In 1918 - 1922 and the Ground Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922 - 1946. After the war, it was the largest army in Europe.

Story

The old army served as an instrument of class oppression of the working people by the bourgeoisie. With the transfer of power to the working and exploited classes, it became necessary to create a new army, which will be the bulwark of Soviet power in the present, the foundation for replacing the standing army with nationwide weapons in the near future and will serve as support for the coming socialist revolution in Europe. In view of this, the Council of People's Commissars decides: to organize a new army under the name "Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army", on the following grounds: 1. The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army is being created from the most conscious and organized elements of the working masses. 2. Access to its ranks is open to all citizens of the Russian Republic who are at least 18 years old. Everyone enters the Red Army who is ready to give his strength, his life to defend the gains of the October Revolution, the power of the Soviets and socialism. To join the ranks of the Red Army, recommendations are required: military committees or public democratic organizations standing on the platform of Soviet power, party or professional organizations, or, according to at least, two members of these organizations. When joining in whole parts, a mutual guarantee of all and a roll-call vote are required. 1. The soldiers of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army are on full state allowance and in addition receive 50 rubles. per month. 2. Disabled members of the families of soldiers of the Red Army, who were previously dependent on them, are provided with everything necessary according to local consumer standards, in accordance with the decisions of local bodies of Soviet power. The Council of People's Commissars is the supreme governing body of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. The direct leadership and management of the army is concentrated in the Commissariat for Military Affairs, in the special All-Russian Board created under it. Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars - V. Ulyanov (Lenin). Supreme Commander - N. Krylenko. People's Commissars for Military and Naval Affairs - Dybenko and Podvoisky. People's Commissars - Proshyan, Zatonsky and Steinberg. Managing Director of the Council of People's Commissars - Vlad. Bonch-Bruyevich. Secretary of the Council of People's Commissars - N. Gorbunov.

Governing bodies

The supreme governing body of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army was the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR (since the formation of the USSR - the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR). The leadership and management of the army was concentrated in the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs, in the special All-Russian Collegium created under it, since 1923 the Council of Labor and Defense of the USSR, since 1937 the Defense Committee under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. In 1919-1934, the Revolutionary Military Council carried out direct command of the troops. In 1934, to replace it, the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR was formed.

In the conditions of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, on June 23, 1941, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command was formed (from July 10, 1941 - the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, from August 8, 1941 - the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command). From February 25, 1946 until the collapse of the USSR, the armed forces were controlled by the USSR Ministry of Defense.

Organizational structure

Detachments and squads - armed detachments and squads of sailors, soldiers and workers, in Russia in 1917 - supporters (not necessarily members) of leftist parties - Social Democrats (Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and Mezhraiontsy), Socialist-Revolutionaries and Anarchists, as well as detachments of the Red Partisans became the basis of the Red Army detachments.

Initially, the main unit of the formation of the Red Army, on a voluntary basis, was a separate detachment, which was a military unit with an independent economy. At the head of the detachment was a Council consisting of a military leader and two military commissars. He had a small headquarters and an inspectorate.

With the accumulation of experience and after the involvement of military experts in the ranks of the Red Army, the formation of full-fledged units, units, formations (brigade, division, corps), institutions and institutions began.

The organization of the Red Army was in accordance with its class character and the military requirements of the early 20th century. The combined arms units of the Red Army were built as follows:

• the rifle corps consisted of two to four divisions | divisions;
  • division - from three rifle regiments, an artillery regiment (artillery regiment) and technical units;
    • regiment - from three battalions, an artillery battalion and technical units;
• cavalry corps - two cavalry divisions;
  • cavalry division - four to six regiments, artillery, armored units (armored units), technical units.

The technical equipment of the military formations of the Red Army with fire weapons (machine guns, guns, infantry artillery) and military equipment was basically at the level of modern advanced armed forces of that time. It should be noted that the introduction of technology made changes to the organization of the Red Army, which were expressed in the growth of technical units, in the appearance of special motorized and mechanized units and in the strengthening of technical cells in rifle troops and cavalry. A feature of the organization of the Red Army was that it reflected its openly class character. In the military organisms of the Red Army (in subdivisions, units and formations) there were political bodies (political departments (political departments), political units (political units)), conducting political and educational work in close cooperation with the command (commander and commissar of the unit) and ensuring the political growth of the Red Army and their activity in combat training.

For the duration of the war, the active army (that is, those troops of the Red Army who conduct military operations or provide them) is divided into fronts. The fronts are divided into armies, which include military formations: rifle and cavalry corps, rifle and cavalry divisions, tank, aviation brigades and individual units (artillery, aviation, engineering and others).

Compound

Rifle troops

Rifle troops are the main branch of the armed forces, which constitute the backbone of the Red Army. The largest rifle unit in the 1920s was the rifle regiment. The rifle regiment consisted of rifle battalions, regimental artillery, small units - communications, sappers and others - and the headquarters of the regiment. The rifle battalion consisted of rifle and machine gun companies, battalion artillery and battalion headquarters. Rifle company - from rifle and machine-gun platoons. Rifle platoon - from branches. Branch - the smallest organizational unit of the rifle troops. It was armed with rifles, light machine guns, hand grenades and a grenade launcher.

Artillery

The largest unit of artillery was an artillery regiment. It consisted of artillery battalions and regimental headquarters. The artillery battalion consisted of batteries and division control. Battery - from platoons. There are 4 guns in a platoon.

Breakthrough Artillery Corps (1943 - 1945) - a formation (corps) of the Red Army artillery in the armed forces of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War. The breakthrough artillery corps were part of the reserve artillery of the Supreme High Command.

Cavalry

The basic unit of the cavalry is the cavalry regiment. The regiment consists of saber and machine-gun squadrons, regimental artillery, technical units and headquarters. Saber and machine-gun squadrons consist of platoons. The platoon is divided into sections. The Soviet cavalry began to form simultaneously with the creation of the Red Army in 1918. Of the disbanded old Russian army, only three cavalry regiments entered the Red Army. In the formation of cavalry for the Red Army, a number of difficulties were encountered: the main areas that supplied cavalrymen and saddle horses to the army (Ukraine, the South and South-East of Russia) were occupied by the White Guards and occupied by the armies of foreign states; lacked experienced commanders, weapons and equipment. Therefore, the main organizational units in the cavalry were originally hundreds, squadrons, detachments and regiments. From individual cavalry regiments and cavalry detachments, the transition soon began to the formation of brigades, and then divisions. So, from a small equestrian partisan detachment of S. M. Budyonny, created in February 1918, in the autumn of the same year, during the battles for Tsaritsyn, the 1st Don Cavalry Brigade was formed, and then the consolidated cavalry division of the Tsaritsyn Front.

Especially vigorous measures to create cavalry were taken in the summer of 1919 to oppose Denikin's army. To deprive the latter of the advantage in the cavalry, cavalry formations larger than the division were needed. In June - September 1919, the first two cavalry corps were created; by the end of 1919, the number of Soviet and opposing cavalry was equal. The fighting in 1918-1919 showed that the Soviet cavalry formations were a powerful strike force capable of solving important operational tasks both independently and in cooperation with rifle formations. The most important stage in the construction of the Soviet cavalry was the creation in November 1919 of the First Cavalry Army, and in July 1920 of the Second Cavalry Army. Cavalry formations and associations played an important role in operations against the armies of Denikin and Kolchak in late 1919 - early 1920, Wrangel and the army of Poland in 1920.

During the Civil War, in some operations, the Soviet cavalry accounted for up to 50% of the infantry. The main method of action for subunits, units and formations of the cavalry was an offensive in equestrian formation (horse attack), supported by powerful machine gun fire from carts. When the conditions of the terrain and the stubborn resistance of the enemy limited the actions of the cavalry in mounted formation, they fought in dismounted combat formations. The Soviet command during the years of the Civil War was able to successfully resolve the issues of using large masses of cavalry to perform operational tasks. The creation of the world's first mobile formations - cavalry armies - was an outstanding achievement of military art. The cavalry armies were the main means of strategic maneuver and the development of success, they were used massively in decisive directions against those enemy forces that at this stage posed the greatest danger.

Red cavalry on the attack

The success of the fighting of the Soviet cavalry during the years of the Civil War was facilitated by the vastness of the theaters of operations, the stretching of enemy armies on broad fronts, the presence of gaps that were poorly covered or not at all occupied by troops, which were used by cavalry formations to reach the enemy’s flanks and carry out deep raids in his rear. Under these conditions, the cavalry could fully realize its combat properties and capabilities - mobility, surprise attacks, speed and decisiveness of actions.

After the Civil War, the cavalry in the Red Army continued to be a rather numerous branch of the armed forces. In the 1920s, it was divided into strategic (cavalry divisions and corps) and military (subdivisions and units that were part of rifle formations). In the 1930s, mechanized (later tank) and artillery regiments, anti-aircraft weapons were introduced into the cavalry divisions; new combat regulations were developed for the cavalry.

As a mobile branch of the military, the strategic cavalry was intended for the development of a breakthrough and could be used by decision of the front command.

Cavalry units and subunits took an active part in the hostilities of the initial period of the Great Patriotic War. In particular, in the battle for Moscow, the cavalry corps under the command of L. M. Dovator valiantly proved himself. However, as the war progressed, it became more and more obvious that the future lay in new modern types of weapons, so by the end of the war, most of the cavalry units were disbanded. At the end of the Great Patriotic War, the cavalry as a branch of service finally ceased to exist.

armored forces

Tanks produced by the KhPZ named after the Comintern - the largest tank factory in the USSR

In the 1920s, the production of its own tanks began in the USSR, and with it the foundations of the concept of combat use of troops were laid. In 1927, in the Combat Manual of the Infantry, special attention was paid to the combat use of tanks and their interaction with infantry units. So, for example, in the second part of this document it is written that the most important conditions for success are:

• the sudden appearance of tanks as part of the attacking infantry, their simultaneous and massive use over a wide area in order to disperse artillery and other anti-armor weapons of the enemy;
• separation of tanks in depth while creating a reserve of them, which allows you to develop an attack to a greater depth;
• close interaction of tanks with infantry, which secures the points they occupy.

The issues of use were most fully disclosed in the "Temporary Instructions for the Combat Use of Tanks", issued in 1928. It provided for two forms of participation of tank units in battle:

• for direct infantry support;
• as a forward echelon operating out of fire and visual communication with it.

The armored forces consisted of tank units and formations and units armed with armored vehicles. The main tactical unit is the tank battalion. It consists of tank companies. A tank company consists of tank platoons. The composition of the tank platoon - up to 5 tanks. An armored car company consists of platoons; platoon - from 3-5 armored vehicles.

T-34 in winter camouflage

For the first time, tank brigades began to be created in 1935 as separate tank brigades of the reserve of the High Command. In 1940, tank divisions were formed on their basis, which became part of the mechanized corps.

Mechanized troops, troops consisting of motorized rifle (mechanized), tank, artillery and other units and subunits. The concept "M. V." appeared in various armies by the early 1930s. In 1929, the Central Directorate of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army was created in the USSR and the first experimental mechanized regiment was formed, deployed in 1930 into the first mechanized brigade consisting of tank, artillery, reconnaissance regiments and support units. The brigade had 110 MS-1 tanks and 27 guns and was intended to study issues of operational-tactical use and the most advantageous organizational forms of mechanized formations. In 1932, on the basis of this brigade, the world's first mechanized corps was created - an independent operational unit, which included two mechanized and one rifle and machine gun brigades, a separate anti-aircraft artillery division and numbering over 500 tanks and 200 vehicles. By the beginning of 1936 there were 4 mechanized corps, 6 separate brigades, and 15 regiments in cavalry divisions. In 1937, the Central Directorate of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army was renamed the Armored Directorate of the Red Army, and in December 1942, the Directorate of the Commander of Armored and Mechanized Forces was formed. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, armored and mechanized troops became the main strike force of the Red Army.

Air Force

Aviation in the Soviet Armed Forces began to form in 1918. Organizationally, it consisted of separate aviation detachments that were part of the district Air Fleet Directorates, which in September 1918 were reorganized into front-line and army field aviation and aeronautics directorates at the headquarters of the fronts and combined arms armies. In June 1920, the field administrations were reorganized into the headquarters of the air fleets with direct subordination to the commanders of the fronts and armies. After the Civil War of 1917-1923, the air forces of the fronts became part of the military districts. In 1924, the aviation units of the Air Force of the military districts were consolidated into homogeneous aviation squadrons (18-43 aircraft each), which were transformed into aviation brigades in the late 1920s. In 1938-1939, the aviation of the military districts was transferred from a brigade to a regimental and divisional organization. The main tactical unit was an aviation regiment (60-63 aircraft). Aviation of the Red Army was based on the main property of aviation - the ability to deliver fast and powerful air strikes to the enemy over long distances that are not available to other branches of the military. The combat means of aviation were aircraft armed with high-explosive, fragmentation and incendiary bombs, cannons and machine guns. Aviation possessed, at that time, a high flight speed (400-500 or more kilometers per hour), the ability to easily overcome the enemy’s battle front and penetrate deep into his rear. Combat aviation was used to destroy manpower and technical means of the enemy; for the destruction of his aviation and the destruction of important objects: railway junctions, military industry enterprises, communication centers, roads, etc. Reconnaissance aviation was intended to conduct aerial reconnaissance behind enemy lines. Auxiliary aviation was used to correct artillery fire, to communicate and monitor the battlefield, to transport the sick and wounded in need of urgent medical care to the rear (air ambulance), and for the urgent transportation of military cargo (transport aviation). In addition, aviation was used to transport troops, weapons and other means of combat over long distances. The basic unit of aviation was the aviation regiment (air regiment). The regiment consisted of aviation squadrons (air squadrons). Air squadron - from links.

"Glory to Stalin!" (Victory Parade 1945)

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the aviation of the military districts consisted of separate bomber, fighter, mixed (assault) aviation divisions and separate reconnaissance aviation regiments. In the autumn of 1942, the aviation regiments of all branches of aviation had 32 aircraft each, in the summer of 1943 the number of aircraft in the assault and fighter aviation regiments was increased to 40 aircraft.

Engineering Troops

The divisions were supposed to have an engineering battalion, in rifle brigades - a sapper company. In 1919, special engineering units were formed. The engineering troops were led by the inspector of engineers at the Field Headquarters of the Republic (1918-1921 - A.P. Shoshin), the chiefs of engineers of fronts, armies and divisions. In 1921, the leadership of the troops was entrusted to the Main Military Engineering Directorate. By 1929, full-time engineering units were available in all military branches. After the start of the Great Patriotic War in October 1941, the post of chief of the Engineering Troops was established. During the war, engineer troops built fortifications, created barriers, mined the terrain, ensured the maneuver of troops, made passages in enemy minefields, ensured the overcoming of his engineering barriers, forcing water barriers, participated in the assault on fortifications, cities, etc.

Chemical troops

In the Red Army, chemical troops began to take shape at the end of 1918. November 13, 1918, by order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic No. 220, the Chemical Service of the Red Army was created. By the end of the 1920s, all rifle and cavalry divisions and brigades had chemical units. In 1923, anti-gas teams were introduced into the states of rifle regiments. By the end of the 1920s, all rifle and cavalry divisions and brigades had chemical units. During the Great Patriotic War, the chemical troops included: technical brigades (for setting up smoke and masking large objects), brigades, battalions and companies of anti-chemical protection, flamethrower battalions and companies, bases, warehouses, etc. During the hostilities, they maintained high readiness chemical protection of units and formations in case the enemy used chemical weapons, destroyed the enemy with the help of flamethrowers and carried out smoke camouflage of troops, continuously conducted reconnaissance in order to reveal the preparation of the enemy for a chemical attack and timely warning of their troops, participated in ensuring the constant readiness of military units, formations and formations to perform combat missions in the conditions of the possible use of chemical weapons by the enemy, destroyed the enemy’s manpower and equipment with flamethrower and incendiary means, camouflaged their troops and rear facilities with smoke.

Signal Corps

The first units and communications units in the Red Army were formed in 1918. On October 20, 1919, the Communications Troops were created as independent special troops. In 1941, the post of chief of the Communications Troops was introduced.

Automobile Troops

As part of the Logistics of the Armed Forces of the USSR. In the Soviet Armed Forces appeared during the Civil War. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, they consisted of subdivisions and units. In the Republic of Afghanistan, military motorists were assigned a decisive role in providing OKSVA with all types of materiel. Automobile units and subunits transported goods not only for the troops, but also for the civilian population of the country.

Railway Troops

In 1926, the servicemen of the Separate Corps of the Railway Troops of the Red Army began to carry out topographic reconnaissance of the future BAM route. 1st Guards Naval Artillery Railroad Brigade (converted from 101st Naval Artillery Railroad Brigade) KBF. The title "Guards" was awarded on January 22, 1944. 11th Guards separate railway artillery battery of the KBF. The title "Guards" was awarded on September 15, 1945. There were four railway buildings: two BAMs were built and two in Tyumen, roads were laid to each tower, bridges were erected.

Road Troops

As part of the Logistics of the Armed Forces of the USSR. In the Soviet Armed Forces appeared during the Civil War. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, they consisted of subdivisions and units.

By the middle of 1943, the road troops consisted of: 294 separate road battalions, 22 military highway directorates (VAD) with 110 road commandant sections (DKU), 7 military road directorates (VDU) with 40 road detachments (DO), 194 horse transport companies, repair bases, bases for the production of bridge and road structures, educational and other institutions.

Labor army

Military formations (associations) in the Armed Forces of the Soviet Republic in 1920-22, temporarily used for the restoration of the national economy during the Civil War. Each labor army consisted of ordinary rifle formations, cavalry, artillery and other units engaged in labor activities and at the same time retaining the ability to quickly transition to a state of combat readiness. In total, 8 labor armies were formed; in military-administrative terms, they were subordinate to the RVSR, and in economic and labor terms - to the Council of Labor and Defense. The forerunner of military construction units (military construction teams).

Personnel

Each Red Army unit was assigned a political commissar, or political commissar, with the authority to cancel the orders of the unit commander. This was necessary, since no one could know which side the former tsarist officer would take in the next battle. When enough new command cadres had been brought up by 1925, control was loosened.

population

• April 1918 - 196,000
• September 1918 - 196,000
• September 1919 - 3,000,000
• Autumn 1920 - 5,500,000
• January 1925 - 562,000
• March 1932 - 604,300
• January 1937 - 1,518,090
• February 1939 - 1,910,477
• September 1939 - 5,289,400
• June 1940 - 4,055,479
• June 1941 - 5,080,977
• July 1941 - 10,380,000
• Summer 1942 - 11,000,000 people.
• January 1945 - 11,365,000
• February 1946 5,300,000

Conscription and military service

The Red Army go on the attack

Since 1918, the service has been voluntary (built on a volunteer basis). But the self-consciousness of the population was not yet high enough, and on June 12, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars issued the first decree on the conscription of workers and peasants of the Volga, Ural and West Siberian military districts. Following this decree, a number of additional decrees and orders for conscription into the armed forces were issued. On August 27, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars issued the first decree on the drafting of military sailors into the Red Fleet. The Red Army was a militia (from Latin militia - an army), created on the basis of a territorial-militia system. Military units in peacetime consisted of an accounting apparatus and a small number of command personnel; most of it and the rank and file, assigned to military units on a territorial basis, underwent military training by the method of non-military training and at short-term training camps. The system was based on military commissariats located throughout the Soviet Union. During the conscription campaign, young people were distributed on the basis of the quotas of the General Staff for the types of troops and services. After the distribution of conscripts, officers were taken from the units and sent to the course of a young soldier. There was a very small stratum of professional sergeants; most of the sergeants were conscripts who had completed a training course to prepare them for positions as junior commanders.

The term of service in the army for infantry and artillery is 1 year, for cavalry, horse artillery and technical troops - 2 years, for the air fleet - 3 years, for navy- 4 years.

military training

The system of military education in the Red Army is traditionally divided into three levels. The main one is the system of higher military education, which is a developed network of higher military schools. Their students are called cadets. The term of study is 4-5 years, graduates receive the title of "lieutenant", which corresponds to the position of "platoon commander".

If in peacetime the training program in schools corresponds to obtaining higher education, in wartime it is reduced to secondary special education, the training period is sharply reduced, and short-term command courses lasting six months are organized.

One of the features of military education in the USSR was the system of military academies. Students in them receive a higher military education. This is in contrast to Western countries, where academies usually train junior officers.

The military academies of the Red Army have gone through a number of reorganizations and redeployments, and are divided into different types of troops (Military Academy of Logistics and Transport, Military Medical Academy, Military Academy of Communications, Academy of Strategic Missile Forces, etc.). After 1991, the factually incorrect point of view was propagated that a number of military academies were directly inherited by the Red Army from the tsarist army.

Reserve officers

As in any other army in the world, the system for training reserve officers was organized in the Red Army. Its main goal is to create a large reserve of officers in case of general mobilization in wartime. The general trend of all the armies of the world during the 20th century was a steady increase in the percentage of people with higher education among officers. In the post-war Soviet Army, this figure was actually brought up to 100%.

In keeping with this trend, the Soviet Army considers virtually any civilian with a college degree as a potential wartime reserve officer. For their education, a network of military departments has been deployed at civilian universities, the training program in them corresponds to a higher military school.

Such a system was used for the first time in the world, in Soviet Russia, adopted by the United States, where a significant part of the officers are trained in non-military training courses for reserve officers, and in officer candidate schools.

Armament and military equipment

The development of the Red Army reflected the general trends in the development of military equipment in the world. These include, for example, the formation of tank troops and the air force, the mechanization of the infantry and its transformation into motorized rifle troops, the disbandment of the cavalry, the appearance on the scene of nuclear weapons.

The role of the cavalry

A. Warsaw. Cavalry advance

The First World War, in which Russia took an active part, differed sharply in character and scale from all previous wars. A continuous multi-kilometer front line, and a protracted "trench war" made the widespread use of cavalry practically impossible. However, the Civil War was very different in nature from the First World War.

Its features included excessive stretching and fuzziness of front lines, which made possible the widespread use of cavalry in combat. The specifics of the civil war include the combat use of "carts", most actively used by the troops of Nestor Makhno.

The general trend of the interwar period was the mechanization of troops, and the rejection of horse traction in favor of cars, the development of tank troops. Nevertheless, the need for the complete disbandment of the cavalry was not obvious to most countries of the world. In the USSR, in favor of preserving and further development The cavalry was made up of some commanders who had grown up during the Civil War.

In 1941, the Red Army had 13 cavalry divisions deployed up to 34. The final disbandment of the cavalry took place in the mid-50s. The command of the US Army issued an order to mechanize the cavalry in 1942, the existence of the cavalry in Germany ceased along with its defeat in 1945.

Armored trains

Soviet armored train

Armored trains were widely used in many wars long before the Russian Civil War. In particular, they were used by British troops to guard vital rail communications during the Anglo-Boer Wars. They were used during the American Civil War, etc. In Russia, the “boom of armored trains” fell on the Civil War. This was due to its specifics, such as the virtual absence of clear front lines, and the sharp struggle for railways, as the main means for the rapid transfer of troops, ammunition, and bread.

Part of the armored trains were inherited by the Red Army from the tsarist army, while mass production of new, many times superior to the old, armored trains was launched. In addition, until 1919, the mass production of "surrogate" armored trains, assembled from improvised materials from ordinary passenger cars, in the absence of any drawings, continued; such an armored train had the worst security, but could be assembled in just a day.

By the end of the Civil War, the Central Council of Armored Units (Tsentrobron) was in charge of 122 full-fledged armored trains, the number of which by 1928 was reduced to 34.

During the interwar period, the technology for the production of armored trains was constantly improved. Many new armored trains were built, and air defense railway batteries were deployed. Armored train units played an important role in the Great Patriotic War, primarily in the protection of railway communications of the operational rear.

At the same time, the rapid development of tank troops and military aviation during the Second World War sharply reduced the importance of armored trains. By the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of February 4, 1958, the further development of railway artillery systems was stopped.

The rich experience gained in the field of armored trains allowed the USSR to add to its nuclear triad also rail-based nuclear forces - military railway missile systems (BZHRK) equipped with RS-22 missiles (in NATO terminology SS-24 "Scalpel"). Their advantages include the possibility of avoiding an impact due to the use of a developed network of railways, and the extreme difficulty of tracking from satellites. One of the main demands of the United States in the 80s was the complete disbandment of the BZHRK as part of a general reduction in nuclear weapons. The United States itself has no analogues of the BZHRK.

Warrior rituals

Revolutionary Red Banner

Each separate combat unit of the Red Army has its own revolutionary Red Banner, handed over to it by the Soviet government. The revolutionary Red Banner is the emblem of the unit, expresses the inner cohesion of its fighters, united by their constant readiness to act at the first demand of the Soviet government to defend the gains of the revolution and the interests of the working people.

The revolutionary Red Banner is in the unit and accompanies it everywhere in its marching-combat and peaceful life. The banner is awarded to the unit for the entire time of its existence. Orders of the Red Banner awarded to individual units are attached to the revolutionary Red Banners of these units.

Military units and formations that have proven their exceptional devotion to the Motherland and have shown outstanding courage in battles with the enemies of the socialist fatherland or have shown high successes in military and political training in peacetime are awarded the "Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner". The "Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner" is a high revolutionary award for the merits of a military unit or formation. It reminds the servicemen of the ardent love of the party of Lenin-Stalin and the Soviet government for the Red Army, of the exceptional achievements of the entire personnel of the unit. This banner serves as a call to improve the quality and pace of combat training and constant readiness to defend the interests of the socialist fatherland.

For each unit or formation of the Red Army, its Revolutionary Red Banner is sacred. It serves as the main symbol of the unit, and the embodiment of its military glory. In the event of the loss of the Revolutionary Red Banner, the military unit is subject to disbandment, and those directly responsible for such disgrace are subject to trial. A separate guard post is established to protect the Revolutionary Red Banner. Each soldier, passing by the banner, is obliged to give him a military salute. On especially solemn occasions, the troops carry out the ritual of the solemn removal of the Revolutionary Red Banner. To be included in the banner group directly conducting the ritual is considered a great honor, which is awarded only to the most worthy military personnel.

military oath

Mandatory for recruits in any army in the world is to bring them to the oath. In the Red Army, this ritual is usually performed a month after the call, after completing the course of a young soldier. Before being sworn in, soldiers are forbidden to be trusted with weapons; there are a number of other restrictions. On the day of the oath, the soldier receives weapons for the first time; he breaks down, approaches the commander of his unit, and reads out a solemn oath to the formation. The oath is traditionally considered an important holiday, and is accompanied by the solemn removal of the Battle Banner.

The text of the oath was as follows:

I, a citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, joining the ranks of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army, take an oath and solemnly swear to be an honest, brave, disciplined, vigilant fighter, strictly keep military and state secrets, implicitly comply with all military regulations and orders of commanders, commissars and chiefs.

I swear to conscientiously study military affairs, to protect military property in every possible way, and to my last breath to be devoted to my people, my Soviet Motherland and the workers' and peasants' government.

I am always ready, on the orders of the Workers 'and Peasants' Government, to defend my Motherland - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and, as a soldier of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army, I swear to defend it courageously, skillfully, with dignity and honor, not sparing my blood and life itself to achieve complete victory over the enemy.

If, by malicious intent, I violate this solemn oath of mine, then let me suffer the severe punishment of Soviet law, the general hatred and contempt of the working people.

Military salute

When moving in the ranks, the military salute is performed as follows: the leader puts his hand to the headdress, and the ranks press their hands at the seams, all together moving to the drill step and turning their heads as they pass by the met authorities. When passing towards units or other military personnel, it is enough for the guides to perform a military greeting.

At a meeting, the junior in rank is obliged to be the first to greet the elder; if they belong to different categories of military personnel (soldier - officer, junior officer - senior officer), a senior in rank may perceive the failure to perform a military greeting at a meeting as an insult.

In the absence of a headgear, a military greeting is given by turning the head and adopting a combat position (hands at the seams, the body is straightened).

History of creation
Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army,
Armies of the dictatorship of the proletariat

Workers' and Peasants' Red Army

With the coming to power of the Bolshevik Party in November 1917, the country's leadership, relying on the thesis of Karl Marx about replacing the regular army with the general armament of the working people, began to actively liquidate the imperial army of Russia. On December 16, 1917, the Bolsheviks issued decrees of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars "On the elective beginning and organization of power in the army" and "On the equalization of the rights of all military personnel." To protect the gains of the revolution, under the leadership of professional revolutionaries, detachments of the Red Guard began to form, headed by a military revolutionary committee, which directly led the October coup.

On November 26, 1917, the "Committee on Military and Naval Affairs" was created, instead of the old military ministry, under the leadership of V.A. Antonova-Ovseenko, N.V. Krylenko and P.E. Dybenko. The "Committee on Military and Naval Affairs" was intended to form armed detachments and lead them. The committee was expanded to 9 people on November 9 and transformed into the "Council of People's Commissars for Military and Naval Affairs", and from December 1917 it was renamed and became known as the Collegium of People's Commissars for Military and Naval Affairs (Narkomvoen), the head of the collegium was N. AND. Podvoisky.

The collegium of the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs was the leading military body of the Soviet government; at the first stages of its activity, the collegium relied on the old war ministry and the old army. By order of the People's Commissar for Military Affairs, at the end of December 1917, in Petrograd, the Central Council for the Management of Armored Units of the RSFSR, Tsentrabron, was formed. He supervised the armored units and armored trains of the Red Army. By July 1, 1918, Tsentrobron formed 12 armored trains and 26 armored detachments. The old Russian army could not provide the defense of the Soviet state. There was a need to demobilize the old army and create a new Soviet army.

At a meeting of the military organization under the Central Committee. RSDLP (b) December 26, 1917, it was decided, according to the installation of V.I. Lenin to create a new army of 300,000 people in a month and a half, the All-Russian Collegium for the organization and management of the Red Army was created. IN AND. Lenin set before this collegium the task of developing, in the shortest possible time, the principles of organizing and building a new army. The fundamental principles of army building developed by the collegium were approved by the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets, which met from January 10 to 18, 1918. To protect the gains of the revolution, it was decided to create an army of the Soviet state and call it the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army.

On January 28, 1918, a decree was issued on the creation of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army, and on February 11 - the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet on a voluntary basis. The definition of "workers' and peasants'" emphasized its class character - the army of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the fact that it should be completed only from the working people of the city and countryside. The "Red Army" said that it was a revolutionary army.

10 million rubles were allocated for the formation of volunteer detachments of the Red Army. In mid-January 1918, 20 million rubles were allocated for the construction of the Red Army. As the leading apparatus of the Red Army was created, all departments of the old military ministry were reorganized, reduced or abolished.

In February 1918, the Council of People's Commissars appointed the leading five of the All-Russian Collegium, which issued its first organizational order on the appointment of responsible department commissars. German and Austrian troops, more than 50 divisions, violating the truce, February 18, 1918 launched an offensive in the entire strip from the Baltic to the Black Sea. On February 12, 1918, the offensive of Turkish troops began in Transcaucasia. The demoralized old army could not resist the advancing and left their positions without a fight. From the old Russian army, the only military units that retained military discipline were the regiments of the Latvian riflemen, who went over to the side of Soviet power.

To recruit officers of the tsarist army, a new form of organization called the "veil" was created. A group of generals, led by M.D. Bonch-Bruevich, consisting of 12 people on February 20, 1918, who arrived in Petrograd from Headquarters and formed the basis of the Supreme Military Council, began to recruit officers to serve the Bolsheviks.

By mid-February 1918, the "First Corps of the Red Army" was created in Petrograd. The basis of the corps was a special-purpose detachment, consisting of Petrograd workers and soldiers, consisting of 3 companies of 200 people each. During the first two weeks of formation, the number of corps was increased to 15,000 people. Part of the corps, about 10,000 people, was trained and sent to the front near Pskov, Narva, Vitebsk and Orsha. By the beginning of March 1918, the corps had 10 infantry battalions, a machine-gun regiment, 2 cavalry regiments, an artillery brigade, a heavy artillery battalion, 2 armored battalions, 3 air squadrons, an aeronautic detachment, engineering, automotive, motorcycle units and a searchlight team. In May 1918 the corps was disbanded; its personnel were sent to staff the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th rifle divisions, which were being formed in the Petrograd military district.

By the end of February, 20,000 volunteers had signed up in Moscow. Near Narva and Pskov, the first test of the Red Army took place, it entered into battle with the German troops and rebuffed them. February 23 was the birthday of the young Red Army.

When forming the army, there were no approved states. Combat units were formed from detachments of volunteers based on the capabilities and needs of their area. The detachments consisted of several dozen people from 10 to 10,000 and more people, the created battalions, companies and regiments were of various types. The size of the company consisted of 60 to 1600 people. The tactics of the troops were determined by the legacy of the tactics of the Russian army, the geographical, political and economic conditions of the combat area, and also reflected the individual traits of their leaders, such as Frunze, Shchors, Chapaev, Kotovsky, Budyonny and others. This organization ruled out the possibility of centralized command and control of troops. A gradual transition began from the volunteer principle to the construction of a regular army on the basis of universal military service.

The Defense Committee was disbanded on March 4, 1918 and the Supreme Military Council (VVS) was formed. Then the Revolutionary Military Council decided to create cavalry as part of the Red Army. On March 25, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars approved the creation of new military districts. At a meeting in the Air Force on March 22, 1918, a project was discussed for organizing a Soviet rifle division, which was adopted as the main combat unit of the Red Army.

Upon admission to the army, the fighters took an oath, approved on April 22 at a meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the oath was taken and signed by each fighter. On September 16, 1918, the first Soviet order, the Red Banner of the RSFSR, was established. The command staff consisted of former officers and non-commissioned officers who went over to the side of the Bolsheviks and commanders from the Bolsheviks, so in 1919 1,500,000 people were called up, of which about 29,000 were former officers, but the combat strength of the army did not exceed 450,000 people. The bulk of the former officers who served in the Red Army were wartime officers, mainly ensigns. The Bolsheviks had very few cavalry officers.

From March to May 1918, a lot of work was done. Based on the experience of three years of the First World War, new field regulations were written for all branches of the armed forces and their combat interaction. A new mobilization scheme was created - the system of military commissariats. The Red Army was commanded by former generals who had gone through two wars, and 100,000 military officers.

By the end of 1918, the organizational structure of the Red Army and its administrative apparatus were created. The Red Army reinforced all decisive sectors of the fronts with communists, in October 1918 there were 35,000 communists in the army, in 1919 - about 120,000, and in August 1920 - 300,000, half of all members of the RCP (b) of that time. In June 1919, all the republics that existed at that time - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia - entered into a military alliance. A unified military command, a unified management of finance, industry, and transport was created.

By order of the RVSR 116 of January 16, 1919, insignia were introduced only for combat commanders - colored buttonholes, on collars, according to the types of troops and commander's stripes on the left sleeve, above the cuff.

By the end of 1920, the Red Army numbered 5,000,000 people, but due to the lack of uniforms, weapons and equipment, the combat strength of the army did not exceed 700,000 people, 22 armies, 174 divisions (of which 35 were cavalry), 61 air squadron (300-400 aircraft) , artillery and armored units (subdivisions). During the war years, 6 military academies and more than 150 courses trained 60,000 commanders of all specialties from workers and peasants.

During the Civil War, about 20,000 officers died in the Red Army. 45,000 - 48,000 officers remained in the service. Losses during the Civil War amounted to 800,000 killed, wounded and missing, 1,400,000 dead from serious illnesses.

http://www.opoccuu.com/280112.htm

Badge "Excellent worker of the Red Army" (Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army). Established on November 14, 1939 by Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 1889 to reward Red Army soldiers, cadets and command personnel for excellent combat and political training, exemplary service and exemplary discipline. As a rule, the token was awarded to the soldiers of the Red Army on holidays - mainly on February 23 and November 7. The artifact was made by stamping at the factory "Leningrad enameller". Material: copper, colored hot enamel. Size: 3.7 x 2.8 cm. Fastening: pin and nut. Weight: 13 grams. Original. The safety is good.

Sign "Excellent worker of the Red Army" from the collection of "Little Stories"

The tradition of awarding military personnel - excellent students of combat and political training, as well as veterans and combatants - with orders and medals "for the holiday" exists to this day. Of all the public holidays for the Russian military, the main ones remain Victory Day and Soviet Army Day (now celebrated as Defender of the Fatherland Day). Moreover, the latter has been celebrated in our country for almost 100 years, and therefore, for most Russians, this holiday is strongly associated with the day the Red Army was created. However, few people remember that, in fact, no decrees related to the creation of the Red Army were ever adopted on February 23, and many historical facts, which were later associated with this date, turned out to be either fictitious, or received a link to the holiday quite artificially, often retroactively. The reason is simple - it was painfully "uncomfortable" on February 23 for the young Soviet power. Therefore, for this date it was necessary to create a “correct” myth. What Soviet propaganda successfully coped with, turning the day of the greatest national humiliation into a holiday of the “invincible and legendary” ...

Of course, it is not worth looking for the roots of this celebration in the Russian Empire. Before the Bolsheviks came to power, Russian soldiers were traditionally honored on May 6 according to the old style - on the Day of St. George the Victorious. However, it was on February 23, 1917 (also according to the old style) that the February Revolution began, which ultimately led to the fall of the Russian Empire, and, consequently, canceled all old holidays and celebrations.

However, in that crucial year for our country, none of the Social Democrats, Socialist-Revolutionaries or representatives of other political forces would have thought to fix February 23 as a public holiday. What is there! In those troubled times, the names of the state itself changed every couple of months. Judge for yourself: from March to September 1917, our country was simply called the Russian State by default, from September to November it was called the Russian Republic, then the Russian Democratic Federative Republic, the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, and only from 1922 - the USSR. But even when the Soviet government had already consolidated its positions, the Bolsheviks tried to talk only about the achievements of the October Socialist Revolution, and not the February bourgeois-democratic. This is quite understandable: in the February-March coup d'état of 1917, the Social Democrats, led by Lenin, did not play a key role (Ilyich was then generally abroad). Nevertheless, the date of February 23 remained in the memory of many. Therefore, she urgently needed to find some new application. And this application was soon found.

The following year, on January 15 (28), 1918, the Council of People's Commissars (SNK), chaired by Lenin, issued Decree on the creation of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army(then it was customary to write all the words in the name of this body with capital letters). This measure was more than relevant: officially, the tsarist army had been gone for almost a year, and the First world war no one canceled - this campaign, we recall, ended only on November 11, 1918. And if at least some semblance of order within the country was provided by the consolidated detachments of the Red Guard of revolutionary soldiers and sailors, then the new government did not yet have regular armed forces to protect the Soviet state from external enemies (the same Kaiser Germany, for example). So the Decree on the creation of the Red Army, in view of its exceptional importance, Ilyich personally signed. Let us briefly quote this historical document:

The old army served as an instrument of class oppression of the working people by the bourgeoisie. With the transfer of power to the working and exploited classes, it became necessary to create a new army, which would be the stronghold of Soviet power in the present, the foundation for replacing the people's army with the armament of the proletariat in the future, and would serve as support for the coming Socialist revolution in Europe.In view of this, the Council of People's Commissars decides to organize a new army under the name "Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army" on the following grounds:

1. The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army is being created from the most conscious and organized representatives of the working masses. Access to its ranks is open to all citizens of the Russian Republic at least 18 years old. Anyone who is ready to give his strength, his life to defend the gains of the October Revolution and the power of the Soviets enters the Red Army. To join the ranks of the Red Army, recommendations are required: from the Army Committees or Public Democratic Organizations standing on the platform of Soviet power, party or professional organizations, or at least two members of these organizations. When joining in whole parts, a mutual guarantee of all and a roll-call vote are required.
2. The soldiers of the Red Army are on full state support and, moreover, receive 50 rubles a month. Disabled members of the families of soldiers who were previously dependent on them are provided with everything necessary from the organs of Soviet power.

After the publication of the decree, the registration of conscious workers and peasants in the Red Army began, from which they formed Red Army companies, which were barely reduced to regiments - there were a catastrophic lack of volunteers. The first detachment of the Red Army was formed in Petrograd. In the last days of January 1918, the Petrograd Red Army men marched demonstratively through the city, trying with their enthusiasm to hide that the powerful Red Army still exists only on paper. A show of force was vital: on February 18, 1918, Germany violated the truce of December 2, 1917 and began the occupation of Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states, advancing along the entire Eastern Front. The Kaiser's troops almost daily moved deep into Russia for fifty kilometers. Moreover, in some cities the Germans did not even meet resistance - for example, Pskov and Dvinsk were taken by them almost without a single shot. Advancing from the Pinsk-Dvinsk-Riga line, German troops occupied Minsk, Polotsk and Revel during the first week of the offensive.

In order to somehow mobilize forces to fight the enemy, on February 22, an appeal of the Council of People's Commissars was published in Soviet newspapers "The socialist fatherland is in danger." For many years it was believed that this document was compiled by Lenin, but modern experts attribute authorship to Leon Trotsky. The appeal demanded from the Soviets and revolutionary organizations "defend every position to the last drop of blood", destroy food supplies that could fall into the hands of the enemy. Railway workers were ordered to withdraw the rolling stock to the east, to blow up the tracks and buildings during the retreat. The document also announced the mobilization of workers and peasants to dig trenches. The editors and employees of newspapers and magazines, closed due to opposition to the cause of revolutionary defense and sided with the German bourgeoisie, were to be sent to the same work. From here, according to many researchers, the practice of forced labor began, which was subsequently applied by the Soviet authorities to millions of their citizens.

But the most odious is the eighth point of the appeal, which can be considered a harbinger of the Bolshevik Decree "On the Red Terror." This paragraph stated the following: Enemy agents, speculators, thugs, hooligans, counter-revolutionary agitators, German spies are shot at the scene of the crime. So for the first time the Bolsheviks legalized mass executions on the spot without trial or investigation. By the way, this point was carried out on the ground with special zeal: literally the next day, again on February 23, 1918, the revolutionary sailors of the Black Sea Fleet began a large-scale action to destroy officers, "counter-revolutionary agitators" and other "bourgeois" Sevastopol. 2,000 "activists" took part in the massacre. Already on February 26, at a meeting of the Sevastopol Soviet, the results were summed up: more than 250 people were killed. Some white emigrants wrote about 800 dead. A wave of red terror swept across the Crimea, and soon swept over the whole country.

On the same day, February 22, 1918, simultaneously with Lenin's appeal, "Proclamation of the Military Commander-in-Chief", who was the hitherto unknown Nikolai Krylenko (later he would become one of the organizers of the repressions, introduce the practice of denunciations in the justice system, but soon he himself would fall a victim of the system: he would be arrested and shot in 1938). The appeal ended with the words: “All to arms. All in defense of the revolution. The general mobilization for digging trenches is entrusted to the soviets with the appointment of responsible commissars with unlimited powers. And on February 23, mass rallies were organized in Petrograd, Moscow and other cities of the country, where the proletariat was called to rise to defend the Fatherland. According to the Soviet interpretation, it was on this day that the mass enrollment of volunteers in the Red Army began.

Today it is difficult to say to what extent this entry into the ranks of the Red Army was really massive. It is officially considered that by May 10, 1918, i.e. 4 months after the start of recruitment, there were 300 thousand fighters in the Red Army. According to other sources, by April 1918 the army actually consisted of only 2,000 people. One way or another, there were fewer volunteers than needed, and on May 29 of the same 1918, a decision was made on the mandatory mobilization of workers and peasants of military age, and on July 10, the V Congress of the RSDLP legislated the transition to recruiting the army and navy on the basis of universal military service . This measure made it possible to sharply increase the size of the Red Army: in the autumn of 1918, half a million were already in its ranks, and by the end of the year - a million Red Army men. However, the Red Army still had enough problems: the troops did not have a single uniform, the same type of weapons, there was not even a professional command. In addition, the level of discipline and combat training of the newly-minted Red Army was very low. It is not surprising that Lenin at that time demanded "to force the command, higher and lower staff to carry out combat orders at the cost of any means." The fulfillment of this task was entrusted to the people's commissar for military and naval affairs, Lev Trotsky - which is why his name is associated with the large-scale use of repressions against violators of military discipline. Recall that in the summer and autumn of 1918, decimation was resorted to at the fronts - the execution of every tenth Red Army soldier who retreated without an order.

To improve the professionalism of the Red Army, the Soviet government ventured to an extreme step - it drafted former officers and generals of the tsarist regime into the army. And so that the latter would not even think about returning to the previous system, the party control over them was carried out by military commissars and political instructors, without whose signature the orders of the commanders were not valid. However, many officers sincerely accepted the new government and cooperated with it consciously. In general, during the years of the Civil War, 75 thousand former tsarist generals and officers fought on the side of the Soviets - this is about half of the top command staff and administrative apparatus of the Red Army. At the same time, graduates of the first military courses and schools accounted for only 37% of the red commanders. However, having called the former imperial officers into the leadership of the Red Army, the new government completely rejected the officers as a phenomenon, declaring it a "remnant of tsarism." Even the very word "an officer" was replaced by "commander". At the same time, shoulder straps and old military ranks were abolished, instead of which the titles of positions were now used - for example, “commander” (division commander - the most famous of them Vasily Chapaev) or “corps commander” (corps commander - this title was once awarded to the future marshal Georgy Zhukov).

The military leadership of the Red Army and Navy was carried out by Revolutionary Military Council (RVS) led by the same Leon Trotsky. The economic issues of the Red Army were in charge of another body - Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense, led by Vladimir Lenin himself. Its members discussed the problems that arose in the army, took measures to solve them, declared certain regions of the country under a state of siege, and transferred full power in the localities to the revolutionary committees. A whole system of military and repressive-terrorist bodies, including the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (VChK), the police, the Internal Security Troops (VOKhR), the Special Purpose Units (CHON), the Internal Service Troops (VUNUS), and the food army, kept order in the rear. By the end of 1920, there were already about 5.5 million people in the ranks of the Red Army. The Bolsheviks assigned a large role in the mobilization of workers and peasants to agitation and propaganda work, which was established on a nationwide scale. Leaflets, posters, brochures, newspapers were published in gigantic editions, propaganda trains and steamboats plied around the country.

In order to morally stimulate the Red Army soldiers, to recognize their merits and achievements, the Red Army used various methods incentives, among which an important place was given to badges. Their appearance was due, among other things, to the narrowness of the domestic award system: for a long time in the USSR there was only one type of state encouragement - the Order of the Red Banner. In addition, the country's leadership could not turn a blind eye to the century-old experience of using badges in the old Russian army. We note right away that the Soviet system of badges is not limited only to the promotion of any merit. Factors such as identification, operating on the principle of "friend or foe", the allocation of command personnel, the designation of various military specialties also contributed to the emergence of a system of badges of the Soviet Armed Forces. And for more than 70 years of the existence of the USSR, a rather large array of various material monuments of this system has accumulated.

The very first badges of the Red Army were award tokens "for participation in military campaigns", which is quite logical: the authorities considered it necessary to encourage and set as an example the Red Army soldiers who had distinguished themselves in battles. We list the main pre-war signs of this category: “To the Hero of the January Events of 1918”, “Honest Warrior of the Karelian Front”, “Orsha-Lepel”, “Participant in the Khasan Battles”, “Khalkhin-Gol”, “OKDVA Fighter”. The so-called commemorative or commemorative badges were also actively handed out - for example, "To the Soldier of the Red Guard and the Red Partisan" in honor of the 15th anniversary of October, "Remember the testament of Ilyich" in memory of the death of the leader of the world proletariat. In addition, an incredible number of varieties of Osoaviakhim (Society for the Promotion of Defense, Aviation and Chemical Construction) badges were stamped. But most of the pre-war breastplates were still classified according to the types of troops: "Sniper of the Red Army", "Excellent worker of the Navy", "For excellent artillery training", "For excellent artillery shooting", "For excellent driving of combat vehicles", "For excellent shooting from a tank weapons”, “Excellent air fighter”, etc. However, at the end of 1939, when the international situation was tense to the limit, the political core of the Red Army decided to establish a universal version of the badge to encourage the Red Army soldiers who showed brilliant success during their service, regardless of their type of troops. This was the sign "Excellent worker of the Red Army", one of the varieties of which is presented in our collection of rarities.

It must be said that few were awarded such badges, and the procedure for approving candidates in its complexity and seriousness resembled the selection of applicants for state awards. First, the list of applicants was presented by the commander of a military unit to the USSR People's Commissariat of Defense, after which a short list of the most worthy candidates was placed on the table of the People's Commissar of Defense. He, in turn, by his order marked those Red Army soldiers who would receive an honorary badge. The award itself took place, as a rule, at the end of the winter and summer periods of study or in commemoration of the next anniversary of the October Revolution (November 7), the founding of the Red Army (February 23), International Workers' Solidarity Day (May 1). During the Great Patriotic War, there were frequent exceptions, when the most distinguished soldiers were encouraged immediately, almost on the battlefield. The sign was awarded in a solemn atmosphere, before the formation of the unit, the recipient, along with the token, received an extract from the corresponding order of the people's commissar of defense. The mark on the assignment of the award was entered into the personal file of the serviceman, forming his service record, and after being transferred to the reserve, into his military ID.

Outwardly, our rarity is an oval, 3.8 cm high, 2.8 cm wide. The edges of the slightly convex obverse are framed in the upper part by a wreath of oak and laurel leaves, in the lower part by two ears of wheat. Between the spikelets at the very base there is a figured shield covered with white enamel, depicting a sickle and a hammer. The center of the sign against the background of the battlements and the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin, the spire of which is crowned with a red star with a double collar, is occupied by a Red Army soldier in an overcoat and helmet, walking along Red Square with a rifle at the ready. Under the soldier is a semicircular red ribbon with the inscription "Excellent worker of the Red Army." The most inveterate falerists examined on the presented badge the areal paving stones, two pouches and a gas mask worn by a Red Army soldier. Experts even found that the fighter is holding a three-line rifle of the 1891-1930 model with an attached bayonet. And the most meticulous connoisseurs of such rarities considered the time on the Spassky chimes - about 10 hours. Whether the author of the design for this token wanted to bring some special meaning to his work is unknown.

The rarity was made by stamping from yellow oxidized metal - either copper, as in our case, or brass. In some sources there is information that the surface of the sign could be gilded, but we failed to find confirmation of this assumption. For decoration, two types of hot colored enamel were used - white and red. As a fastener, a pin (length 10 mm) and a nut (diameter 18 mm) are used, on which, as we can see, the manufacturer's mark is placed. Our sign was made by the factory "Leningrad enameller" ( read more about this Soviet enterprise in the history). In the collections of falerists (collectors of orders, medals, badges, badges) there are similar artifacts stamped at the Leningrad Mint, the Motor factory, as well as the enamel factory of the Moscow Association of Artists. Note that the weight of the presented artifact without the nut was about 13 grams.

1a 1b

The badge "Excellent Worker of the Red Army" was produced in two varieties, each of which was subdivided into two more subspecies. The first option has a counter-relief reverse. The difference between its subspecies lies in the degree of drawing the image on the back, as well as the presence of a number. Option 1a (conditionally) is distinguished by a complete imprint of the design on the front side on the reverse. On the outside of this version of the badge, a number was carefully carved with a sharp engraver. On model 1b, the obverse imprint on the back is only partial, the number is missing. The second type of token had a flat, smooth reverse, but model 2a was produced immediately with a shtikhelny number, and model 2b did not have one. Based on the above classification, the artifact presented in our collection can be safely attributed to the latter variety - with a smooth reverse, without a number.

2a
2b

Among falerists, license plates are more valued, since the chance to establish their owner is much higher. In general, the cost of such rarities today depends on the degree of their preservation. Note that not so many tokens "Excellent Worker of the Red Army" have survived to this day. This is explained, according to experts, including the large losses of infantry personnel at the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War. That is why today the badge "Excellent Worker of the Red Army" is considered a rather rare find, which every connoisseur of military history would be glad to have in his collection.

Extract from the order on conferring the badge "Excellent worker of the Red Army"

The exact number of badges issued before the start of World War II is unknown. However, there are statistics from one of the manufacturers of the sign - the Leningrad Mint, from which it follows that 149,106 tokens were produced here in a year and a half. It is known that in 1940 it was planned to produce 50 thousand pieces, in 1941 - another 150 thousand. But in connection with the outbreak of war, further production of signs was stopped and after the Victory it was no longer resumed (in 1946, the Red Army was renamed the Soviet Army, so the need for obsolete attributes disappeared). Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated March 3, 1940 No. 290, the effect of this sign was also extended to the troops of the NKVD. The first award in this committee took place in May 1940, when 200 excellent students of combat and political training of a separate motorized rifle division named after M.I. F.E. Dzerzhinsky troops. There is also evidence that in 1941, 45,622 Red Army soldiers were awarded the badge "Excellent Worker of the Red Army".

Certificate for the badge "Excellent Worker of the Red Army"

Most sources indicate that on May 1, 1941, the last award was made - 6574 people. However, among collectors, there are often certificates for a badge or extracts of awards from the orders of the People's Commissariat of Defense, dated by various dates up to December 1944. By the way, the certificates for the award were of the same type (an ordinary sheet of half A4 format), but the mentioned extracts did not have a single sample - they were filled out on the forms adopted in a particular military unit. The early documents bear the signature of the People's Commissar for Defense of the USSR Klim Voroshilov, while the latter bear the signature of Alexander Vasilevsky, deputy NGO. This indirectly indicates that Stalin, being the head of the People's Commissariat of Defense from July 19, 1941 to February 25, 1946, had nothing to do with awarding the Red Army with the sign "Excellent Worker of the Red Army".

The author of the design for the presented sign was the artist of the Central House of the Red Army. The origin of Nikolai Ivanovich, by Soviet standards, let us down, to put it mildly. Today, it only remains to be surprised how this native of the bourgeoisie, who graduated from a parochial school, and even a former tsarist cadet, in addition, was entrusted by the Soviet authorities to create a model of the Order of Glory and dozens of other highest state awards. The artist was born on September 18, 1897 in Yelets, from childhood he loved to draw. After the October Revolution, he was one of the first to break with the former regime and volunteer for the Red Army. Here, a talented and educated soldier was immediately appointed a decorator in the political department of the Yelets garrison.

Still life "Autumn bouquet". Author - N.I. Moskalev

After demobilization in 1920, Moskalev taught graphic literacy at the Yelets Workers' Faculty, while simultaneously working as a decorator in the city drama theater and as a cartoonist in the Yelets branch of ROSTA Windows. In 1922, Nikolai Ivanovich moved to Moscow, where he was educated at the Higher Art and Technical Workshops. On March 23, 1928, the opening day of the Central House of the Soviet Army, he was appointed chief artist of this organization and worked in this position for 35 years, until 1963. Nikolai Moskalev created more than 100 paintings and graphic works, 200 sketches and sketches of landscapes, still lifes, portraits, household plot, satirical, humorous sketches. But it was not a work to order, but rather for the soul.

Nikolai Ivanovich worked a lot in the propaganda poster genre, which was in high demand in the USSR. During the Great Patriotic War, his drawings had a sharp satirical focus, the most famous of them are “Death to the fascist reptile”, “Get away from Moscow, fascist reptile!”, “Von Bock earned himself in the side near Moscow!”. Moskalev's posters, calling on the Soviet people to fight fascism and defend the Motherland, are laconic, concrete, and full of harsh simplicity. However, Nikolai Ivanovich became most famous as the author of sketches for Soviet orders, medals and badges. Moreover, his work on the models of awards began in the 30s with the design of the badge "Excellent Worker of the Red Army" - this is Moskalev's debut. A little later, his own badges “Participant in the battles on Lake Khasan” and “Participant of the sports team of the CDKA” appeared. But the real fame came to the artist during the Great Patriotic War, when he created dozens of models of military awards. Among them: the Order of Kutuzov of three degrees, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky of three degrees, medals for the defense of Moscow, Leningrad, Sevastopol, Odessa, Stalingrad, the Caucasus, "Partisan of the Patriotic War", "For Impeccable Service", award badge "20th anniversary of the Red Banner . A.V. Alexandrov Song and Dance Ensemble of the Soviet Army. In addition, it was Moskalev who proposed the colors of all ribbons for orders and medals of the USSR, established in 1943-1945.

It is known that sketches for most of the military medals for the defense of Moskalev created in advance, i.e. even before the city was liberated by the Soviet troops from the Nazis, the artist did not doubt the Victory for a single day. By the way, the Secretary General liked to personally select the models of awards and most often gave preference to the works of Nikolai Moskalev. Sometimes Stalin made his own adjustments to the sketches, which were reflected in the final version. So, for example, from the obverse of the medal "For the Defense of Stalingrad" with the light hand of Joseph Vissarionovich, his portrait and wreath disappeared, and the inscription "For our Soviet Motherland" was placed on the reverse of all medals for defense. In the summer of 1943, when a turning point in the Great Patriotic War came as a result of the victory in the Battle of Kursk, the high command came up with the idea of ​​​​creating two orders: "Victory" - for the high military command, and "Bagration" - for ordinary Red Army soldiers who defeated the Nazis. Stalin liked this idea very much. True, the Secretary General decided to change the name for the soldier's award:

- Soldier's order? Well, the idea is good. A soldier's order is needed. There is a need to note the main worker of the war. We also talked about the Order of Victory. Well, victory cannot be without glory ... So let's call the new order.

The sketch for the Order of Glory was created by Nikolai Moskalev in just 5 days, reworking the original layout of the medal "For the Defense of Moscow". The symbol of military glory was the star, in the center of which the artist placed the Kremlin tower, and the inscription "Glory" on red enamel. It remained to come up with the original color of the ribbon, since none of the colors fit the light silver award. Then Moskalev remembered how, in 1916, old soldiers with St. George's crosses on their chests were returning from the fields of the First World War. Nikolai Ivanovich decided that the black and orange colors from the royal order would look great on a ribbon for a Soviet award. True, when the authors showed the layout of the order to Stalin, they kept silent about the continuity with the pre-revolutionary cross, they only reported that the three black and two orange stripes on the ribbon symbolize the flame when fired and gunpowder smoke. The Order of Glory was established on the same day as the highest military Order "Victory" - November 8, 1943. Like the George Cross, the new order had several degrees, which were awarded sequentially and only to soldiers. The first degree is the highest, gold, and the second and third are silver. During the war years, more than a million fighters were awarded this award, and full cavaliers 2562 people became orders. After the war, the Order of Glory was not awarded. For the successful fulfillment of government assignments in 1943, Moskalev himself was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. Nikolai Ivanovich died in July 1968 and was buried in Moscow. Exactly one month before his death, in a letter to the director of the Yelets Museum, he shared his plans for celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Order of Glory and organizing a new exhibition of his works in hometown. The artist bequeathed his paintings and graphic works to the same museum.

Well, now let's return to the question of how February 23 became the holiday of the Soviet army. To do this, we will have to debunk several Soviet myths. Let's start with the statement that February 23 is allegedly the day of the founding of the Red Army. I must say that this myth was born gradually. In early January 1919, the country's leadership remembered the approaching anniversary of the adoption of the Decree on the Creation of the Red Army (recall, published on January 15, 1918 or January 28, according to the new style). So, on January 10, 1919, the chairman of the Higher Military Inspectorate of the Red Army, Nikolai Podvoisky, sent a proposal to the presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee to solemnly celebrate this event, as they say, on the same day - January 28. However, due to the late application, the decision to celebrate was never made. Nevertheless, the holiday took place: on January 24, 1919, the Presidium of the Moscow Council, which at that time was headed by Lev Kamenev, decided to coincide with the celebrations on the occasion of the anniversary of the Red Army on the Day of the Red Gift (arranged to help the fighting Red Army soldiers). But due to further delays, the Moscow Council did not have time to hold the Red Gift Day on February 16 again, and therefore they decided to move both holidays to the next Sunday, which fell exactly on February 23. On this occasion, Pravda of February 5, 1919 wrote: “The organization of the Red Gift Day throughout Russia has been postponed to February 23. On this day, the celebration of the anniversary of the creation of the Red Army, which was celebrated on January 28, will be organized in the cities and at the front. In subsequent years, neither Lenin, nor Trotsky, nor Stalin will ever remember this note. And just for some reason, the Soviet leaders do not remember the birthday of the Red Army in 1920 and 1921.

Parade of the Red Army on Red Square, second half of the 20s.

The next step in creating the myth was the assertion that on February 23, the Decree on the creation of the Red Army was allegedly published. First, in January 1922, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee issues a special decree on the approaching anniversary of the creation of the Red Army, which supposedly is coming on February 23. Then, directly on February 23, 1922, the first military parade was held on Red Square, led by the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council, Lev Trotsky, who falsely announced from the podium that the parade was taking place in honor of the fourth anniversary of Lenin's Decree on the creation of the Red Army. And in 1923, the decree of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee already firmly stated: “On February 23, 1923, the Red Army will celebrate the 5th anniversary of its existence. On this day, five years ago, the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars was published, which laid the foundation for the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army, the stronghold of the proletarian dictatorship. G Sometime later, in 1924, after the death of Ilyich, a photo of the Decree of January 28, 1918 will be published in the Military Bulletin magazine. The picture will be fuzzy, blurred, as a result of which the date and Lenin's signature will be indistinguishable. But in the article itself it will be reported that this document was made public on February 23, 1918. So this date was finally falsified.

The painting "Adoption of the decree on the creation of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army." Artist A. Savinov

However, the discrepancy between the facts was so obvious that it often baffled even the most distinguished Bolsheviks. So, in 1933, Klim Voroshilov, at a solemn meeting dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the Red Army, openly admits: "The timing of the celebration of the anniversary of the Red Army on February 23 is rather random and difficult to explain and does not coincide with historical dates." The Soviet government will not allow itself any more such reservations.

"A short course in the history of the CPSU (b)" in all languages ​​of the Union republics

For the next anniversary of the Red Army in 1938, Stalin prepared in advance and approved the “Short Course in the History of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks”, in which he outlined new version the appearance of the date of the holiday, no longer associated with the decree of the Council of People's Commissars: “The young detachments of the new army - the army of the revolutionary people - heroically repulsed the onslaught of the German predator, armed to the teeth. Near Narva and Pskov, the German invaders were given a decisive rebuff. Their advance on Petrograd was suspended. The day of rebuffing the troops of German imperialism - February 23, 1918 - became the birthday of the young Red Army. It was a completely new interpretation of the appearance of the holiday. No one in those years, of course, dared to be surprised by this discovery, so the new myth began to live an independent life and even reached the Second World War. So, in 1942, Stalin's new order already says: “The young detachments of the Red Army, which entered the war for the first time, utterly defeated the German invaders near Pskov and Narva ... That is why the day of February 23, 1918 was declared the birthday of the Red Army.”

Oddly enough, the Soviet people will take this myth, born by Stalin, on faith even after the Victory: it will be copied letter by letter from textbook to textbook until 1988. And, of course, one should not look for references to Lenin's article in Soviet history books. "A hard but necessary lesson." It was published in Pravda on February 25, 1918, i.e. two days after the Red Army, according to the Stalinist version of events, "defeated" the Germans near Narva. Here is an excerpt from this article: “Painfully shameful reports about the refusal of the regiments to maintain their positions, about the refusal to defend even the Narva line, about the failure to comply with the order to destroy everything and everyone during the retreat; we are not talking about flight, chaos, armlessness, helplessness, slovenliness. There is obviously no army in the Soviet Republic.”

Lev Kamenev arrives in Brest-Litovsk, 1918

Why did Stalin need to envelop February 23 with a veil of secrecy even more? The fact is that, in fact, on that winter day at 10.30 in the morning, Kaiser Germany presented an ultimatum to Soviet Russia. Closer to the night, the members of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), who gathered in Smolny, taking into account the complete incapacity of the just emerging Red Army, agreed with the conditions of the Germans. Lenin, contrary to the opinion of the majority, persuaded the party members to sign an "obscene peace", threatening to resign otherwise. The leader of the proletariat in those days was concerned not with the world proletarian revolution, but with the preservation of at least a small island of the already existing worker-peasant dictatorship.

For those who have forgotten what Russia paid for Ilyich's stubbornness, we recall that, according to the terms of the Brest Peace, our country had to recognize the independence of Courland, Livonia, Estonia, Finland and Ukraine, withdraw its troops from their territory, transfer the Anatolian provinces to Turkey, demobilize the army , disarm the fleet in the Baltic, Black Seas and the Arctic Ocean, recognize the Russian-German trade agreement of 1904, which is unfavorable for Russia, grant Germany the right of most favored nation in trade until 1925, allow duty-free export of ore and other raw materials to Germany, stop agitation and propaganda against the powers of the Quadruple Alliance. So, if anyone had something to celebrate on February 23, then it was not the Red Army at all.

As for the "heroic defeat" of the Germans near Narva by the soldiers of the Red Army, which, according to Stalin's " short course History of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks”, fell on February 23, 1918, then there is not a word of truth here either. No battles on this winter day were recorded either in the German or in the Soviet archives. It is known that Lenin personally sent the revolutionary sailor Pavel Dybenko, appointed people's commissar for maritime affairs, to defend Narva. The latter led his Flying Detachment of Baltic sailors towards the enemy, who had proven themselves excellently in dispersing (read - shooting) a peaceful demonstration of the inhabitants of Petrograd on the opening day of the Constituent Assembly. Dybenko reached Narva just in time for February 23rd. Taking with them three confiscated kegs of alcohol, the revolutionary sailors broke into the city frozen in frost and fear. Having announced his personal decrees on universal labor service and the Red Terror, the people's commissar sat down at the headquarters and engaged in the redistribution of alcohol, and his subordinates - the unaccountable executions of compatriots.
However, the confiscated alcohol quickly ran out. The sobered-up Baltics, seeing regular German troops approaching the city, loaded into the train and left Narva. Their retreat was stopped only a day later. Having intercepted the fleeing Dybenko in Yamburg, the former tsarist general Dmitry Parsky, who arrived from Petrograd, tried to persuade the people's commissar to return to the ingloriously abandoned city, but he replied that his "sailors were tired" and departed for Gatchina. And in the early morning of March 4, a small German detachment occupied Narva without a fight and not without slight surprise. No one began to recapture the city from the Germans, since on March 3 a peace treaty was signed in Brest-Litovsk. For desertion in May 1918, Dybenko was summoned to see Lenin in the Kremlin, after a short trial they were put on trial and expelled from the party (however, they were reinstated in 1922). And in 1938, the former People's Commissar was already accused of spying for America. His trial lasted 17 minutes. The verdict is standard: execution without delay. By the way, in the same 1938, the medal "20 Years of the Red Army" was established, but the disgraced Dybenko, of course, did not receive the award.

All these facts partly shed light on the true reasons that prompted the Soviet leadership to replace two "inconvenient" historical dates with a new far-fetched holiday - the anniversary of the February Revolution of 1917 and the German ultimatum of 1918. The myth was a glorious success - in the best traditions of Soviet propaganda. In fairness, it should be noted that after 1945, Victory Day became a much more significant holiday for everyone related to the Red, and then the Soviet army. Well, February 23 gradually turned into a "gender" holiday, as it is commonly called today, on which the entire male population of the country was congratulated, regardless of age and occupation - by analogy with Women's Day on March 8. However, in last years Soviet authorities officially issued reference books and calendars already tried to avoid outright lies. And those of the readers who were attentive to the signatures in such publications could pay attention to the somewhat strange "streamlined" formulations given. Like on a tear-off sheet of this calendar, from which it is quite difficult to understand what exactly happened on this day, February 23, 1918.

The first document on the creation of the Red Army, which is dated January 22, 1918:

Decree
Council of People's Commissars
"" January 1918
Petrograd

The old army served as an instrument of class oppression of the working people by the bourgeoisie. With the transfer of power to the working and exploited classes, it became necessary to create a new army, which would be the stronghold of Soviet power in the present, the foundation for replacing the people's army with the armament of the proletariat in the future, and would serve as support for the coming Socialist revolution in Europe.

I.
In view of this, the Council of People's Commissars decides: to organize a new army under the name "Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army" on the following grounds:

I / The Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army is being created from the most conscious and organized representatives of the working masses.

Access to its ranks is open to all citizens of the Russian Republic at least 18 years old. Anyone who is ready to give his strength, his life to defend the gains of the October Revolution and the power of the Soviets enters the Red Army. To join the ranks of the Red Army, recommendations are required: from the Army Committees or Public Democratic Organizations standing on the platform of Soviet power, party or professional organizations, or at least two members of these organizations. When joining in whole parts, a mutual guarantee of all and a roll-call vote are required.

II.
I / The soldiers of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army are fully supported by the State and, in addition, receive 50 rubles. per month.

2 / Disabled members of the families of soldiers of the Red Army, who were previously dependent on them, are provided with everything necessary from the Soviet authorities

III.
The Council of People's Commissars is the supreme governing body of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. The direct leadership and management of the army is concentrated in the Commissariat for Military Affairs in the All-Russian Collegium created under it.

Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars
V. Ulyanov (Lenin)

People's Commissar for Military Affairs
V. Ovseenko I. Krylenko N. Podvoisky

Managing Director of the Council of People's Commissars
Vlad.Bonch-Bruevich

Secretary of the Council of People's Commissars
Gorbunov
A.Pronin
V.Zaitsev
I. Steinberg

And on February 21, 1918, the famous Decree-calling "The Socialist Fatherland is in Danger!", written by Trotsky, was issued, by the way:

In order to save the exhausted, tormented country from new military trials, we made the greatest sacrifice and announced to the Germans our agreement to sign their terms of peace. On February 20 (7) our parliamentarians left Rezhitsa for Dvinsk in the evening, and there is still no answer. The German government is obviously slow to respond. It clearly does not want peace. Fulfilling the instructions of the capitalists of all countries, German militarism wants to strangle the Russian and Ukrainian workers and peasants, to return the land to the landowners, the factories and factories to the bankers, and the power to the monarchy. The German generals want to establish their own "order" in Petrograd and Kiev. The Socialist Republic of Soviets is in the greatest danger. Until the moment when the proletariat of Germany rises and triumphs, the sacred duty of the workers and peasants of Russia is the selfless defense of the Republic of Soviets against the hordes of bourgeois-imperialist Germany. The Council of People's Commissars decides: 1) All forces and means of the country are wholly devoted to the cause of revolutionary defense. 2) It is the duty of all Soviets and revolutionary organizations to defend every position to the last drop of blood. 3) Railway organizations and the Soviets associated with them are obliged by all means to prevent the enemy from using the communications apparatus; when retreating, destroy tracks, blow up and burn railway buildings; all rolling stock - wagons and steam locomotives - should immediately be directed east into the interior of the country. 4) All grain and food stocks in general, as well as any valuable property that is in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy, must be subjected to unconditional destruction; the supervision of this is entrusted to the local Soviets under the personal responsibility of their chairmen. 5) The workers and peasants of Petrograd, Kiev and all cities, towns, villages and villages along the line of the new front must mobilize battalions to dig trenches under the guidance of military specialists. 6) All able-bodied members of the bourgeois class, men and women, must be included in these battalions, under the supervision of the Red Guards; those who resist are shot. 7) All publications that oppose the cause of revolutionary defense and take the side of the German bourgeoisie, as well as those seeking to use the invasion of the imperialist hordes in order to overthrow Soviet power, are closed; able-bodied editors and employees of these publications are mobilized for digging trenches and other defensive work. 8) Enemy agents, speculators, thugs, hooligans, counter-revolutionary agitators, German spies are shot at the crime scene.

The socialist fatherland is in danger! Long live the socialist fatherland! Long live the international socialist revolution!

Council of People's Commissars

Dmitry ZHVANIA

On January 15, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR issued a decree on the creation of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army

95 years ago began the history of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA). On January 15, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR issued a decree establishing it.

According to Bakunin

The system of organization, the growth and development of the armed forces of the Soviet Republic were in close connection not only with the requirements of the historical moment, but also with the ideological guidelines of the ruling Bolshevik Party. At the beginning of 1918, the revolutionary authorities were in an intense search for new forms of organization of the army. This work coincides in time with the beginning of the Civil War and the intensification of the intervention of Kaiser Germany. Therefore, all the experiments of the Soviet government in the field of military construction were immediately tested by combat. “Due to the latter circumstance, organizational work is constantly being amended due to combat experience, and its productivity is measured by the forces that the republic managed to gather, organize, supply and put on its borders by the end of the same 1918,” notes military historian Nikolai Evgenievich Kakurin ( Kakurin N.E. How the revolution fought. T.1. 1917-1918. Moscow: Politizdat, 1990).

“Anger, bragging, a thirst for revenge, cruelty, inexorability, a penchant for “gold” and jewelry, for moonshine and reckless drivers, for “Maruskas” and “Katkas fat-faced” ... The first days of the Bolsheviks’ power in Kiev were full of horror and blood, Poletika recalled . “…It was restless at night. Gangs of robbers robbed passers-by on the streets and attacked houses and apartments. The townsfolk formed self-defense units. Weapons were obtained in the destroyed warehouses in Pechersk. Real battles took place near individual houses with robbers. For the first time in the entrances of houses and in the yards, night shifts of residents were organized. The duty officers had to shoot at the robbers (at that time it was not difficult to buy weapons from the soldiers) and call for help. On one of the last nights before the departure of Muravyov's troops from Kiev, 176 attacks on the apartments of Kiev residents were recorded. ... Muravyov's three-week raid on Kiev in February 1918 was a direct and vivid manifestation of the violent youth of Bolshevism.

Historian Richard Pipes concluded that "until the summer of 1918, the Red Army existed for the most part on paper", since the principles of voluntary recruitment and election of commanders led to its small number, weak controllability, low combat readiness

The Bolshevik government of the People's Secretariat of Ukraine, which moved from Kharkov, demanded the removal of Muravyov from the city, calling him "the leader of the bandits."

Muravyov himself, while in Odessa, described his “exploits” in Kiev as follows: “We are going to establish Soviet power with fire and sword. I occupied the city, beat on palaces and churches ... beat, giving no quarter to anyone! January 28 Duma (Kiev) asked for a truce. In response, I ordered them to be gassed. Hundreds of generals, and maybe thousands, were mercilessly killed ... So we took revenge. We could stop the wrath of revenge, however, we did not do this, because our slogan is to be merciless!

According to the chairman of the Cheka, Felix Dzerzhinsky, who arrested Muravyov in Moscow in April 1918 (he was soon released): “The worst enemy could not bring us as much harm as he did with his nightmarish massacres, executions, granting soldiers the right to plunder cities and villages. He did all this in the name of our Soviet government, turning the entire population against us. Plunder and violence - this was a deliberate military tactic that, while giving us fleeting success, brought defeat and disgrace as a result. On July 11, 1918, shortly after the rebellion of the Left Social Revolutionaries in Moscow, Muravyov was killed by security officers during his arrest (according to another version, he shot himself).

Regular construction

In March 1918, the reins of the Red Army were handed over to Leon Trotsky. On March 28, he became chairman of the Supreme Military Council, formed on March 1; and in April - People's Commissar for maritime affairs. On July 26, 1918, Trotsky submitted for discussion by the Council of People's Commissars a resolution "On the establishment of universal conscription of the working people and on the involvement of the corresponding ages of the bourgeois classes in the rear militia." But even before the execution of this act, the decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee announced the call of all workers and peasants who did not exploit the labor of others in the 51st district of the Volga, Ural and West Siberian military districts, and, in addition, it was recognized as necessary to call on workers in Petrograd and Moscow. Soon, conscription into the ranks of the Red Army was extended to the command staff. Finally, by a decree of July 29, the entire population of the country liable for military service aged 18 to 40 was registered and horse service was established. “These decrees,” notes Nikolai Kakurin, “determined a significant increase in the armed forces of the Republic, pouring into the framework already ready for them.” By September 15, 1918, the size of the Red Army had increased to 452,509 people.

The real Red Army arose in the summer of 1918 during the battles for Kazan. It was created by Leon Trotsky in spite of all ideological chimeras about volunteering

The real Red Army arose in the summer of 1918 during the battles for Kazan. It was created by Leon Trotsky in spite of all ideological chimeras about volunteering. “You cannot build an army without repression. You can't lead masses of people to their death without having the command of the death penalty in their arsenal. As long as the evil, tailless monkeys called humans, proud of their technology, build armies and fight, the command will put the soldiers between possible death ahead and inevitable death behind, ”he later wrote. The criterion of truth is practice. And the practice of military construction in the Soviet Republic has shown that the principle of volunteerism does not work in the matter of creating a large combat-ready army. And yet this principle is constantly found in the programs of leftist organizations. On the other hand, okay. After all, they, these programs, will never be implemented, and the paper endures everything. On the other hand, the army does not tolerate self-activity and democracy, especially in wartime. An army is always a hierarchy. Serving in the army, one must perceive the "poetry of the order."