With recent developments in Eastern Europe it seems that a part of the Russian Army indulges
itself in murder, pillage and even assault in territories they've conquered. When talking
about the Russian or Soviet soldier from a historical perspective some people noted that,
I quote: “the Russian soldier hasn't changed a bit!” That triggered me to
dive into the history of the Russian / Soviet soldier during WW1 and WW2. Did
they always behave savagly to the people they conquered? That's what you will learn today!
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In this video we're gonna take a look at different moments in history (during WW1 and WW2) where the
Russian or Soviet Army occupied territory that belonged to another nation previously and how
the local civilians were treated by the Russian / Soviet soldiers at that time. The goal of this episode is to draw similarities
but more important: spot the differences, since history refuses simplicity. Second, we
need to distinguish the behaviour of the soldier stationed in the area versus the measures taken
by the Russian or Soviet government. Sometimes these intertwine, but other times they differ.
Let's take a look at Russia during the First World War. Russia did not enter WW1 against Germany from
a strong position. Russia had an advantage over Germany when it came down to manpower
and resources, however these were not exploited to the fullest. Political instability and
unrealized industrial and military potential could cripple the country in times of war.
The first hostilities on the WW1 Eastern Front took place at the German town of Stallupönen in
East Prussia which was invaded by the Russian Army.
And on August 20 the Russians achieved victory at the Battle of Gumbinnen.
Later Rastenburg, located in a very centre of Germany's easternmost province, fell. And the
capital Königsberg might have been next. It never got that far. During the Battle of Tannenberg the
Russian Second Army was annihilated. The Russian First Army was defeated at the Mazurian Lakes
(First Battle of the Masurian Lakes) after which the Russians were kicked-out of East Prussia.
How did Russian soldiers behave during their short-lived occupation of East Prussia? According
to historian Laura Engelstein the Russian armies invaded East Prussia with the intent of uprooting
its inhabitants. Many Germans that had lived inside the borders of the Russian Empire were
deported to the Russian interior, out of fear they could spread information to
the enemy or – in case of adult males – be drafted in the German Army. In their
blindness and anxiety, Russian soldiers viewed the local inhabitants as potential spies.
“They expressed rather a general atmosphere of paranoia, enhanced by feelings of inadequacy
in the face of the formidable German war machine, and sustained by the xenophobic
ideology of the radical right, whose influence was felt in the highest places.”
Areas of East Prussia were occupied by the Russian Imperial Army twice: in August 1914, and again
from October 1914 to February 1915. Upon returning Germans found villages had been looted by both
sides and left in ruins. Russian commanders instructed their troops that once they were fired
at by German civilians to confiscate any property of military value, and then burn the place down.
Women and children were allowed to depart. In practice troops were never that careful.
“In the case of East Prussia, the Russian forces engaged in the widespread r-pe of women and girls,
mistreatment of prisoners of war, and the wanton destruction of property,
all of which the German Foreign Office formally denounced as violations of the
Geneva and Hague conventions on the laws of war.”
I do have to mention that the earlier mentioned atmosphere of paranoia also manifested among
German troops, that resulted in the destruction of Kalisz as well as German atrocities in Belgium.
The Russian occupation of Eastern Galicia lasted longer: from August 1914 till June 1915. During
the Battle of Galicia the Russian Army achieved a breakthrough against the Austria-Hungarians. When
the Russians took control over Eastern Galicia Russian nationalists in the Duma claimed this
territory was original part of the Russian lands and urged annexation. Yet, the Russians were in
the minority in this area as many people were of Greek, Polish or Jewish descent living here as well.
The Jews from the getgo were distrusted and viewed as a transnational fifth column.
“The Russian army had various reasons to distrust the non-Slavic population across the border,
but its reactions were conditioned not only by the murky reality of warfare on foreign
soil. They were shaped also by official policies toward the Jews at home and by the anti-Semitic
attitudes that prevailed even in educated circles and completely dominated at court.”
The administrators of occupied Galicia were committed to anti-Semitism as a political ideology
and a guide to official policy. In the early days of Russian
occupation Russian soldiers destroyed the Jewish quarter of Brody. Late September a
similar pogrom took place in Lemberg. All because of allegedly Jewish aggression
against Russian troops. Not only Jews were targetted, also Ukrainians:
leaders of the Ukrainian Uniate church among other notable Ukrainians were deported to Siberia.
The mass deportations did raise objections among Russian notables who believed it would lead to
congestion in the interior. As Russian General Alekseev complained in March 1915 with regard to
the eastward expulsion of Galician Jews: “This is unacceptable—we already have too many of them.”
In April 1915 – when winter was over – the Germans attacked at the southern point of
the Eastern Front and launched the Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive and together with the Austria-Hungarians
achieved a major breakthrough in which they took back the Russians gains of Galicia and also made
over 140,000 prisoners. By June Przemysl and Lemberg were retaken. Later that summer the
Germans managed to seize Warsaw, Brest-Litovsk. The Russians then commenced to the Great Retreat
in which they relinquished an area of more than a hundred thousand square miles. Another huge morale
blow. This eventually would
fuel the resentment that would cause the Russian Revolution in 1917. It's beyond the scope of this video,
however I did cover this elaborate in other videos on this channel.
Let's jump to WW2. When we speak of the Red Army advancing through Eastern Europe in WW2 most think
of 1944-1945, but in 1939 this was also the case. On 17 September 1939 the Red Army invaded
Eastern Poland. The month before Joseph Stalin had signed a non-aggression
pact with Hitler. The so-called Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact where also spheres of influence were decided. Read: occupation.
The Soviet invasion of Eastern
Poland happened swift. Poland's eastern borders weren't that well protected and the main Polish
army was crumbling under the German onslaught (starting 1 September). Stalin ordered his
troops to move in as they did on 17 September. The excuse the Soviets used was that they wanted to
protect the non-Polish people in Eastern Poland. Although this was nonsense it is true that Eastern
Poland was inhabited by many non-Polish people (Ukrainians, Jews and Belarusians):
“To prevent breaches of the law, the army had issued the soldiers
involved in the occupation with a small allowance in cash. But there was just
too much to spend it on. If the locals would not sell their goods for kopecks,
the troops used threats to get the things they saw. They plundered simple cottages in search
of loot. […] Nonetheless, regular Red Army men were relatively benign as an occupation force.”
Although the Red Army soldiers behaved mostly correct,
political agitators that followed in their wake surely did not:
“Soviet agitators urged peasants to take revenge
on landlords. Though most people resisted the call to criminality,
chaos reigned as thousands did not. Mass murders with axes were suddenly frequent.”
In some cases Red Army soldiers joined the frey, but not often.
The NKVD brought in notorious thugs that arrested and tortured many people. A totall of 190,400
were arrested of which 8,513 were executed. In the spring of 1940 22,000 members of the
Polish military and intelligentsia were executed by the NKVD on Stalin's orders, collectivily known
as the Katyn Massacre. Many people were deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan and would not survive.
From the beginning of WW2 in Europe we're going to switch our focus to the end. In the autumn
of 1944 the Red Army got a foodhold on German ground: East Prussia. The German village of
Nemmersdorf suffered a great ordeal which was discovered after it was retaken by the Germans
where they found 20 inhabitants murdered and all houses destroyed. This continued after the
Soviets overran the province. Girls and women were r-ped by the masses. Often in front of horrified
family members and often by multiple soldiers. Many German inhabitants that didn't succeed in
getting away in time were simply shot on the spot: children, men, women, the elderly. And
buildings were set on fire. Whole East Prussian settlements, towns and cities were burned down.
Why was the Red Army so cruel to the German civilians? For anyone that knows a little
history the answer is obvious: revenge. Many Red Army soldiers had one if not more family members
killed in the war. Those soldiers whose family's lived under German occupation sometimes never
saw them again. Furthermore, as the Soviets retook Ukraine they witnessed the massive
death and destruction the Germans had caused. The hatred against the Germans was also fueled
by Soviet propaganda. Ilya Ehrenburg who was a writer for Soviet newspaper
Red Star often aped nazi language and twisted it around the theme of “Kill the Germans”.
Furthermore once Red Army soldiers entrered Germany in East Prussia they were amazed by
the luxurious lifestyle these people enjoyed, especially compared to their lifestyle. They now asked themselves:
if the Germans had so much, why did they attack us, the people that had so little?
Lastly, Stalin didn't intervene. Although r-pe was officially a crime in the Red Army Stalin
had condoned it. Stalin said people should "understand it if a soldier who has crossed
thousands of kilometres through blood and fire and death has fun with a woman or takes
some trifle". On another occasion he seem to have said: "We lecture our soldiers too much;
let them have their initiative." These brutalities were carried out
all the way to Berlin, although the cruelty in East Prussia outmatched the cruelty in
Berlin regarding the killing of civilians. Nevertheless, r-pes continued for years after
the armistice as the Soviet troops remained stationed in East Germany. A reason for Stalin
to allow his troops to 'have some fun with a woman' was also that he feared his troops
may turn against him once they witnessed the better lifestyle the German people had:
“These two emotions, resentment and revenge, were now mingled in an explosive brew. As
Soviet troops scrambled to send packages filled with German goods home, plundering everything
in their path, they also began exacting an understandable, if no less brutal vengeance.”
It would be wrong to state that the Soviets only committed atrocities against German civilians.
The country of Hungary suffered a similar ordeal. Hungary sided with the Axis in 1940
and joined Hitler's attack on the USSR. In 1943 the Hungarians suffered an enormous defeat at
the Don. From that moment Hungarian government leaders wanted to exit the war. Secret talks
with the Allies resulted in the Germans moving into the country in March 1944. Hungarian regent
Miklos Horthy continued to contact the Allies and managed an armistice with the Soviets who by that
time (October 1944) were well within Hungary's borders. Now the Nazis removed him from power and
replaced him by a puppet leader Ferenc Szalasi, who led the fascist Arrow Cross Party. Hungary
would go down fighting as the capital Budapest was laid under siege from December 1944 till
February 1945. Only some 700 out of around 44,000 German-Hungarian troops managed to escape. Around
76,000 civilians died in the siege, most of them due to starvation. The battle
would leave the majority of Budapest in ruins: 80% of the city was destroyed. Many Hungarian inhabitans
were deported by the Soviets and many Hungarian women and girls were r-ped by Red Army troops.
There were other countries that were allied with the Nazis as well, which came under
the post-war Soviet sphere of influence: Romania and Bulgaria. But these countries managed to
switch sides successfully. So it wouldn't make much sense if you start killing the inhabitants of
a country that has now become your ally. Besides: Bulgaria never committed its troops to the Eastern
Front. I read violence against women did occur. Also in Yugoslavia, which for the majority was
liberated by the Yugoslav partisans but Red Army troops did cover some ground. Also there
local women were assaulted after which Yugoslav politicians complained. Historian Norman Naimark
noted the effect that tendency to binge-drink alcohol (of which much was available in Germany)
had on the propensity of Soviet soldiers to commit these assaults, combined with murder.
Naimark also notes the allegedly-patriarchal nature of Russian culture and of the
Asian societies within the Soviet Union. It came down to Soviet military leaders not intervening.
If the Red Army commanders did implement the same harsh measures of discpline on assaulting women, it
most likely would've occured much less. Sometimes intervention took place, but this was rare.
“[Soviet] Marshal Rokossovsky issued order No 006 in an attempt to direct "the feelings of hatred
at fighting the enemy on the battlefield." It appears to have had little effect. There were
also a few arbitrary attempts to exert authority. The commander of one rifle division is said to
have "personally shot a lieutenant who was lining up a group of his men before a German
woman spreadeagled on the ground". But either officers were involved themselves, or the lack of
discipline made it too dangerous to restore order over drunken soldiers armed with submachine guns.”
Much due to the brutality of war the troops had been through, the assaults on women occured on
a wide scale, no matter these women were German, Hungarian, Yugoslav or Polish. Cause
when you compare this to the Soviet invasion of Eastern Poland in 1939 most troops hadn't
seen any war brutalities (except those that fought at Kalkin Gol) so therefore the attack
on local civilians occured much less and only occured when political agitators made their move.
Can you say the Russian soldier is a savage by nature? No, the Russian soldier (like any soldier)
is shaped by circumstances: government policies as well as how the troops fare on the ground. The
combination of hardship and lawlessness makes terror against non-combatants unavoidable. In
its history the Russian and Soviet soldiers have been exposed to much hardships. On top of that,
the Russian / Soviet government was a government of autocracy. And autocratic
governments mostly don't care much about the welfare of its own citizens, let alone
the welfare of foreign citizens. For this video I did several case studies,
but there are other interesting cases as well: what about the Russian
Armies during the wars against the Ottoman Empire, or the Soviet Armies in Manchuria in 1945? Or what
about the Soviet-Afghan War? Or the Chechen War? And can we link this to current situation in
Ukraine? If you have any interesting insights to share, please do so in the comments.