Војне и безбедносне структуре СССР у припреми партизанског ратовања до почетка Другог светског рата
Preparations of the Soviet Military and Security Institutions for the Partisan Warfare Before the World War II

Summary/Abstract: Before the Second World War European states have launched different preparations for the unconventional warfare and particularly guerrilla warfare. Partisan warfare has attained a special attention in the USSR. Russia has its own deeply rooted history of organized guerilla warfare since Peter I. Widely spread and military organized partisan operations took place during the war against Napoleon in 1812–1813 (Davydow, Seslavin, Figner ets). Theoretical approaches to the partisan warfare based by D.Davydow were developed by the later generations of imperial Russian officers. After the October revolution of 1917 Bolsheviks immediately launched a partisan war in Russia. They had got an assistance of several General Stuff officers specialized in guerilla warfare: general V.E.Borisow, general V.N.Klembovsky, Colonel P.P.Karatygin etc. Soviet military leader M.Frunze stressed the role of partisan warfare in the struggle of poorly armed but ideologically motivated masses against foreign invaders or "domestic exploitators". The theory of small war was analyzed in the monographic studies of P.P.Karatygin and M.A.Drobov. During 1924–1936 special military schools and courses prepared a big number of partisan instructors for the domestic use in case of foreign intervention and to "set ablaze" Europe and Asia. After the strengthening of Stalin's authoritarian regime military and state security schools for partisan preparations were closed. Military opposition in Red army looked dangerous for Stalin till the net of specially trained and totally anonymous subversive and guerrilla experts supported it. Last pre-war full-scale action of soviet partisan experts took place in Spain in 1936–1938. Only after the fall of the USSR soviet partisan military preparations lost the "top secret" status. The beginning of this process was based on the interviews and articles of I.Starinov (1900–2000) – one of the founders of "specnaz" and soviet subversive schools' trainer from the Civil war till late years of USSR.

• Details
• Contents