Stalin's Military Purges

From OnAirpower.org

Jump to: navigation, search
Stalin's Military Purges

Contents

[edit] The "Spring" Operation

The "Spring" Operation ("Delo Vesna" in Russian) was a purge conducted during 1930-31 of Red Army officers known as "military specialists" who had served in the imperial Russian army prior to the Revolution. More than 3000 officers were arrested, with most of them being sentenced to prison in the gulags and around 130 executed. Some of the officers arrested during the Spring Operation were released from prison and allowed to resume military service, only to be subsequently re-arrested--if not executed--during the Great Purge[1].

[edit] The Great Purge & the "Military-Fascist Conspiracy"

The "Great Purge", also known in the West as the "Great Terror", was a widespread campaign of political oppression and persecution that ran from August, 1936 to November, 1938, and affected all parts of Soviet society, not just the military. Although exact figures are hard to obtain, it is estimated that a total of more than 1.5 million people were detained and around 700,000 people were executed during the Purge[2].

One wave of the Great Purge that particularly affected the ranks of senior military commanders was centered on Marshal of the Soviet Union Mikhail Tukhachevsky and was referred to variously as the "Case of the Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization", "Tukhachevsky's Case", and the "Military-Fascist Conspiracy". Tukhachevsky and eight other senior military officers were accused of leading an anti-Soviet conspiracy, arrested, and tried by a secret tribunal[2].

During a June 1st-4th meeting of the Military Council of the People's Defense Committee, it was reported that the NKVD had discovered a "counter-revolutionary plot within the Red Army" and Stalin announced that 300-400 members of the military, including ten members of the Military Council itself, had been arrested[2].

On the night of June 11-12, 1937, Tukhachevsky and his alleged co-conspirators were convicted and executed[2].

The purges of the military continued, and eventually affected even the highest levels of the Red Army Air Force command structure. The head of the Air Forces, Yakov Alksnis, was arrested on November 23, 1937[3] for allegedly being the leader of a "Latvian Fascist Organization". Other Air Force personnel caught up in the allegations included fellow Latvians Corps Cmdr. Felix Ingaunis (arrested on November 29, 1937[4]) and Col. Artur Mednis (arrested on December 12, 1937).


[edit] Air Force Leadership Purges, April-July 1941

Between April and July, 1941 around thirty prominent Soviet aviators were arrested, including six Heroes of the Soviet Union[5]. The arrests were ostensibly to break-up a "military conspiracy whose aims included the defeat of the Spanish Republicans, decreasing the military preparedness of the Red Army Air Forces, and increasing accident rates in the Air Force"[6]. Arrestees included[5][7]:

Name Rank Position Date of Arrest Notes
Sakrier, Ivan Filimonovich Division Engineer Air Force Chief of Armaments April 21, 1941 Accused of working for the Germans to sabotage Red Army Air Force armaments
Nikonov, P.  ? Staff Officer
Mikhno, G.  ? Staff Officer
Zalevskii, Adam Iosifovich Bgde. Cmdr Chief of the 4th Dept. VVS NII May 18, 1941
Filin, Aleksandr Ivanovich Maj. Gen. Chief of VVS NII May 23, 1941
Shevchenko, G. M. Col. Commander VVS Scientific Testing Airfield
Shakht, Ernst Genrikhovich Maj. Gen. Deputy Commander of the Orlovsk Military District Air Forces May 30, 1941 Hero of the Soviet Union
Pumpur, Pyotr Ivanovich Lt. Gen. Commander of the Moscow Military District Air Forces May 31, 1941[5][6]
Smushkevich, Yakov Vladimirovich Lt. Gen. Assistant Commander of the General Staff for Aviation June 8th, 1941 Two-time Hero of the Soviet Union
Yusupov, Pavel Pavlovich (Юсупов Павел Павлович) Maj. Gen. Air Force Assistant Chief of Staff June 17, 1941
Alekseev, Pavel Aleksandrovich Lt. Gen. Chief of the Main Directorate for Aviation Supply later Assistant Commander for Training of the Privolga Military District Air Forces
Lyovin, Aleksandr Alekseevich (Лёвин, Александр Алексеевич) Maj. Gen. Assistant Commander of the Leningrad Military District Air Forces June 9, 1941 Родился 20 августа 1896 года в Саратове.Окончил Реальное училище в Вятке и поступил в Лесной институт в Петербурге.В 1916 году покинул институт и вступил в армию. Окончил Петроградские теоретические курсы и Севастопольскую авиашколу лётчиков, по окончании которой ему было присвоено звание прапорщика.Был оставлен в школе помощником инструктора лётного дела. Совершенствовал своё мастерство высшего пилотажа под руководством К.Арцеулова… В августе 1918 года вступил в Красную Армию и был направлен в Первую Московскую школу красных военных лётчиков на должность инструктора высшего пилотажа. В 1919г. А.Лёвин назначен помощником командира, а затем командиром отряда, сформированного из персонала школы и отправленного на фронт против конницы Мамонтова.В феврале 1920 г. при полёте с учеником А.А.Лёвин терпит единственную в своей жизни катастрофу.Результат-множественные ушибы головы и тела, трещины в позвоночнике.В 1921 году Особый авиационный отряд вновь был отправлен на фронт, на этот раз на борьбу с басмачами.В ноябре 1922 года Лёвин командируется за границу в должности старшего техника службы приёмки.В течение почти трёх лет в Германии, Голландии, Франции и Англии велась работа по отбору и приёмке закупаемых образцов самолётов разных типов, авиационного оборудования, а также заказанной партии машин фирмы "Фоккер". По возвращенни на Родину в 1925 году Лёвина назначили начальником заграничного отдела.В мае 1926 года последовало назначение на должность помощника начальника НИИ ВВС.1 августа 1929 года А.А.Лёвин назначается начальником нового авиационного училища в Сталинграде.Успехи в работе в новой Сталинградской школе послужили основанием для выдвижения А.Лёвина на пост Начальника управления военно-учебных заведений ВВС Красной Армии. В июне 1940 года ему присваивается звание генерал-майор (в числе первых 16-и генералов РККА), а уже в декабре состоялось его назначение на должность заместителя командующего ВВС Ленинградского военного округа.Арестован 8 июля 1941 года.Расстрелян 23 февраля 1942 года.Реабилитирован в 1955 году[8]
Orlovskii, Afanasii Illarionovich (Орловский, Афанасий Илларионович) Bgde. Cmdr. Commander of an air division in the Leningrad Military District June 12, 1941
Vasilchenko, Nikolai Nikolaevich Div. Cmdr. Assistant Chief Inspector of the Air Forces
Chernii, Ivan Iosifovich (Черний, Иван Иосифович) Bgde. Cmdr. Chief of the Air Force Command Staff Development Course June 7, 1941
Onisko, S. Engineer 1st Class
Tsilov, V. Engineer 1st Class
Volodin, Pavel Semyonovich [9]
Gusev, Konstantin Mikhailovich
Laskin, Nikolai Alekseevich
Grigorii Mikhailovich Shtern (Штерн, Григорий Михайлович) Col. Gen. Chief of the Main Directory for Air Defense Forces (PVO) June 7, 1941
Chernikh, Sergei Aleksandrovich Maj. Gen.
Ionov, Aleksei Pavlovich Maj. Gen.


[edit] Sources

[edit] References

  1. ↑ http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BE_%C2%AB%D0%92%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BD%D0%B0%C2%BB
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 wikipedia:Great Purge
  3. ↑ http://www.rkka.ru/handbook/personal/repress/kom2r.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.rkka.ru/handbook/personal/repress/komkor.htm
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Tribunal for Stalin's Falcons, pgs. 49-50
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.airwar.ru/history/aces/ace2ww/pilots/richagov.html
  7. ↑ http://zhurnal.lib.ru/s/shushakow_o_a/031_geroi_rychagov.shtml
  8. ↑ http://armyrus.ru/forums/viewtopic.php?t=77&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
  9. ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=-j_WTdOoX5sC pg. 748
Retrieved from "http://www.onairpower.org/docs/Stalin%27s_Military_Purges"
Personal tools
Navigation
Airpower Resources
Toolbox