and mortars, 3,500 guns, more than 1,000 tanks, 1,200 aircraft, more than 18,000 vehicles and a large number of other military equipment were transferred to equip them, and significant assistance was provided in staffing them with command personnel at the expense of Soviet officers. In total, during the war years, 19679 generals and officers and more than 13 thousand junior commanders and rank-and-file specialists of the technical troops were sent to the Polish troops from the Red Army .41 For the training of Polish officers in the territory of the USSR, special military schools were created: in Novograd-Volyn, Lutsk, Zhytomyr, Ryazan. 4554 people were trained in them42 . Polish officers also improved their knowledge at the Higher Rifle and Tactical Courses in Solnechnogorsk ("Shot") and at the M. V. Frunze Military Academy. The Soviet state spent 723 million rubles on providing the armed forces of new Poland by January 1, 194543 .
34 It began on May 14, 1943, in the Seletsky camps near Ryazan in the states of the Guards Rifle Division of the Red Army.
35 Countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe in World War II. In: Voenno-istoricheskiy spravochnik, Moscow, 1972, p. 163.
36 The origin of People's Armies, p. 110.
37 By this time, the number of the corps reached 40 thousand soldiers and officers.
38 Brotherhood in Arms, Moscow, 1975, p. 82; Birth of People's Armies, p. 112.
39 Ludowe Wojsko Polskie 1943 - 1973. Warszawa. 1974, s. 56.
40 Istoriya vtoroi mirovoi voyny 1939-1945 [History of the Second World War 1939-1945]. Vol. 10, p. 56; Shishov N. I. V borbe s fascizmom, p. 45.
41 The origin of People's armies, p. 134.
42 Monin M. E. Uk. soch., p. 56; Shishov N. I. V borbe s fascizmom, p. 53.
43 Shishov N. I. In the fight against fascism, p. 45.
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First Secretary of the Central Committee of the PORP, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the NDP V. Jaruzelski, who was one of the first cadets of the Central School of cornet training Center of the 1st Polish Army in Ryazan, at the grand opening of the monument of the Soviet-Polish brotherhood in arms in Ryazan on May 5, 1984, stressed: "The Soviet government responded positively to the initiative of the Union of Polish Patriots to create Polish armed forces on the territory of your country. Soviet women sewed us uniforms and regimental banners. We received Soviet weapons, which were then more valuable than bread. Here we learned the beautiful Russian word "druzhba", and our Soviet friends - the Polish word "przyazn"44 .
Yugoslav military formations on the territory of the USSR began to be created in the fall of 1943. From the Yugoslav citizens who were on our land, in mid-November 1943, with the consent of the Soviet Government, a Separate infantry battalion was formed, which grew into an infantry brigade, then a tank brigade and two aviation regiments were created. These units were trained and assigned to the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia(PLA)45 . In order to rearm the PLA units in late 1944 - early 1945, in accordance with the Soviet-Yugoslav agreements, weapons and combat equipment for 12 infantry divisions and two Air Force divisions were transferred to the Yugoslav government.
In 1944, 285 Yugoslav soldiers were trained in Soviet tank and flight schools. In the liberated territory of Yugoslavia, the Soviet Command established training centers for training flight technicians for the PLA, which contributed to the creation of the Yugoslav Air Force. A total of 221 people were trained in these training centers. In the Soviet aviation group of Major General A. N. Vitruk, the leadership of the Yugoslav Air Force in the number of 65 people completed an internship. With the help of the USSR, 276 Yugoslav pilots and 3408 airfield maintenance specialists were trained, the management of the aviation corps and two air divisions were formed, 24 airfields were built and 14 were restored .46
Based on the GKO decree of May 8, 1944, the formation of the 2nd Separate Yugoslav infantry battalion, a tank company and a signal company in the USSR began, as well as the creation of a supply base for the PLA in Kalinovka, Vinnytsia region. By the decision of the Soviet government of May 24, 1944, the creation of the 1st Yugoslav Infantry Brigade on the territory of the USSR began, which was formed by the end of July 1944 and numbered about 2 thousand soldiers. On August 1, the brigade was incorporated into the 2nd Ukrainian Front, and in October it was transferred to the command of the PLA. It became part of the grouping of Yugoslav troops that participated in the Belgrade operation 47 .
As you know, many Romanian soldiers and officers were captured by Soviet troops near Stalingrad. The brilliant victory of the Red Army at the Battle of the Volga had a profound moral impact on them. As a result, 2,700 soldiers and 43 officers of the captured Romanian troops submitted a report to the Soviet Command on February 2, 1943, requesting that they be sent to the front to fight together with the Red Army against the Nazis. 48 At the request of the Romanian prisoners of war, set out in their appeal to the Soviet Union.
44 Pravda, 6. V. 1984.
45 Istoriya Kommunisticheskoi partii Sovetskogo Soyuza [History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union], vol. 5, book 1, p. 573.
46 Shishov N. I. V borbe s fascizmom [In the fight against fascism], pp. 46, 54.
47 Cm. Liberation Mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Second World War, p. 68, 210.
48 Pravda, 24. IV. 1942.
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On September 16, 1943, on October 4 of the same year, the State Defense Committee adopted a resolution on the formation of a Romanian division in the Seletsky camps, in the Ryazan region. The formation of the 1st Romanian Volunteer Division named after T. Vladimirescu was completed at the end of March 194449 . Its number was about 10 thousand soldiers and officers.
The Soviet command provided the Romanian division with 5,244 rifles, 2,116 submachine guns, 858 revolvers, about 500 hand grenades, 200 heavy machine guns, 212 anti-tank rifles, 100 mortars of various calibers, 92 guns, 59 radio stations, 121 cars, 15 tractors and other military equipment and property. Lieutenant Colonel N. Kambry was appointed division commander. The Soviet command sent 158 Romanian-speaking officers from the Active Army to the Romanian division as instructors. In total, about 300 Soviet training officers were sent to the Romanian troops. Having joined the 2nd Ukrainian Front on May 7, 1944, the division began its combat journey on August 20, 1944,50 Soldiers of the division-Pandurs (volunteers) courageously fought against the Nazis, and later played an important role in the democratization of the Romanian People's Army.
When the Soviet Armed Forces reached the borders of Bulgaria, the Military Council of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, in an address to the Bulgarian people and their army on September 7, 1944, stated:: "The Red Army has no intention of fighting the Bulgarian people and their army, as it considers the Bulgarian people to be a fraternal people. The Red Army has only one task - to defeat the Germans and speed up the time of universal peace. To do this, it is necessary that the Bulgarian government cease to serve the German cause, that it immediately break all relations with the Germans and go over to the side of the coalition of democratic countries."51. On September 8, 1944, Soviet troops crossed the Romanian-Bulgarian border. The Bulgarian army offered no resistance and joined its people, who greeted the Soviet Liberation Army with glee. On the same day, ships of the Black Sea Fleet entered the Bulgarian port of Varna. On the night of September 9, an armed uprising of the Bulgarian people won in Sofia. The government of the Fatherland Front came to power, severing relations with Nazi Germany and asking the Soviet Government for an armistice.
Given the threat of attacks by Nazi troops and aircraft on Sofia and the north-western regions of the country, the new Bulgarian government turned to the Soviet Union for military assistance. On September 15, Soviet troops entered Sofia, and by the end of the month they reached the Bulgarian-Yugoslav border. The actions of the Soviet troops and navy, with which the armed popular uprising merged, played a decisive role in the liberation of Bulgaria from the Fascist yoke. 52 On October 28, 1944, an armistice agreement between the USSR and Bulgaria was signed in Moscow. The Government of the Fatherland Front started creating the People's Army. In October 1944 - in 1945, the Bulgarian People's Army, as part of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, actively participated in the defeat of Nazi troops in Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria.
The culmination of the great liberation mission of the USSR was the final operations of the Great Patriotic War - Berlin and Prague. Defeat of the Berlin group of German-Fascist troops and capture of
49 Participarea armatei romane alaturi de Armata Sovietica in luptele inpotriva cotropitori or hitleristi. Bucuresti. 1945, p. 15; Антосяк А. В. Ук. соч., с. 51.
50 Antosyak A.V. Uk. soch., pp. 35, 52.
51 Kommunist Publ., 1979, No. 13, p. 78.
52 World War II. A brief history, p. 396.
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Berlin, and then the liberation of Prague were the final acts of the struggle against Hitlerite Germany. Together with the Soviet troops, parts of the Polish Army took an active part in the defeat of the Berlin enemy group. They operated in the first operational echelon of the Soviet fronts. Directly in the assault on Berlin participated the 1st Polish Army and other Polish units 53 .
The Soviet Union brought liberation from fascism to the German people themselves. The Red Army came to Germany not as a conqueror or avenger, but as a liberating army, designed to eradicate fascism, destroy militarism and ensure peace in Europe. And the Germans were immediately convinced of this. The Central Committee of the CPSU (b), the Soviet Government and the command of the Soviet Armed Forces took measures to establish a peaceful life in the eastern regions of Germany, primarily to supply the population with food. From May 10 to August 1, 1945, the Soviet command transferred a large amount of food products to supply the inhabitants of Berlin: flour-58771, cereals-11016, meat-8200, fat-2116, potatoes-97590, salt-3527, sugar-5221 tons 54 . The Soviet military administration in Germany helped to eliminate the consequences of the devastation, organize social and political life on an anti-fascist and democratic basis, constantly expanded the rights and functions of local self-government, thereby granting the German people the right to independently decide on ways to build a new Germany.
During the liberation mission, the Soviet Union and its Armed Forces provided great and unselfish assistance to the liberated countries. Bulgaria received 1,302 tons of meat, 7,186 tons of wheat, 1,635 tons of rye, 1,695 tons of flour, 486 tons of sugar, 1,240 tons of potatoes, 2,455 tons of oats and barley, and 1,707 tons of corn .55 By the spring of 1945, the Soviet Union had supplied Hungary with 33,000 tons of grain, 4,000 tons of meat, 2,000 tons of sugar, 6,000 tons of salt, 1,000 tons of fuel, 700 tons of engine oil, and 500 automobiles; a loan of 1,050 million penge56 was also granted . In January - April 1945, 45 thousand tons of coal, 3 thousand tons of kerosene, 280 thousand tons of oil, 6 thousand tons of salt, 150 thousand heads of cattle, 8 thousand tons of meat, 1 thousand tons of fat were transferred to Poland .57 The Soviet Union donated 23 merchant ships, 115 steam locomotives, 23,000 railway cars, 2,000 automobiles, and 2,000 tractors to Romania. In 1945, due to the drought in Romania, it was granted 300 thousand tons of grain, reduced reparations supplies from 600 to 300 billion lei, and granted other benefits in the amount of 677 billion lei. By April 1945, 1,217 (out of 1,450) destroyed oil wells had been restored by the joint efforts of Soviet soldiers and Romanian specialists .58 The total financial assistance provided by the Soviet Union to Czechoslovakia in May-June 1945 amounted to 40 million rubles. The GKO resolutions of May 26 and July 1 raised the bread consumption standards for residents of large cities. The Soviet authorities transferred about 1,800 head of livestock, 100 cars and other property to the population .59 For Yugoslavia, the Soviet government in the fall of 1944 allocated the bo-
53 Ibid., pp. 522-523.
54 Liberation Mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Second World War, p. 410; Voenno-istoricheskiy zhurnal. 1959, N 8, p. 98.
55 Отечествената война на България. 1944-1945. Vol. III. Sophia. 1966, p. 270.
56 The countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe in the Second World War, p. 71.
57 Liberation Mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in World War II, p. 130.
58 Countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe in the Second World War, p. 211.
59 Ibid., p. 254.
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more than 50 thousand tons of grain and flour, of which 17 thousand tons-for residents of Belgrade. This made it possible to provide the population of the Yugoslav capital with bread for 5-6 months 60 .
The USSR provided quite significant assistance to Austria. During the first month after its liberation, the 3rd Ukrainian Front handed over to the residents of Vienna 7 thousand tons of grain, 500 tons of corn, 30 tons of meat, 200 tons of sugar, 200 tons of vegetable oil, 200 tons of beans and peas, etc. 61 . The Soviet Government also provided great assistance to the population of the areas of Norway liberated by Soviet troops. In the first few days, food was provided from Soviet Army depots, six hospitals were opened, and the seriously ill were treated in a Soviet army hospital. Soviet engineering units restored port facilities, water supply, and telephone communications in Kirkenes and other Norwegian cities, and defused 15,000 mines .62
Modern bourgeois historiography does not stop trying to distort the role of the Soviet Armed Forces in the liberation of the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe .63 The Red Army's liberation mission is unreasonably interpreted as an occupation action .64 The use of Romanian and Bulgarian troops in the fight against nazi Germany, in accordance with the terms of the armistice with their governments, 65 is presented by Western historians as the withdrawal of these troops from the territory of Romania and Bulgaria, allegedly carried out under pressure from the Soviet command, in order to get free hands in these countries .66 West German historian Yu. Thorvald, speaking about the events of August 23, 1944 in Bucharest, tries to convince the reader that Soviet troops marched through Romania without resistance and that their role in the defeat of the Fascist troops during the Iasi-Kishinev operation was of no significance for the success of the popular uprising .67 Other fabrications of falsifiers of the history of the Second World War in general and the liberation mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in Europe in particular have already been rebuffed in the works of Soviet historians .68
60 Liberation Mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in World War II, p. 237.
61 Voenno-istoricheskiy zhurnal, 1976, N 6, p. 99.
62 See: Semiryaga M. I. The Second World War and Proletarian Internationalism, Moscow, 1962, p. 167; Liberation Mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Second World War, p. 260.
63 Fildhouse D. Colonialism. 1870 - 1945. Lnd. 1981; Herwarth H. Zwischen Hitler und Stalin: Erlebte Zeitgeschichte 1931 bis 1945. Frankfurt a/M. etc. 1982; Horak S. M. Russia, the USSR and Eastern Europe: A Bibliogr. Guide to Engl. Language Publ., 1975 - 1980. Littleton (Colo). 1982; Schilling W. Kernwaffen in Europe: Moglichkeiten der Rtistungsbegrenzung. Liberal. Bonn. 1982. X Jg., 33, Hf. 1; Jelavich B. History of the Balkans. Cambridge. 1983; Hansen, Kirsten, Barker et al. Soviet of Osteuropa: Undenrigs - og sikkerhedspolitik. Kebenhavn. 1983.
64 Jelavich B. Op. cit., pp. 254, 255, 261; Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg. Bd. 4. Stuttgart. 1983; a. o.
65 Fair and democratic armistice agreements were concluded with Romania (September 12, 1944), Bulgaria (October 28, 1944), Hungary (January 20, 1945), taking into account the true interests of the Romanian, Bulgarian and Hungarian peoples and their right to sovereignty and to establish a new life at their discretion (see: Liberation Mission of the Soviet Socialist Republics). Armed Forces in the Second World War, pp. 162, 291; Soviet-Bulgarian relations 1944-1948. Doc. Moscow, 1969, pp. 32-41).
66 Skilling H. Czechoslovakia's Interrupted Revolution. Toronto - Princeton. 1976, pp. 25 - 26; Hoppe H. -T. Bulgarien-Hitlers eigenwilliger Verbundeter. Stuttgart. 1979. S. 209 - 211.
67 Thorwald J. Defeat in the East: Russia Conquers - January to May 1945. N. Y. 1980, pp. 9 - 10.
68 Komarov N. E., Orlov A. S. Liberation Mission of the Soviet Armed Forces and bourgeois historiography. - New and recent History, 1975, N 2; Zhilin P. A., Yakushevsky A. S., Kulkov E. N. Kritika osnovnykh kontseptsii-
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The countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, depending on their relations with the USSR, were divided into three groups: the first-allied and friendly countries (for example, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia), the second-countries such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, who fought on the side of the fascist bloc before the armistice, and finally the third is Hitler's Germany itself. Although the latter, as a reactionary, fascist-militaristic state, was subject to complete defeat, the USSR was also guided by the desire to rid the German people of the Fascist yoke and make it possible to follow the path of democratic revival. In the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe, whose territories were being liberated by the Soviet Army, the Soviet military administration acted in full compliance with the decisions taken by the anti-Hitler coalition powers, carrying out all its activities through local authorities together with the democratic forces of the liberated countries.
Corresponding agreements were concluded with the Governments of those countries on whose territory the Red Army entered. On May 8, 1944, an Agreement was signed in London on relations between the Soviet Commander-in-Chief and the Czechoslovak Administration after the entry of Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia .69 This agreement stated that "as soon as any part of the liberated territory ceases to be a zone of direct military operations, the Czechoslovak Government takes full control of public affairs and will provide the Soviet (Allied) Commander-in-Chief with full cooperation and assistance through its civil and military bodies."70 On July 26, 1944, in Moscow, an agreement was concluded with the Polish National Liberation Committee on relations between the Polish Administration and the Soviet Commander-in-Chief after the entry of Soviet troops into Poland. It stated:"As soon as any part of the liberated territory of Poland ceases to be a zone of direct military operations, the Polish National Liberation Committee will take full charge of all civil administration affairs." 71 On September 21, 1944, an agreement was reached in Moscow on the temporary entry of Soviet troops into the territory of Yugoslavia and an agreement was signed on joint combat operations of the Red Army and the PLA against the Nazi troops. In the areas of temporary stay of Soviet troops, in accordance with this agreement, the civil administration continued to operate, represented by the bodies of the National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia .72
Soviet troops entered the territory of Norway in accordance with the agreement of May 17, 1944, concluded between the Governments of the USSR, the United States and Great Britain, on the one hand, and the Government of Norway, on the other .73 On April 9, 1945, the Soviet Government issued a statement in connection with the entry of the Red Army into Austria, stating that it "does not pursue the goal of acquiring any part of the Austrian territory or changing the social system."
Collection of Bourgeois Historiography of the Second World War, Moscow, 1983; Yakushevsky A. S. Liberation Mission of the Soviet Union in the Second World War (Criticism of Bourgeois views). - New and Recent History, 1985, N 1; and others.
69 Soviet-Czechoslovak relations during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, pp. 160-162.
70 Foreign Policy of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War, vol. II, pp. 124-125.
71 Ibid., p. 158.
72 Ibid., p. 236; Semiryaga M. I. International feat, p. 68-69.
73 Foreign policy of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War, vol. II, p. 135.
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Austria. The Soviet Government takes the view of the Moscow Declaration of the 74 Allies on the independence of Austria. " 75
The situation was somewhat different with the question of the entry of the Red Army into the territory of the defeated allied countries of Nazi Germany. The Soviet Government has repeatedly stressed that its troops are pursuing liberation goals not only against the peoples of the countries occupied by the Nazis, but also against the peoples of Germany and its allies. In relation to the defeated countries, the USSR had special rights and obligations arising from the armistice agreements with Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and in relation to Austria and Germany - arising from the Yalta Agreements. On the basis of these inter-Allied documents, the Soviet military administration had the right and was obliged to prevent the revival of fascism and reaction in them. This corresponded both to the interests of the USSR and to the aspirations of the peoples of these countries .76 The Soviet Union and its Armed Forces that entered the territory of the defeated countries were far from feeling revenge against their peoples and from the intention to pursue a policy derived from this feeling. The Soviet Army also came to these countries as a liberator.
No amount of falsification by bourgeois authors can detract from the indisputable fact that the Soviet Union played a decisive role both in the liberation of the countries of Central and South - Eastern Europe and in the victorious outcome of the Second World War. "Humanity owes its liberation from the threat of fascist enslavement and its freedom to the world's first socialist state, its historic victory over the enemy," 77 the Central Committee of the CPSU said in its resolution " On the 40th Anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet People in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." Immediately after the end of the Second World War, even the bourgeois press recognized: "The Red Army was in fact the liberator of Europe and half the world, in the sense that without this army and without the boundless sacrifices that the Russian people made to support it, liberation from the cruel yoke of Nazism would have been simply impossible." 78 About 7 million Soviet soldiers fought fierce battles with the enemy and liberated all or part of the territories and countries of Europe, covering an area of more than 1 million square kilometers with a population of 113 million people .79
The feat accomplished by the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War will forever remain in the memory of mankind. The Soviet Armed Forces, having rescued the peoples of Central and South-Eastern Europe from Fascist captivity, created favorable conditions for the victory of progressive forces in the countries liberated from Hitler's slavery. A prominent figure in the French and international communist and workers ' movement, J. Duclos, assessing the heroism of the Soviet people and its Armed Forces, wrote: "And if Hitler's barbarism did not flood the world, do we not owe it to a large extent
74 In October 1943, at a conference of the Foreign Ministers of the USSR, Britain, and the United States in Moscow, the Declaration on Austria was adopted, declaring the German occupation of Austria in 1938 null and void. It expressed the desire of the three governments to see the future Austria free and independent (Foreign Policy of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War, vol. I. M. 1946, p.417).
75 Ibid., vol. III, Moscow, 1946, p. 171.
76 For more information, see: Semiryaga M. I. The policy of the Communist Party and the Soviet Government in relation to the countries of Central and South - Eastern Europe in 1944-1945 and its perversion in bourgeois historiography. - Voprosy istorii CPSU, 1981, N 6.
77 Pravda, 17. VI. 1984.
78 New York Herald Tribune, 25.VI.1945.
79 Liberation mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in Europe in World War II. The dock. Moscow, 1985, p. 6.
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to the victims and heroism of the Soviet Army and the peoples of the Soviet Union?! In fact, it is quite clear that neither the armies of the Western Allies nor the Resistance movement... yet they could not have destroyed the monstrous war machine of the Hitlerites without those gigantic battles that brought them (the Red Army. - Auth.) from the gates of Leningrad and Stalingrad to Berlin... The peoples of the Soviet Union fought not only for their own sake, they fought, they worked for the sake of the working people of all countries of the world. " 80
"All of humanity is indebted to the Red Army," said Karl Renner, State Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, at the unveiling of the monument to Soviet soldiers in Vienna in August 1945. " We, the people of Austria, have special reasons to be grateful to the Red Army, which not only freed us from the yoke of fascism, but also created the possibility of reviving our free and independent country. independent republic " 81 . In an editorial, Szabad nep wrote about the liberation of Hungary by the Red Army: "Our people, having suffered the horrors of war, welcome their liberator and deliverer in the face of the Soviet Union and its Red Army."82 The President of the Krajowa Rada of the People, the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army wrote to the Soviet Supreme Commander in a telegram dated January 18, 1945: "The Polish people will never forget that they gained freedom and the possibility of restoring their independent state life thanks to the brilliant victories of Soviet weapons and83 . The address of the Government of the Fatherland Front on May 9, 1945, to the Bulgarian people in connection with the defeat of Hitlerite fascism stated :" We are deeply grateful to the Red Army, not only because it played a decisive role in defeating the German war machine, but also because, thanks to its help, our people were freed from the Hitlerite yoke on September 9, and took control of 84. On May 16, 1945, the President of the Czechoslovak Republic wrote in his message to the Soviet Supreme Commander-in-Chief:: "At the time of the most severe oppression, the Czechs and Slovaks looked with undisguised hopes at the approaching troops of yours, who with unparalleled heroism won their way from the distant Volga to Berlin and thus brought freedom to us." 85
Friendship and all-round cooperation, fraternal mutual assistance between the Soviet people and the peoples of the countries of the socialist community were cemented by the blood shed together in the struggle for the liberation of these countries during the Second World War. The Warsaw Pact Organization, a military-political defense alliance of the states of the socialist Commonwealth in Europe, created by them 30 years ago, serves as a reliable shield that guards the revolutionary gains of peoples and peace on the European continent and around the world.
80 Cit. by: Leninism and Modernity. The experience of October and the modern revolutionary process, Moscow, 1969, p. 260.
81 Izvestiya, 21. I. 1945.
82 The liberation mission of the Soviet Armed Forces in Europe in World War II. The dock. i m-ly, p. 568.
83 Soviet Union-People's Poland. 1944-1974. Doc. Moscow, 1974, p. 44.
84 Soviet-Bulgarian relations. 1944-1948 Doc. i m-ly, p. 134.
85 Foreign policy of the Soviet Union during the Patriotic War, vol. III, pp. 552-553.
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