The name of Andrei Vlasov has become a household name for all traitors after the Second World War. He went from heroism to betrayal, struck the world with cruelty and lack of principle. Controversy around his person still does not subside. Who was General Andrei Andreevich Vlasov really?
The investigation of the atrocities of Andrei Andreevich Vlasov in many countries continues to this day, many years after the end of the Second World War and the execution of the general. Every Russian and residents of European countries knows about his crimes. And what is known about his biography, military career, personal life? What was the real reason for the transition to the Nazis?
Biography of General Andrei Andreevich Vlasov
Andrei Vlasov was born in mid-September 1901, in a small settlement near Nizhny Novgorod. The boy's family was large, Andrei was 13 in a row. Information about his parents varies - some sources indicate that his father was a non-commissioned officer, in some - an ordinary peasant.
The boy was very capable, had a craving for science, graduated from an ordinary rural school, following the results of certification, he was sent to a theological school, and then to the University of Nizhny Novgorod, at the faculty of agronomy.
During his studies, he practically did not receive help from home, he had to do tutoring in order to somehow survive. Nevertheless, Vlasov did not give up his studies. He was forced to end his education by the outbreak of the Civil War after the revolution in Russia. He, like many other capable young people, was mobilized into the Red Army. Thus began the military career of General Vlasov.
Military career and successes
The newly formed Red Army lacked educated specialists, and promotions for the likes of Vlasov were not burdensome. A few months after mobilization, Andrei Andreevich rose to the rank of company commander, and then was transferred to staff work.
In parallel with his service in the Red Army, Vlasov continued to raise the level of knowledge, now in military affairs. He graduated from the Higher Courses for Army Commanders "Shot", attended the course of the Frunze Military Academy in 1935.
Vlasov's career in the spacecraft was more than successful. He held high positions, starting in 1922, teaching. His most significant positions:
- intelligence command in the South of Russia,
- membership in the tribunal of 2 districts - Kiev and Leningrad,
- command of the 133rd regiment of the 72nd division,
- the position of assistant commander of the 72nd division,
- command of the 99th rifle division,
- the post of commander of the 4th mechanized corps in the Kiev military district.
Vlasov received most of the posts after his predecessors were removed from them, and after his own denunciations. This nuance did not alarm the authorities, Vlasov even received high awards for his career and military achievements. He had two Orders of the Red Banner, a medal issued for the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Red Army, the Order of Lenin.
Captivity and treason
WWII Andrei Vlasov began near Lvov, where his 4th mechanized corps was attached at that moment. For heroism in the first battles with the Nazis, Vlasov was noted by the country's leadership, was promoted - he was entrusted with the command of the 37th Army, which stood in the defense of Kiev.
Vlasov's army got into the so-called "cauldron" (encirclement), but the general managed to withdraw it. The defense of the city was defeated. The commander was summoned to the capital, but not punished, but transferred to another position - he led the 20th army, whose tasks were to protect the Moscow direction. And he justified the expectations of the leadership, stopped Gepner's army, and liberated Volokamsk.
In 1942, Vlasov was again used as a lifesaver. He replaced the sick commander of the 2nd Shock Army, which was surrounded. The general failed to repeat his past victories, to remove the soldiers from the cauldron again, moreover, he himself was captured by the Germans.
Vlasov was immediately persuaded to cooperate. The general was treated by a former Russian officer, Shtrikfeld. After several conversations with him, Vlasov agreed to go over to the side of the fascists.
Soon, former General Vlasov was transferred to Berlin, entrusted with the creation of an army that would fight on the side of the Nazis against the communist system.
General's crimes and subsequent punishment
In 1944, Vlasov created the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia. On the basis of the committee, 3 divisions were formed, separate battalions and companies of which were part of the fascist armies. Their tasks included propaganda and persuading Soviet people and soldiers to go over to the side of the enemy.
But not all the commanders of the propaganda units acted within the information framework. Sources of various kinds tell that the "Vlasovites" were one of the most cruel representatives of fascism. It was also scary that most of them came from the nationalities that were part of the USSR.
When the German army was already on the verge of defeat, the Spaniards and the Americans offered Vlasov political asylum, but the general refused to leave his soldiers. As a result, at the end of April 1945, Vlasov was captured by soldiers of one of the 13th Army units of the Ukrainian Front and taken to Moscow.
At the trial, Vlasov pleaded guilty, and indicated his cowardice as the reason for the betrayal. In July 1946, by decision of the Politburo, Vlasov was executed.
Personal life of General Vlasov
Little is known about the personal life of Andrei Vlasov. He was married twice, with a third girlfriend, the so-called regimental wife, did not enter into an official marriage. Vlasov's first wife, Anna Mikhailovna, was arrested in 1942, after her release she lived in the city of Balakhna.
From his second wife, Agnes, Vlasov had a son. The family was not persecuted for betraying the husband's father. The son lives in Samara. The death of the traitor's ex-wife is rather strange - she died after being dropped by the orderlies in the hospital.
