Guerrilla movement in the Karelian-Finnish SSR during the Great Patriotic War

Occupied Territories
Karelian-Finnish SSR (1941-1944)

Work on the organization of the partisan underground and partisan movement on the territory of the Karelian-Finnish SSR began in late June 1941. By August 1941, a party underground was created (124 communists consisting of 9 underground district committees) and 15 partisan detachments with a total of 1,800 people. ^[1] .

Fighter battalions became the basis for the creation of the first partisan detachments ^[2] .

In the initial period of the war (from July to December 1941), partisan detachments operated in the front line and often fought defensive battles together with units of the Red Army.

After the stabilization of the front line in December 1941, the main form of activity of the partisans is to carry out raids on the territory of Karelia occupied by the enemy, the raids continued until the summer of 1944.

At the beginning of June 1944, a special plan of combat actions by partisan detachments for the period of summer offensive operations of the Karelian Front was developed.

In June-September 1944, the Karelian partisans stepped up activity in the interests of the advancing Soviet troops.

Manual

On July 2, 1941, in accordance with the decision of the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of the Karelian-Finnish SSR, a troika was created to organize the partisan underground and the partisan movement - Central Committee Secretary A. S. Varlamov, 1st Deputy Chairman of the SNK M. Ya. Isakov and the People's Commissar of State Security M. I. Baskakov ^[2] .

• On August 6, 1941, by the decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of the Karelian-Finnish SSR, a republican headquarters was established to direct the partisan movement ^[2] .
• On October 25, 1941, the leadership of the partisan movement was assigned to the NKVD of the Karelian-Finnish Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ^[2] .
• in June - October 1942 - the direct leadership of the partisan movement was carried out by the republican headquarters of the partisan movement (RSPD) under the Military Council of the Karelian Front . Major-General S. Ya. Vershinin was appointed Chief of Staff. The location of the headquarters is Belomorsk ^[3] .
• in the period from October 1942 to April 1943 - the representation of the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement
• in the period from April 1943 to October 1944 - again Republican broadband access.

Guerrilla forces

Due to the fact that there were no bases with food and weapons in the occupied territory and the majority of the population was evacuated, guerrilla units were based in the Soviet front line, making raids from there to the rear of the enemy.

By decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of the republic of November 27, 1941, a partisan brigade was created (commander V. V. Tyden , from February 1942, I. A. Grigoriev ), which consisted of 9 detachments of a total of 1,140 men. The brigade operated until October 1942 .

In the northern sector of the Karelian Front, detachments of the Forward, the Red Partisan, the Battle Cry and the Red Onezhets detachments in January — April 1942 made 16 raids to the rear of the enemy.

In March 1942, the squad "Komsomol member of Karelia" was created, and later, during 1942, the detachments "Red Flag", "Bolshevik of the Polar Region", and "Soviet Murman" were created.

As of the beginning of 1943, 18 partisan detachments and 6 sabotage groups with a total of 1,698 fighters were operating in Karelia ^[4] .

In addition, partisan detachments from other regions of the RSFSR were operating in the occupied territory of Karelia: Murmansk , Arkhangelsk , Vologda and Leningrad .

Partisan units were replenished with patriots from the Komi ASSR , the Krasnoyarsk Territory , the Sverdlovsk , Irkutsk , Yaroslavl and other regions.

Partisan detachments of the Karelian Front (1941–1944) ^[5]

Printed publications and other forms of campaigning

The Soviet leadership attached great importance to working with the population of the occupied territories and countering enemy propaganda.

In accordance with the order of the People's Commissariat of Defense "On newspapers for the population of the occupied Soviet areas", in March 1942, two newspapers were launched for the population of the occupied territories of the Karelian-Finnish SSR: " Lenin's banner " (in Russian) and " Totuus (Pravda) " ( in Finnish) ^[8] .

Information work was based on countering the anti-Soviet propaganda of the enemy. For example, after in 1943 the occupying authorities began to disseminate vigorously by saying that “in the past [1942] year, Kalinin, speaking on the radio, allegedly stated that the Karelians and Vepsians had to prepare coffins, since the Soviet power with them will dissolve ”, on December 31, 1943, a radio message of M.I. Kalinin to the inhabitants of the Karelian-Finnish SSR took place, the text of which immediately began to be distributed throughout the republic ^[9] .

• On July 14-27, 1941, a combat group commanded by V. S. Ershov raided the occupied territory, during which two roads were mined, a warehouse with ammunition was blown up, communication lines were damaged in several places, discovered and deployed through the front line to the location of Soviet troops two wounded Soviet soldiers ^[10] .
• in August 1941, the guerrilla unit "Forward" under the command of Commissioner I. I. Vakhrameev (1916-1941) ^[11] defeated the enemy company ^[12] .
• in August-September 1941, a partisan detachment under the command of V.V. Tiden and V.I. Vasilyev made 10 raids on the occupied territory, during which two planes were shot down, 2 bridges and a fuel depot were burned, several cars and 130 enemy servicemen were destroyed ^[12] .
• in August - September 1941, a partisan detachment under the command of I.I. Karhu made a raid, during which he destroyed 2 bridges and damaged communication lines in 12 places ^[12] .
• In early September 1941, a combat group under the command of P.I. Stepanchuk (20 people) made a raid across the occupied territory, during which on September 7, 1941, several small groups of Finnish soldiers were killed in ambushes on the Samozersk road ^[13] .
• September 18 - October 16, 1941, a Prionezhsky partisan detachment under the command of F. I. Grekov made a raid on the occupied territory, reconnaissance information was collected during the raid, a highway was mined, communication lines were damaged in several places, 30 Red Army soldiers were withdrawn to the Soviet location ^[12] .
• September 26 - October 4, 1941, a combat group under the command of P. I. Stepanchuk (28 people) made a raid on the occupied territory: first in the area of ​​the village of Markelitz, then in the area of ​​the villages of Mänduselga and Yustozero (three cars were destroyed here) ^{[12 ]} .
• in December 1941, a partisan detachment under the command of F. F. Juriha defeated the battalion headquarters in the village of Rikoyarvi, here 60 enemy troops were killed ^[12] .
• On January 10, 1942, guerrillas of seven detachments conducted a large-scale operation to simultaneously crush four garrisons in the villages of Klymenitsy, Sennaya Guba, Konda, Voevnolok. As a result of the operation, 80 Finnish soldiers were killed and 15 captured, 10 machine guns and 5 light machine guns, 28 machine guns, 60 rifles, 1 radio station, two telephone switches and a lot of other military equipment were captured.
• in March 1942, partisans defeated the garrison in the village of Kentozero ^[12] .
• On October 15-19, 1942, a militant group under the command of I. S. Novoselov (18 fighters) made a raid on the occupied territory, during which on October 18, 1942 the garrison in the village of Lambasruchey was defeated - partisans defeated the headquarters, threw barracks with soldiers at grenades, shot dead the commandant appointed by the occupiers seized the captured weapons and documents and went to the location of the Soviet troops (the group lost 4 people killed) ^[14] .
• in December 1942, the Komsomol member of Karelia began the first raid, he carried out reconnaissance of the western coast of Segozer, blew up a bridge on the highway and mined a highway, and during withdrawal he gave battle to an enemy unit following in the tracks ^[6]
• On January 17, 1943, partisans of four detachments conducted a major operation to simultaneously destroy three garrisons in the villages of Lindom, Tambits-Mayak and Krestovaya Guba on the Zaonezhsky Peninsula. As a result of the operation, 245 invaders, 6 guns and 3 mortars, two radio stations, one searchlight were destroyed, 7 warehouses with food and military equipment were burned, prisoners and captured weapons were captured ^[15] .
• January 25, 1943 - partisans of the Komsomol member of Karelia and a platoon of partisans from the Burevestnik squad defeated the Finnish garrison in the village of Segezha ^[6]
• on the night of July 5-6, 1943, partisans of the Komsomol member of Karelia organized an ambush on the Kostomuksha-Kondoki road, in which a squad of 40 German soldiers was defeated and a group of Finnish cavalry arrived at the sounds of a shootout. Three horses, a radio station, small arms and documents (including a map with a printed defense scheme of the Finnish troops in the Ukhta direction) ^[6]
• In August 1944, a group of 30 partisans of the Komsomol member of Karelia squad destroyed the Finnish garrison on the Piloniemi farm. As a result of the operation, 47 Finnish soldiers were killed, 32 bicycles and a radio station were destroyed, a two-story house turned into barracks and 4 warehouses with ammunition and food were burned down. Guerrilla casualties were 3 wounded ^[6]

During the occupation, considerable forces and means were spent on fighting the Soviet partisans in the territory of Karelia; Employees of the Finnish special services , members of the army, police and security forces were involved in the fight against partisans.

If in the first days of the partisans' stay in the enemy’s rear, the approaches to the most important communications were free, then after several carried out operations the security of communications was strengthened, and later continued to increase (at the same time, security measures limited the communication capacity of the German Finnish troops on the front line) ^[16] .

• small garrisons were created with the task of protecting communications, armed mainly with rifles and machine-guns ^[16] ;
• To fight the partisans, special “ counter-partisan ” units were created, armed with rifles, machine guns and machine guns ^[16] ;
• from July 1942, the movement of trains was allowed by rail from Alakurtti - Kuoloyarvi only from 6 am to 9 pm; foot patrols of the road were established in order to detect damage to the railroad tracks, traces of sabotage and the installation of mines. In addition to foot patrols, one plane was allocated to fly around the territory in the area of ​​the railway line ^[16] ;

• along the parallel highway road, motor vehicles and carriages were allowed only from 6 am to 9 pm, and only as part of the guarded columns, the movement of single cars was prohibited. A forest was cut down on both sides of the road at a distance of 150–200 meters (so that approaches to the road were visible); at a distance of a kilometer along the road, control booths with guard stations were installed; foot patrols have been established ^[16] ;

• equestrian and foot patrols were established on the Kuusamo-Kesteng road, tankettes were involved in guarding the road in the area of ​​action of the partisans ^[16]
• on the roads Kondoki - Kostomuksha - Voknavolok, after the actions of the “Red Partisan” detachment, patrols were made by groups of hiking, horseback and cyclists ^[16] .

In 1941-1944, the partisans destroyed 13 thousand invaders and their accomplices, organized a wreck of 31 trains, blew up and burned 151 bridges, destroyed 7 aircraft, 11 armored vehicles, 34 artillery guns, 314 vehicles, and destroyed 53 enemy garrisons, destroyed 66 barracks , police posts and strong points, 1 railway station ^[17] and 78 warehouses ^[18] , disabled 250 km of telephone lines ^[19] .

In the summer of 1944, after the onset of the Karelian Front , the Karelian Soviet partisans assisted the troops of the 32nd Army , conducting reconnaissance in the interests of the attacking units, acting as guides, attacking enemy communications, destroying communication lines, and fighting for the liberation of settlements. In total, the partisans liberated and held 11 settlements until the approach of the Soviet troops ^[20] .

For military merits, 1739 partisans were awarded orders and medals, and the underground activists Maria Melentyeva and Anna Lisitsyna were posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union .

Out of 85 thousand Soviet citizens who remained in the occupied territory of Karelia in 1941-1944, over 20 thousand inhabitants were imprisoned in concentration, resettlement and labor camps, 7 thousand of them died ^[21] .

In the fight against the invaders, many organizers, leaders and members of the underground were killed (P. I. Bogdanov, V. I. Boshakov, M. M. Delyaev, M. A. Ershov, Ya. V. Efimov, T. A. Kuyvonen, L V. Mastinen, F. F. Timoskainen , G. D. Ignatova, O. E. Filippova , V. A. Kuzmin, U. P. Kuzmina, A. M. Zvezdina , P. M. Peckiev and others).

In 1999, Finland demanded that the prosecutor’s office of the Republic of Karelia issue to the Finnish side the list of partisan veterans who in Finland “will be tried by a competent court” ^[22] .

• On June 22, 2003 in Petrozavodsk a monument was opened to the “Soldiers, Partisans and Underground Workers of the Karelian Front” ^[23]
• Military memorial complex of the Karelian Front in Petrozavodsk
• “Karelian Partisans” - wooden sculpture, sculptor Yu. O. Rautainen

• Karelian-Finnish SSR during the Great Patriotic War

Literature

• The partisan movement in Karelia // The Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945 : Encyclopedia / ed. M.M. Kozlov . - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia , 1985. - P. 534. - 500 000 copies.
• In the rear of the enemy. Leaflets of party organizations and partisans of the period of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. M., 1962.
• I.S. Yakovlev. In the forests of Karelia // Soviet partisans: from the history of the partisan movement in the years of the Great Patriotic War / ed. VE Bystrov, ed. Z. N. Politov. M., Gospolitizdat, 1961. p. 671-709
• A. A. Shpak. The feat of youth: Komsomol of Karelia in the Great Patriotic War. 4th ed., Rev. and add. - Petrozavodsk, 1984. - 254 p.
• History of Karelia from ancient times to the present day / Nauch. ed. N. A. Korablyov, V. G. Makurov, Yu. A. Savvateev, M. I. Shumilov. - Petrozavodsk: Periodicals, 2001. - 944 pp., Ill. ISBN 5-88170-049-X
• Guerrilla war in Karelia. - Petrozavodsk, 2005. - 123 p.
• K. V. Gnetnev * Secrets of the Forest War: Partisan War in Karelia, 1941-1944, in memoirs, photos and documents. - Petrozavodsk: Islands, 2007. - 415 p. ISBN 978-5-98686-009-1

Memories of members of the partisan movement

• MF Korolev. In the forests of Kalevala: Notes of the partisan detachment commissar. - Vologda, 1960. - 200 p.
• G. A. Gerasimov. Unforgettable: Memories of the Great Patriotic War. - Petrozavodsk, 1967
• G. N. Kupriyanov . Behind the line of the Karelian front. 2nd ed., Rev. and add. - Petrozavodsk, Karelia, 1979. - 272 pages.
• Battle Friends: Memories / Ed. D.A. Gusarov. Petrozavodsk, Karelia, 1983. - 158 pp., Ill.
• G. A. Gerasimov Guerrilla kilometers. - Petrozavodsk, 1982
• A. A. Charkov. "Petrel" goes to the raid. Irkutsk, East Siberian Prince. publishing house, 1985. - 176 p., ill.
• M.V. Medvedev. "Battle cry" in the rear of the enemy. 2nd ed., Trans. and add. Petrozavodsk, Karelia, 1987. - 151 p.
• For native Karelia. / Sat, resp. ed. K.A. Morozov. Petrozavodsk, Karelia, 1990. - 328 p.

• The first partisan year (on materials of the NKVD)