Russian attack on Kharkiv Ukraine 2022 and 1943, Ukrainian Insurgent Army UPA, General Vlasov ROA

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Episode 106

In August of 1943 during the 4th and final Battle for Kharkiv the Soviets used massive artillery and rocket attacks in preparation of their final assault. The battle taking place for the same city in March of 2022 is looking more and more similar by the day. Back then, when the fighting was over the civilians in the city that had survived the onslaught treated the Soviets as liberators but this time around there are no occupying Nazi to free them from.

The Great city of Kharkiv. Twice lost by the Russians, twice retaken, smashed by the guns of both armies…Yes, and the destruction was almost complete.

This 1943 footage was taken by the Soviets just after retaking the city. This was done to document the important military victory that had been achieved and also to record the damage caused by the German occupiers. Public trials were quickly held for accused Germans and collaborationists in the city before the war had even ended. This swift justice intended to intimidate the enemy by showing that no leniency would be given to those responsible for warcrimes and also to reassure the population that the extensive crimes would not go unpunished.

There was little doubt about the guilt of these specific perpetrators and the Soviets had their own ideas about justice. At the end of the war they argued that organizing the Nuremberg trials was a waste of time. The defendants should simply all be shot.

It’s true that the trials were little more than show trials. The defendants had been informed that if they told the whole truth that their lives might be spared, that there were bigger fish to fry. There being no other option, they claimed to be following orders and explained what had happened. ….and then they were executed in a mass public hanging which was filmed for posterity.

Soviet concepts of justice relating to its own population was also peculiar. As promised at Yalta in 1945, citizens found in the zones of occupied Germany that belonged to countries that were considered part of the Soviet Union in 1939 were forcibly repatriated. This included many Cossacks, Russians and Ukrainians who had fought agains the allies but also many prisoners of war and civilians. Hundreds of thousands of repatriated Ukrainians were immediately killed under Stalin's orders, while many others were sent to Gulag camps where they were worked to death.

It can be said that the heavy handed style of Soviet Justice after the war played no favorites. The Russian soldiers that had joined the volunteer formations of the ROA to fight against the Soviets were also immediately liquidated. In the Republic of Georgia, which is where Stalin was from, it was commonly said that Stalin is a SOB, but he’s our SOB. There is probably plenty to read into the old school Soviet mentality in this saying.

The man at the front with the Orthodox priest is General Vlasov. He was given credit for stopping the German advance on Moscow in the Winter of 1941/42 but was eventually captured and became the lead figure in organization of the Russian volunteer army that fought for the Wehrmacht. I’ll certainly be doing more videos on this formation so remember to subscribe if you haven’t yet. At the end of the war he was handed over to the Soviets and executed. Crossing Stalin wasn’t a good idea for you, or your family . .. . or your friends.

Presently it seems that the Ukrainians are unwilling to accept Soviet style domination from their neighbor. This first became evident in 2014 when their then president Viktor Yanukovych attempted to turn to the east and was subsequently removed from power. The Russian taking of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 cemented the Ukrainian desire to integrate with Western Europe. With the 2022 Russian attack on Ukraine some in the Kremlin believed that their army would, as during WW2, be treated as liberators, that soldiers could consider themselves as peace keepers but this hasn’t materialized. If this progression of the war continues in its current trajectory the Russian army could very well be heading towards the same hellish partisan warfare that the Germans were unable to come to terms with.