Is it true that the St. George tape was the official symbols of the Vlasovites?

In social networks, one can often find the assertion that the St. George tape during the Great Patriotic War was used as official symbols in the Russian Liberation Army and other Russian formations that fought on the side of Hitler Germany. We decided to check if this is so.

The most famous video, which spoke of the St. George tape as the Vlasov symbol is performance Alexander Nevzorov in 2014. The journalist sharply condemned the wearing of the tape and added: "General Shkuro, General Vlasov, many SS higher officials supported the cult of the St. George tape." The characteristic of the St. George tape as "Vlasov" is often found in blogs - ""VKontakte" Livejournal, on Belarusian And Ukrainian Popular sites.

In the USSR, the "Vlasovites" was Accepted Call all Russian collaborators who fought as part of the Wehrmacht and SS. But, strictly speaking, this applies only to the Russian liberation army (ROA), the formation created in the Wehrmacht at the proposal of General Andrei Vlasov. After the unsuccessful Lyuban offensive operation in July 1942, the 2nd Shock Army of the Red Army and its commander Vlasov were surrounded. In captivity, the general agreed To cooperate with the German command and began to form a ROA. But until 1943, units of the Russian Liberation Army existed only in propaganda documents, until that time the former Soviet prisoners of war did not participate in regular hostilities. They were used as auxiliary forces of the Wehrmacht to combat partisans.

In parallel with the ROA existed Other Russian units. This is the Russian Liberation People’s Army (Rona) under the command of Bronislav Kaminsky; division "Russland" (later-the 1st Russian National Army); Russian corps formed from emigrants settled in Yugoslavia; Cossack parts in the Wehrmacht and SS. In November 1944, in Prague, under the supervision of the German command, the unification meeting The Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia, which included General Vlasov with his ROA and representatives of emigrant organizations.

Each of the Russian units in the German service had its own symbolism. The distinctive sign of the Russian Liberation Army was the shield with the Andreevsky flag and the abbreviation ROA. The division "Russland" has an eight -pointed Orthodox cross, the CONR has a black St. George Cross on a white background with a red edging. Of the special orders established for the “Vlasovites”, there was only a sign of distinction for courage and merits for the eastern peoples, which was introduced in July 1942. Not a single order or a distinctive sign was even remotely similar to the St. George ribbon.

But in many photos that Appear In social networks, people are depicted in German uniform and with St. George ribbons. No regulations of the ROA and other units were provided for. However, officers, awarded before 1917, wore their orders in German uniforms. For example, on one of the photos on the chest of the head of the propaganda department of the Konr Air Force Alexander Albov, three orders with such a ribbon. Two of them - St. George, the third - sign "Ice campaign" of 1918.

There is not a single photograph of General Vlasov with the Order of St. George or with a ribbon appropriate colors. And this is not surprising: in the Red Army of him Called In 1920, in the First World War, Vlasov did not participate due to his age, so he could not be awarded the St. George Cross. It is curious that Major General Shkuro, the head of the reserve of Cossack troops at the main headquarters of the SS troops, had no crosses on the uniform. But the St. George ribbon fluttered into the hilt of his award weapon, obtained In 1914 for courage.

It turns out that the St. George tape was one of the symbols that Russian officers in the Nazi service wore. But in the same way, Soviet officers wore their old awards - both at the end of the war and after it. For example, in the photo taken in Berlin in May 1945, a playwright, writer and military correspondent Vsevolod Vishnevsky captured With all their St. George awards: a cross and two medals.

Thus, the St. George tape, which was worn by former officers and soldiers of the Russian army, no matter what side they were during the Second World War, was not a distinctive sign of the "Vlasovites" or the official symbols of collaborators. In addition, there are no documents that would confirm that General Vlasov "supported the cult of the St. George tape."

The image on the cover: Bundesarchiv

Not true

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. S. Drobyazko. Russian Liberation Army.
2. General Vlasov: The story of betrayal. Collection of documents in three volumes.