The state apparatus during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). USSR governing bodies during the war
"The harsh days of war have come.
We will fight until victory.
We are all ready, Comrade Stalin,
Defend your birthplace with your breasts."
S. Alymov
According to the USSR Constitution of 1936 supreme body state power in the USSR there was the Supreme Council (SC) of the USSR, which was elected for 4 years. The USSR Supreme Council elected the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Council - the highest authority Soviet Union during the period between sessions of the Supreme Council. Also, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR elected the government of the USSR - the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (SNK). Supreme Court elected by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR for a period of five years. The USSR Supreme Court also appointed the Prosecutor (Prosecutor General) of the USSR. The Constitution of 1936, or the Stalinist Constitution, did not provide in any way for the implementation of state and military administration of the country in wartime conditions. In the presented diagram, the heads of the power structures of the USSR are indicated in 1941. The Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces was vested with the right to declare a state of war, general or partial mobilization, martial law in the interests of the country’s defense and state security. The Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the highest executive body of state power, took measures to ensure public order, protect the interests of the state and protect the rights of the population, supervised the overall construction of the Armed Forces of the USSR, and determined the annual contingent of citizens subject to conscription for active military service.
The Defense Committee (DC) under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR carried out leadership and coordination of issues of military development and direct preparation of the country for defense. Although before the war it was envisaged that with the outbreak of hostilities military administration should have been carried out by the Main Military Council headed by the People's Commissar of Defense, this did not happen. General leadership of the armed struggle Soviet people against the Nazi troops was taken over by the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, or rather its Central Committee (Central Committee), headed by the situation on the fronts was very difficult, Soviet troops they were retreating everywhere. A reorganization of the highest bodies of state and military administration was necessary.
On the second day of the war, June 23, 1941, by resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the Headquarters of the Main Command of the Armed Forces of the USSR was created. It was headed by the People's Commissar of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union, i.e. Military command and control bodies were reorganized. The reorganization of the system of state power took place on June 30, 1941, when by decision of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the State Defense Committee (GKO) was created - an extraordinary supreme government agency The USSR, which concentrated all power in the country. The State Defense Committee supervised all military and economic issues during the war, and the leadership of military operations was carried out through the Supreme Command Headquarters.
“Both at Headquarters and the State Defense Committee there was no bureaucracy. These were exclusively operational bodies. Leadership was concentrated in the hands of Stalin... Life in the entire state and military apparatus was tense, the work schedule was round the clock, everyone was at their official places. No one gave orders “That it should be exactly like this, but it happened that way,” recalled the head of the Logistics, Army General A.V. Khrulev. In the first months of the Great Patriotic War, there was a complete centralization of power in the country. Stalin I.V. concentrated immense power in his hands - while remaining Secretary General The Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, he headed the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the State Defense Committee, the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and the People's Commissariat of Defense.
State Defense Committee
The State Defense Committee, created during the Great Patriotic War, was an emergency governing body that had full power in the USSR. The Chairman of the State Defense Committee became Secretary General The Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, its deputy is the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs. The State Defense Committee included (People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR), (Chairman of the KO under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR), Malenkov G.M. (Secretary, Head of the Personnel Department of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)). In February 1942, the following were introduced into the State Defense Committee: Voznesensky N.A. (1st Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars) and Mikoyan A.I. (Chairman of the Committee for Food and Clothing Supply of the Red Army), Kaganovich L.M. (Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars). In November 1944, N.A. Bulganin became a new member of the GKO. (Deputy People's Commissar defense of the USSR), and Voroshilov K.E. was removed from the State Defense Committee.
The State Defense Committee was endowed with broad legislative, executive and administrative functions; it united the military, political and economic leadership of the country. The resolutions and orders of the State Defense Committee had the force of wartime laws and were subject to unquestioning execution by all party, state, military, economic and trade union bodies. However, the USSR Armed Forces, the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, and the People's Commissariats also continued to act, implementing the resolutions and decisions of the State Defense Committee. During the Great Patriotic War, the State Defense Committee adopted 9,971 resolutions, of which approximately two-thirds dealt with problems war economy and organization of military production: evacuation of population and industry; mobilization of industry, production of weapons and ammunition; handling captured weapons and ammunition; organization of combat operations, distribution of weapons; appointment of authorized representatives of State Defense Committees; structural changes in the State Defense Committee itself, etc. The remaining resolutions of the State Defense Committee concerned political, personnel, and other issues.
Functions of State Bonds:
1) management of the activities of government departments and institutions, directing their efforts towards the full use of the country’s material, spiritual and military capabilities to achieve victory over the enemy;
2) mobilization of the country’s human resources for the needs of the front and National economy;
3) organization of uninterrupted operation of the defense industry of the USSR;
4) resolving issues of restructuring the economy on a war footing;
5) evacuation of industrial facilities from threatened areas and transfer of enterprises to liberated areas;
6) training reserves and personnel for the Armed Forces and industry;
7) restoration of the economy destroyed by the war;
8) determining the volume and timing of industrial supplies of military products.
The State Defense Committee set military-political tasks for the military leadership, improved the structure of the Armed Forces, determined the general nature of their use in war, and appointed leading personnel. The working bodies of the State Defense Committee on military issues, as well as the direct organizers and executors of its decisions in this area, were the People's Commissariats of Defense (NKO USSR) and the Navy (NK Navy of the USSR).
From the jurisdiction of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the People's Commissariats of the defense industry were transferred to the jurisdiction of the State Defense Committee: People's Commissariats of the Defense Industry: People's Commissariats of Aviation Industry, People's Commissariat of Tankoprom, People's Commissariat of Ammunition, People's Commissariat of Armaments, People's Commissariat of Mining Armaments, People's Commissariat of Armaments, People's Commissariat of Sustainable Industry, People's Commissariat of Sustainable Industry, etc. An important role in the implementation of a number of functions of the State Defense Committee was assigned to the corps of its authorized representatives, main task which had local control over the implementation of GKO regulations on the production of military products. The commissioners had mandates signed by the chairman of the State Defense Committee, Stalin, which clearly defined the practical tasks that the State Defense Committee set for its commissioners. As a result of the efforts made, the output of military products in March 1942 only in the eastern regions of the country reached the pre-war level of its output throughout the entire territory of the Soviet Union.
During the war, in order to achieve maximum management efficiency and adapt to current conditions, the structure of the State Defense Committee was changed several times. One of the important divisions of the State Defense Committee was the Operations Bureau, created on December 8, 1942. The Operations Bureau included L.P. Beria, G.M. Malenkov, A.I. Mikoyan. and Molotov V.M. The tasks of this unit initially included coordinating and unifying the actions of all other GKO units. But in 1944, the functions of the bureau were significantly expanded. It began to control current work all People's Commissariats of the defense industry, as well as the preparation and implementation of production and supply plans for industrial and transport sectors. The Operations Bureau became responsible for supplying the army; in addition, it was assigned the responsibilities of the previously abolished Transport Committee. "All members of the State Defense Committee were in charge certain areas work. Thus, Molotov was in charge of tanks, Mikoyan was in charge of quartermaster supplies, fuel supplies, Lend-Lease issues, and sometimes carried out individual orders from Stalin to deliver shells to the front. Malenkov was involved in aviation, Beria - in ammunition and weapons. Everyone came to Stalin with their questions and said: I ask you to make such and such a decision on such and such an issue...”, recalled the head of the Logistics, Army General A.V. Khrulev.
For evacuation industrial enterprises and the population from the front-line areas to the east under the GKO, a Council for Evacuation Affairs was created. In addition, in October 1941, the Committee for the Evacuation of Food Supplies, Industrial Goods and Industrial Enterprises was formed. However, in October 1941, these bodies were reorganized into the Directorate for Evacuation Affairs under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Other important divisions of the State Defense Committee were: the Trophy Commission, created in December 1941, and in April 1943 transformed into the Trophy Committee; A special committee that dealt with development issues nuclear weapons; A special committee dealt with issues of reparations, etc.
The State Defense Committee became the main link in the mechanism of centralized management of the mobilization of the country's human and material resources for defense and armed struggle against the enemy. Having fulfilled its functions, the State Defense Committee, by Decree of the Presidium Supreme Council The USSR was disbanded on September 4, 1945.
Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces of the USSR
Initially the highest body of strategic management of Soviet military actions Armed Forces was called the Headquarters of the Main Command. It included members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks: Stalin I.V., Molotov V.M., Marshal of the Soviet Union Voroshilov K.E., Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union S.M. Budyonny, People's Commissar of the Navy Admiral of the Fleet and the Chief of the General Staff, General of the Army, led by People's Commissar of Defense Marshal Timoshenko S.K. At Headquarters, an institute of permanent advisers was formed consisting of: Marshals of the Soviet Union and G.I. Kulik; generals, Zhigarev P.F., Vatutin N.F., Voronov N.N.; as well as Mikoyan A.I., Kaganovich L.M., Beria L.P., Voznesensky N.A., Zhdanov A.A., Malenkov G.M., Mehlis L.Z.
However, the dynamism of military operations, rapid and drastic changes in the situation on a huge front required high efficiency in the leadership of troops. Meanwhile, Marshal Timoshenko S.K. could not independently, without the consent of the government, make any serious decisions regarding the leadership of the country’s Armed Forces. He did not even have the right to make decisions on the preparation and use of strategic reserves. In order to ensure centralized and more efficient control of the actions of troops, by the decree of the State Defense Committee of the USSR of July 10, 1941, the Headquarters of the Main Command was transformed into the Headquarters of the Supreme Command. It was headed by the chairman of the State Defense Committee, Stalin. By the same decree, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Marshal B.M. Shaposhnikov was added to the Headquarters. August 8, 1941 Stalin I.V. was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief. From that time on, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command was renamed the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command (SHC). It included: Stalin I., Molotov V., Timoshenko S., Budyonny S., Voroshilov K., Kuznetsov N., Shaposhnikov B. and Zhukov G.
At the final stage of the Great Patriotic War, the composition of the Supreme Command Headquarters was changed for the last time. By the Decree of the State Defense Committee of the USSR dated February 17, 1945, the following composition of the Supreme Command Headquarters was determined: Marshals of the Soviet Union Stalin I.V. (Chairman - Supreme Commander-in-Chief), (Deputy People's Commissar of Defense) and (Deputy People's Commissar of Defense), Army Generals Bulganin N.A. (Member of the State Defense Committee and Deputy People's Commissar of Defense) and Antonov A.I. (Chief of the General Staff), Admiral Kuznetsov N.G. (People's Commissar of the USSR Navy).
The Supreme Command Headquarters exercised strategic leadership of the Red Army, the USSR Navy, border and internal troops. The activities of the Headquarters consisted of assessing the military-political and military-strategic situation, making strategic and operational-strategic decisions, organizing strategic regroupings and creating groupings of troops, organizing interaction and coordination of actions during operations between groups of fronts, fronts, individual armies, as well as between active army and partisan detachments. In addition, the Headquarters supervised the formation and preparation of strategic reserves, logistical support of the Armed Forces, supervised the study and generalization of war experience, exercised control over the implementation of assigned tasks, and resolved issues related to military operations.
The Supreme Command Headquarters led the fronts, fleets and long-range aviation, set tasks for them, approved plans of operations, provided them with the necessary forces and means, through the Central Headquarters partisan movement led the partisans. An important role in directing the combat activities of the fronts and fleets was played by the directives of the Headquarters, which usually indicated the goals and objectives of the troops in operations, the main directions where it was necessary to concentrate the main efforts, the necessary density of artillery and tanks in breakthrough areas, etc.
In the first days of the war, in a rapidly changing situation, in the absence of stable communication with the fronts and reliable information about the position of the troops, the military leadership was systematically late in making decisions, so it became necessary to create an intermediate command authority between the Supreme Command Headquarters and the fronts. For these purposes, a decision was made to send senior employees of the People's Commissariat of Defense to the front, but these measures are initial stage the wars did not produce results.
Therefore, on July 10, 1941, by decree of the State Defense Committee, three Main Commands of troops were created in strategic directions: the North-Western direction, headed by Marshal K.E. Voroshilov. - coordination of the actions of the Northern and Northwestern fronts, as well as fleets; Western direction led by Marshal S.K. Timoshenko - coordination of the actions of the Western Front and the Pinsk military flotilla, and later - the Western Front, the Front of Reserve Armies and the Central Front; South-Western direction led by Marshal S.M. Budyonny. - coordination of the actions of the South-Western, Southern, and later Bryansk fronts, with operational subordination.
The tasks of the Main Commands included studying and analyzing the operational-strategic situation in the directional zone, coordinating the actions of troops in the strategic direction, informing Headquarters about the situation on the fronts, leading the preparation of operations in accordance with Headquarters plans, and leading partisan warfare behind enemy lines. In the initial period of the war, the Main Commands had the opportunity to quickly respond to enemy actions, ensuring more reliable and precise command and control of troops, as well as organizing interaction between fronts. Unfortunately, the Commanders-in-Chief of the strategic directions not only did not have sufficiently broad powers, but also did not have the necessary military reserves and material resources to actively influence the course of hostilities. Headquarters did not clearly define the range of their functions and tasks. Often their activities boiled down to transmitting information from the fronts to Headquarters and, conversely, orders from Headquarters to the fronts.
The commanders-in-chief of the troops in strategic directions failed to improve the leadership of the fronts. The main commands of troops in strategic directions began to be abolished one by one. But the Supreme Command Headquarters did not completely abandon them. In February 1942, Headquarters assigned Army General G.K. Zhukov to the commander of the Western Front. duties of the Commander-in-Chief of the troops of the Western direction, to coordinate the combat operations of the Western and Kalinin fronts during. Soon the Main Command of the South-Western Direction was also restored. The commander in chief of the Southwestern Front, Marshal S.K. Timoshenko, was appointed to coordinate the actions of the Southwestern and neighboring Bryansk fronts. And in April 1942, on the southern wing of the Soviet-German front, the Main Command of the troops of the North Caucasus direction was formed, headed by Marshal S.M. Budyonny, to whom the Crimean Front, the Sevastopol defensive region, the North Caucasus Military District, the Black Sea Fleet and Azov military flotilla. Soon such a management system had to be abandoned as it was not very effective. In May 1942, the Main Commands of the troops of the Western and North Caucasus were abolished, and in June - of the Southwestern directions.
It was replaced by the institution of representatives of the Supreme Command Headquarters, which became more widespread during the Great Patriotic War. The most trained military leaders were appointed as representatives of the Headquarters, who were endowed with broad powers and were usually sent to where, according to the Supreme Command Headquarters plan, the main tasks at the moment were being solved. Representatives of the Supreme Command Headquarters on the fronts in different time were: Budyonny S.M., Zhukov G.K., Vasilevsky A.M., Voroshilov K.E., Antonov A.I., Timoshenko S.K., Kuznetsov N.G., Shtemenko S.M., and others. Supreme Commander-in-Chief - Stalin I.V. demanded constant reports from Headquarters representatives on the progress of completing assigned tasks, often calling them to Headquarters during operations, especially when something did not go well.
Stalin personally set specific tasks for his representatives, sternly asking for omissions and miscalculations. The institution of representatives of the Supreme Command Headquarters significantly increased the effectiveness of strategic leadership, contributed to more rational use forces in operations carried out at the fronts, it was easier to coordinate efforts and maintain close interaction between the fronts, branches of the Armed Forces, branches of the armed forces and partisan formations. Representatives of the Headquarters, having great powers, could influence the course of battles and correct the mistakes of the front and army command in a timely manner. The institution of Headquarters representatives existed almost until the end of the war.
Campaign plans were adopted at joint meetings of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the State Defense Committee and the Supreme Command Headquarters, although in the first months of the war the principle of collegiality was practically not observed. The commanders of fronts, branches of the Armed Forces and branches of the armed forces took the most active part in further work on preparing operations. As the front stabilized and the strategic leadership system was reorganized, troop control also improved. Planning of operations began to be characterized by more coordinated efforts of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the General Staff and front headquarters. The Supreme Command Headquarters developed the most appropriate methods of strategic leadership gradually, with the accumulation of combat experience and the growth of military art at the highest levels of command and headquarters. During the war, the methods of strategic leadership of the Supreme Command Headquarters continuously developed and improved. Most important questions strategic plans and plans of operations were discussed at its meetings, which in some cases were attended by commanders and members of military councils of fronts, commanders of branches of the armed forces and branches of the military. The final decision on the issues discussed was formulated by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief personally.
Throughout the war, the Supreme Command Headquarters was located in Moscow, which was of great moral importance. Members of the Supreme Command Headquarters gathered in the Kremlin office of Stalin I.V., but with the beginning of the bombing it was transferred from the Kremlin to a small mansion on Kirov Street with reliable work space and communications. Headquarters was not evacuated from Moscow, and during the bombing, work moved to the Kirovskaya metro station, where an underground strategic control center for the Armed Forces was prepared. The offices of Stalin I.V. were equipped there. and Shaposhnikov B.M., the operational group of the General Staff and the departments of the People's Commissariat of Defense was located.
In Stalin's office I.V. At the same time, members of the Politburo, the State Defense Committee and the Supreme Command Headquarters met, but the unifying body in war conditions was still the Supreme Command Headquarters, whose meetings could be held at any time of the day. Reports to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief were made, as a rule, three times a day. At 10-11 o'clock in the morning the Chief of the Operations Directorate usually reported, at 16-17 o'clock - the Chief of the General Staff, and at night the military leaders went to Stalin with a final report for the day.
The priority in resolving military issues, of course, belonged to the General Staff. Therefore, during the war, his superiors visited I.V. Stalin almost every day, becoming his main experts, consultants and advisors. Frequent visitors to the Supreme Command Headquarters were People's Commissar of the Navy N.G. Kuznetsov. and the head of the Red Army Logistics A.V. Khrulev. Repeatedly, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief met with the heads of the Main Directorates of NPOs, commanders and heads of military branches. On issues related to the adoption of military equipment or its supply to the troops, the People's Commissars of the aviation, tank industry, weapons, ammunition and others came with them. Leading designers of weapons and military equipment were often invited to discuss these issues. Having fulfilled its functions, the Supreme Command Headquarters was abolished in October 1945.
General Staff of the Red Army
The General Staff is the main body for planning and managing the Armed Forces in the system of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. “Such a team,” according to B.M. Shaposhnikov, “is required to streamline the gigantic work of preparing for war. Coordination and harmonization of preparations... can only be made by the General Staff - a collection of individuals who forged and tested their military views in the same conditions under the same leadership, selected in the most careful manner, bound by mutual responsibility, united performances, who achieved turning points in the military construction."
In the pre-war period, the General Staff carried out large-scale work to prepare the country for defense. The General Staff developed a “Plan for the strategic deployment of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union in the West and East for 1940 and 1941”, approved on October 5, 1940. On May 15, 1941, a revised draft of “Considerations on the Plan” was presented to the political leadership of the country for consideration strategic deployment in case of war with Germany and its allies,” but it was not approved. Zhukov G.K. wrote: “By the decision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and Soviet government dated March 8, 1941, the distribution of responsibilities in the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR was clarified. The leadership of the Red Army was carried out by the People's Commissar of Defense through the General Staff, his deputies and the system of main and central directorates... The General Staff carried out enormous operational, organizational and mobilization work, being the main apparatus of the People's Commissar of Defense."
However, according to the testimony of Marshal G.K. Zhukov, who was the chief of the General Staff before the war, “...I.V. Stalin, on the eve and at the beginning of the war, underestimated the role and importance of the General Staff... was very little interested in the activities of the General Staff. Neither my predecessors nor I did not have the opportunity to comprehensively report to I.V. Stalin about the state of the country’s defense, about our military capabilities and the capabilities of our potential enemy.”
In other words, the country's political leadership did not allow the General Staff to fully and timely implement the necessary measures on the eve of the war. For the USSR Armed Forces on the eve of the war, the only document prescribing the bringing of troops in border districts to combat readiness was a directive sent to the troops a few hours before the start of the war (June 21, 1941 at 21.45 Moscow time). In the initial period of the war, in the conditions of an unfavorable situation on the fronts, the volume and content of the work of the General Staff increased enormously. But it was only towards the end of the first period of the war that Stalin’s relations with the General Staff were significantly normalized. Since the second half of 1942, Stalin I.V., as a rule, did not make a single decision without first hearing the opinion of the General Staff.
The main governing bodies of the USSR Armed Forces during the Great Patriotic War were the Supreme Command Headquarters and the General Staff. This system troop control operated throughout the war. In accordance with wartime requirements, the General Staff worked around the clock. The operating hours of the Supreme Command Headquarters were almost around the clock. The tone was set by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief himself, who worked 12-16 hours a day, and, as a rule, in the evening and at night. He paid main attention to operational-strategic issues, weapons problems, and the preparation of human and material resources.
The work of the General Staff during the war was complex and multifaceted. Functions of the General Staff:
1) collection and processing of operational-strategic information about the situation developing at the fronts;
2) preparation of operational calculations, conclusions and proposals for the use of aircraft, direct development of plans for military campaigns and strategic operations in theaters of military operations;
3) development of directives and orders of the Supreme Command Headquarters on the operational use of the armed forces and war plans in new possible theaters of military operations;
4) organization and management of all types of intelligence activities;
5) processing of data and information from lower headquarters and troops;
6) resolution of air defense issues;
7) management of the construction of fortified areas;
8) management of the military topographic service and the supply of topographic maps to the army;
9) organization and arrangement of the operational rear of the army;
development of regulations on army formations;
10) development of manuals and guidelines for staff service;
11) generalization of the advanced combat experience of formations, formations and units;
12) coordination of combat operations of partisan formations with Red Army formations and much more.
The Chief of the General Staff was not just a member of the Headquarters, he was its deputy chairman. In accordance with the instructions and decisions of the Supreme Command Headquarters, the Chief of the General Staff united the activities of all departments of the People's Commissariat of Defense, as well as the People's Commissariat of the Navy. Moreover, the Chief of the General Staff was given the authority to sign orders and directives of the Supreme Command Headquarters, as well as give orders on behalf of the Headquarters. Throughout the war, the Chief of the General Staff reported the military-strategic situation in the theaters of military operations and the General Staff's proposals personally to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The Chief of the Operations Directorate of the General Staff (Vasilevsky A.M., Shtemenko S.M.) also reported to the Supreme Commander on the situation at the fronts. During the Great Patriotic War, the General Staff was successively headed by four military leaders - Marshals of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov, B.M. Shaposhnikov, A.M. Vasilevsky. and Army General Antonov A.I.
Improvement organizational structure The General Staff was carried out throughout the war, as a result of which the General Staff became a control body capable of quickly and adequately responding to changes in the situation on the fronts. During the Second World War, necessary changes took place in management. In particular, directions were created for each active front consisting of the head of the direction, his deputy and 5-10 officer-operators. In addition, a corps of officers representing the General Staff was created. It was intended to maintain continuous communication with the troops, verify the execution of directives, orders and orders of the highest command authorities, provide the General Staff with prompt and accurate information about the situation, as well as to provide timely assistance to headquarters and troops.
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An emergency situation developed in the country when the question of the very existence of the Soviet state arose.
All the changes in the control system could not solve the wartime problems. Therefore, along with traditional forms of power and management, with the beginning of the war, special emergency bodies with special powers were created. These bodies were extraordinary because, firstly, their creation was not provided for by the Constitution of the USSR; secondly, their powers were higher than those of the constitutional bodies of power and administration. Already in the first days of the war, the inadequacy of the measures taken to repel aggression became visible. www.briefeducation.ru
The need to concentrate all power in one hand became obvious, where there would be no division into party, state and military bodies, where any management issues would be resolved quickly and authoritatively. Such a body became the State Defense Committee (GKO), created by a joint resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on June 30, 1941. Initially, the State Defense Committee included 5 people, and then was expanded to 9 people, and to at the end of the war it was reduced to 8. The State Defense Committee was headed by Stalin.
On September 17, 1941, the State Defense Committee issued a decree “On universal compulsory military training for citizens of the USSR,” according to which, from October 1, 1941, compulsory military training was introduced for all male citizens of the USSR from 16 to 50 years old. The organization of this training was entrusted to the People's Commissariat of Defense and its local authorities. As part of the People's Commissariat of Defense, it was formed Directorate of General Military Training (Vseobuch)
Through the People's Commissariat of the State Defense Committee he supervised the work government agencies and departments, and through the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, he led the armed struggle against the invaders. The State Defense Committee was abolished by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on September 4, 1945. The State Defense Committee had unlimited powers. Its composition indicated that it contained the most capable and authoritative people from the highest party and state bodies endowed with legitimate powers of power. Despite the small number of the State Defense Committee, wartime conditions did not allow it to meet regularly and in full force. Decisions were made by the chairman or deputy in agreement with other members of the State Defense Committee.
Resolutions of the State Defense Committee had the force of wartime laws. All organizations - party, Soviet, economic, public - were obliged to strictly comply with any resolutions and orders of the State Defense Committee. The Committee made do with its own small administrative apparatus. He exercised leadership through party and Soviet power structures. In the republics, territories and regions, as well as in the military and industrial people's commissariats, positions of State Defense Committee commissioners were established.
In front-line areas, by decision of the State Defense Committee, regional and city defense committees were created, which united party, Soviet and military power in the region. Their activities were subordinated to the interests of defense. They led the creation people's militia, construction of defensive structures, repair of military equipment, carried out social and educational work, established peaceful life in areas liberated from the occupiers.
The State Defense Committee created auxiliary bodies to strengthen control over certain industries of the defense complex. In July 1942, at a joint meeting of the Politburo and the State Defense Committee, the Transport Committee
This committee became a unified management body for all types of transport. He mobilized the resources of the country’s railway workers, watermen, and aviators, and ensured the interaction of all links transport system. The Transport Committee included the People's Commissars of Railways, the Sea and River Fleet, and representatives of the People's Commissariat of Defense. In December 1942 it was created Operations Bureau
GKO. This body monitored the work of the industrial and transport people's commissariats, drew up monthly and quarterly production plans for the most important industries, and monitored the timely supply of metals, coal, oil, and electricity. The Operations Bureau also took over the functions of the abolished Transport Committee.
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The structure of the bodies of state power and administration of the USSR was characterized during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) by the coexistence of constitutional and emergency bodies of power and administration. The emergence of the latter was associated, first of all, with the urgent need to make operational decisions.
Among the unconstitutional, emergency authorities, the main role was played by the State Defense Committee (GKO), created on June 30, 1941. It was headed by I.V. Stalin, who shortly before the war became Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, and soon after the start of the war headed the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, as well as the People's Commissariat of Defense. The State Defense Committee consisted of five to nine people who were members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and at the same time were Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. The concentration of party-state power and its personalization thus reached its apogee. The State Defense Committee had all the power in the country. Its decisions, according to wartime laws, were subject to unquestioning implementation by all government bodies and citizens of the USSR. The State Defense Committee acted through authorized representatives and existing authorities. In some cases, to solve important and specific military problems (for example, organizing evacuation), special bodies were formed under the State Defense Committee.
A significant number of emergency authorities for the purpose of operational management of specific areas government activities was created under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. To guide the mobilization of the working population, the Committee on Accounting and Distribution was created in June 1941 work force under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Under the Council of People's Commissars of the union and autonomous republics, regional and regional executive committees, bureaus for accounting and distribution of labor were created. In 1943, a Committee was established under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation. In November 1942, an Extraordinary State Commission was created to establish and investigate the atrocities of the German fascist invaders and their accomplices.
Emergency bodies of power and administration are also appearing locally. All power in the field of defense, ensuring public order and state security in areas declared under martial law was transferred to the military councils of fronts, armies and military districts. The military authorities were given the right to involve the population in labor service, confiscate personal property of citizens for military needs, regulate the work of institutions and enterprises, establish standards for the supply of goods to the population, conduct searches and detain suspicious persons, and expel “socially dangerous” citizens in an administrative manner. The military authorities issued mandatory decrees for the population, for failure to comply with which the perpetrators were held accountable in the form of imprisonment for up to six months.
In some front-line cities, city defense committees were created. Their chairmen were the first secretaries of regional or city party committees. It included representatives of local Soviet, party bodies, the NKVD and the military command. Local defense committees not only had all the rights of local councils, but also had the right to declare cities under a state of siege, impose a curfew, manage the construction of defensive structures, form militia units, and manage the city's industry. If a city was declared under a state of siege, military authorities received the right to hand over the perpetrators to a military tribunal or shoot on the spot.
The difficult situation in the initial period of the war led to some organizational changes in order to strengthen and centralize the leadership of internal affairs and state security agencies.
On July 20, 1941, the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On the unification of the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR and the People’s Commissariat of State Security of the USSR into a single People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR” was issued.
The third directorates and departments of the NKO and NK of the USSR Navy were again transformed into Special Departments and returned to the NKVD system.
By 1943, the situation on the Soviet-German front had radically changed in favor of the USSR. The German command tried to compensate for its failures in open armed struggle by intensifying espionage and sabotage activities.
The need to inflict a crushing defeat on the enemy on the “secret” front, as well as the peculiarities of the activities of the internal affairs bodies in the conditions of liberation of the territory of the USSR from occupation, required further organizational and legal changes. On April 14, 1943, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR again divided the NKVD into two independent people's commissariats: the NKVD of the USSR (People's Commissar L.P. Beria) and the NKGB of the USSR (People's Commissar V.N. Merkulov), and the State Defense Committee decided to reorganize the Special departments of the NKVD in the Counterintelligence Directorate “Smersh” of the NPO and the NK of the USSR Navy.
The war greatly complicated and increased the volume of work performed by the NKVD. In this regard, the military-political leadership of the USSR adopted the necessary legal acts. Thus, by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated June 25, 1941, the protection of the rear of the active army (the fight against spies, saboteurs, deserters, alarmists) was entrusted to special formations of the NKVD troops. Under the NKVD of the USSR, the Main Directorate of Rear Security Troops of the active army was created, and at each front - the Directorate of Rear Security Troops, subordinate to the front command and its department. According to individual decisions of the State Defense Committee, many formations and units for the active army were created on the basis of the NKVD troops. For example, only in July 1941, the NKVD of the USSR formed and transferred 15 rifle divisions to the Red Army. In front-line cities, police personnel were united into battalions and regiments for direct participation in hostilities. As is known, in the pre-war years one of the leading functions of the NKVD of the USSR was the organization of the use of prison labor in various industries National economy. In this regard, the People's Commissariat turned into the largest industrial department.
The emergency wartime situation showed the effectiveness of the pre-war organizational forms of building the Soviet police, so there was no need to carry out any significant restructuring of the apparatus. As before the war, the highest authority was the Main Police Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR. The People's Commissariats of Internal Affairs of the Union and Autonomous Republics had police departments, their chiefs were simultaneously deputy People's Commissars of Internal Affairs.
During the war, the police were assigned additional responsibilities:
Combating the spread of provocative rumors;
Labor and military desertion;
Ensuring organized evacuation of the population, industrial enterprises, food supplies and other material assets;
Combating looting;
Mobilization Vehicle for the needs of the Red Army; registration and mobilization of those liable for military service;
Organization of destruction battalions, etc.
hspace=12>With the beginning of the war, the organization and activities of the Soviet judicial and prosecutorial bodies were restructured in accordance with the tasks defined in the Directive of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee
The judicial and prosecutorial authorities, together with other law enforcement agencies, pledged to wage a merciless fight against traitors to the Motherland, spies and saboteurs, deserters and alarmists, and against everyone who interfered with the defense of the Fatherland.
The main feature of conducting an investigation under war conditions was efficiency. Wartime laws established shortened periods (up to 1-3 days) for the investigation of criminal cases.
A significant feature of the development of criminal law during the war years was the institution of responsibility under the laws of war, which was characterized, first of all, by the strengthening of criminal penalties for the most dangerous crimes in wartime conditions.
At the beginning of the war, the Supreme Court of the USSR gave a fundamentally important clarification “On the procedure for considering cases against persons who committed crimes in areas temporarily occupied by the enemy” on December 11, 1941. The temporary occupation did not repeal or suspend the operation of Soviet laws, therefore “responsibility citizens who committed crimes in areas temporarily occupied by the enemy, or in the front line and were evacuated from these areas, is determined by the criminal legislation of the union republic at the place where the crime was committed.” It is also worth pointing out the extraordinary criminal legal measures to strengthen the combat capability of active-duty army personnel, which were used during the Great Patriotic War. The fact is that already in the first months of the war, the military-political leadership of the USSR was convinced of the fallacy of the policy of conducting military operations “with little blood and on foreign territory.” The Red Army was forced to repeatedly retreat and defend itself and at the same time suffered significant losses in manpower, including due to its capture. According to available information, during the war years, about 6 million military personnel of the Soviet armed forces were captured, of which over 3 million were captured in 1941 alone. The State Defense Committee, concerned about the unfavorable situation at the front, adopted a special resolution on July 16, 1941. a decree that was to be read “in all companies, batteries, squadrons and air squadrons.” The resolution stated that the State Defense Committee arrested and put him on trial before a military tribunal for “inaction of the authorities, lack of administration, collapse of troop control, surrender of weapons
to the enemy without a fight and unauthorized abandonment of combat positions” 9 senior commanders and commissars of the army.
If we evaluate these documents from the point of view of the specific historical situation, then the demand to fulfill one’s military duty to the end in a difficult time for the Motherland should certainly be considered fair. At the same time, the above-mentioned resolution of the State Defense Committee and the order of the Supreme Command Headquarters, emotional calls to “punish cowards and traitors with an iron hand,” not supported by precise legal formulations, often led to unjustified repressions. Severe criminal liability was extended to family members of military personnel who were captured, which is a flagrant violation of the law.
More on the topic Features of the reorganization of the management of emergency authorities (1941-1945):
- 3. FEATURES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR (1941-1945)
- Reorganization of emergency bodies of state power (VChK - GPU - OGPU) and police
- § 3 Features of judicial administration in the conditions of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
- 8. Management body for civil defense, emergency situations and disaster relief
- Lecture 11.22. Reorganization of government bodies on the territory of Belarusian lands (mid-19th century)
State Defense Committee of the USSR
State Defense Committee(abbreviated GKO) - an emergency governing body created during the Great Patriotic War, which had full power in the USSR. The need for creation became obvious as a result of the crisis, which was caused by the confusion of the then management system. Stalin and the Politburo actually headed the state and made all decisions. But formally, these decisions came from the Presidium of the Supreme Council, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, etc. Such bureaucracy created difficulties during the war and it was decided to eliminate it by creating the State Defense Committee.
Education GKO
Composition of GKOs
Initially (based on the joint Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated June 30, see below) the composition of the State Defense Committee was as follows:
- Chairman of the State Defense Committee - J.V. Stalin.
- Deputy Chairman of the State Defense Committee - V. M. Molotov.
State Defense Decrees
The first decree of the State Defense Committee (“On organizing the production of medium tanks T-34 at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant”) was issued on July 1, the last (No. 9971 “On payment for the balances of incomplete ammunition elements accepted from industry and located at the bases of the NKO USSR and NKVMF” ) - 4 September . The numbering of resolutions remained continuous.
Of these almost ten thousand decisions, 98 documents and three more remain partially classified at present.
Most of the GKO resolutions were signed by its chairman, Stalin, some also by his deputy Molotov and GKO members Mikoyan and Beria.
The State Defense Committee did not have its own apparatus; its decisions were prepared in the relevant people's commissariats and departments, and paperwork was carried out by the Special Sector of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks.
The overwhelming majority of GKO resolutions were classified as “Secret”, “Top Secret” or “Top Secret/Especially Important” (designation “s”, “ss” and “ss/s” after the number), but some resolutions were open and published in the press (an example of such a resolution is GKO Resolution No. 813 of October 19, 1941 on the introduction of a state of siege in Moscow).
The vast majority of GKO resolutions concerned topics related to the war:
- evacuation of population and industry (during the first period of the Great Patriotic War);
- mobilization of industry, production of weapons and ammunition;
- handling captured weapons and ammunition;
- studying and exporting to the USSR captured samples of technology, industrial equipment, reparations (for final stage war);
- organization of combat operations, distribution of weapons, etc.;
- appointment of authorized representatives of State Defense Committees;
- about the beginning of “work on uranium” (the creation of nuclear weapons);
- structural changes in the GKO itself.
GKO structure
The State Defense Committee included several structural divisions. During its existence, the structure of the Committee has changed several times in order to maximize management efficiency and adapt to current conditions.
The most important unit was the Operations Bureau, created on December 8 by GKO resolution No. 2615c. The bureau included L.P. Beria, G. M. Malenkov, A. I. Mikoyan and V. M. Molotov. The actual head of the Operations Bureau was Beria. The tasks of this unit initially included coordinating and unifying the actions of all other units. On May 19, Resolution No. 5931 was adopted, by which the functions of the bureau were significantly expanded - now its tasks also included monitoring and control over the work of the people's commissariats of the defense industry, transport, metallurgy, people's commissariats of the most important areas of industry and power plants; Also, from that moment on, the Operations Bureau was responsible for supplying the army; finally, it was entrusted with the responsibilities of the Transport Committee, which was abolished by decision.
Other important divisions of the State Defense Committee were:
- Trophy Commission (created in December 1941, and on April 5 by Resolution No. 3123ss transformed into the Trophy Committee);
- Special Committee (dealt with the development of nuclear weapons).
- Special Committee (dealt with reparations issues).
- Evacuation Committee (created on June 25, 1941 by GKO Resolution No. 834, disbanded on December 25, 1941 by GKO Resolution No. 1066ss). On September 26, 1941, by GKO Resolution No. 715c, the Office for Evacuation of the Population was organized under this committee.
- Unloading Committee railways- formed on December 25, 1941 by GKO Resolution No. 1066ss, on September 14, 1942 by GKO Resolution No. 1279 it was transformed into the Transport Committee under the GKO, which existed until May 19, 1944, after which, by GKO Resolution No. 5931, the Transport Committee was abolished, and its functions were transferred to the Operations Bureau GKO;
- Evacuation Commission - (formed on June 22, 1942 by GKO Resolution No. 1922);
- Radar Council - created on July 4, 1943 by GKO Resolution No. 3686ss consisting of: Malenkov (predecessor), Arkhipov, Berg, Golovanov, Gorokhov, Danilov, Kabanov, Kobzarev, Stogov, Terentyev, Ucher, Shakhurin, Shchukin.
- A group of permanent commissioners of the State Defense Committee and permanent commissions of the State Defense Committee at the fronts.
Functions of State Bonds
The State Defense Committee managed all military and economic issues during the war. The leadership of the military operations was carried out through Headquarters.
Disbandment of the State Defense Committee
The State Defense Committee was disbanded by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated September 4.
More information on Wikisource
- Resolution of the State Defense Committee of May 30, 1942 No. 1837ss “Issues of the partisan movement”
see also
- State Defense Committee of the DPRK
Notes
External links
- Bulletin of declassified documents of federal state archives Issue 6
- List of documents of the State Defense Committee of the USSR (1941-1945)
Literature
Gorkov Yu.A. “The State Defense Committee decides (1941-1945)”, M.: Olma-Press, 2002. - 575 p. ISBN 5-224-03313-6
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See what “USSR State Defense Committee” is in other dictionaries: The State Defense Committee is an extraordinary supreme state body that concentrated all power during the Great Patriotic War. Formed on June 30, 1941. Composition: L. P. Beria, K. E. Voroshilov (until 1944), G. M. Malenkov, V. M. Molotov (deputy chairman), I. ... ...
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This term has other meanings, see State Defense Committee (meanings). Should not be confused with the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command State Defense Committee of the USSR State Defense Committee, State Defense Committee of the USSR Emblem of the Armed Forces Years of existence ... Wikipedia THE STATE DEFENSE COMMITTEE in the USSR (GKO) is an extraordinary highest state body that concentrated all power during the Great Patriotic War. Formed 30.6.1941. Composition: L. P. Beria, K. E. Voroshilov (until 1944), G. M. Malenkov, ... ...
Big Encyclopedic Dictionary- from June 30, 1941 to September 4, 1945, an extraordinary supreme state body that concentrated in its hands the fullness of legislative and executive power, effectively replacing the constitutional bodies of power and administration. Abolished due to... ... Brief dictionary of historical and legal terms
This term has other meanings, see State Defense Committee (meanings). Not to be confused with state committees and central bodies government controlled THE USSR. Not to be confused with committees at... ... Wikipedia
State Defense Committee: The State Defense Committee was created during the Great Patriotic War as an emergency governing body that had full power in the USSR. The State Defense Committee of the People's Republic of China is the highest... ... Wikipedia
The State Defense Committee (abbreviated as GKO), which was created during the Great Patriotic War and had full power in the USSR, should not be confused with the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. Necessity... ... Wikipedia
- (GKO), an extraordinary highest state body during the Great Patriotic War. Possessed all power in the country. Formed on June 30, 1941. Composition: I. V. Stalin (chairman), V. M. Molotov (deputy chairman), ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
STATE DEFENSE COMMITTEE (GOKO)- - a committee created by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Central Committee of the Party and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on June 30, 1941 in view of the current state of emergency in the country in order to quickly mobilize all the forces of the peoples of the USSR for... ... Soviet legal dictionary
