1. Soviet-Polish war, 1920 It began on April 25, 1920 with a surprise attack by Polish troops, who had more than a two-fold advantage in manpower (148 thousand people versus 65 thousand for the Red Army). By the beginning of May, the Polish army reached Pripyat and the Dnieper and occupied Kyiv. In May-June, positional battles began, in June-August the Red Army went on the offensive, carried out a number of successful operations (the May operation, the Kiev operation, the Novograd-Volyn operation, the July operation, the Rivne operation) and reached Warsaw and Lvov. But such a sharp breakthrough resulted in a separation from supply units and convoys. The First Cavalry Army found itself face to face with superior enemy forces. Having lost many people as prisoners, the Red Army units were forced to retreat. Negotiations began in October, which five months later ended with the signing of the Riga Peace Treaty, according to which the territories of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were torn away from the Soviet state.
2. Sino-Soviet conflict, 1929 Provoked by the Chinese military on July 10, 1929. In violation of the 1924 agreement on the joint use of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which was built at the end of the 19th century by the Russian Empire, the Chinese side seized it and arrested over 200 citizens of our country. After this, the Chinese concentrated a 132,000-strong group in close proximity to the borders of the USSR. Violations of Soviet borders and shelling of Soviet territory began. After unsuccessful attempts to peacefully achieve mutual understanding and resolve the conflict, the Soviet government was forced to take measures to protect the territorial integrity of the country. In August, the Special Far Eastern Army was created under the command of V.K. Blucher, which in October, together with the Amur military flotilla, defeated groupings of Chinese troops in the areas of the cities of Lakhasusu and Fugdin and destroyed the enemy’s Sungari flotilla. In November, the successful Manchu-Zhalaynor and Mishanfu operations were carried out, during which the first Soviet T-18 (MS-1) tanks were used for the first time. On December 22, the Khabarovsk Protocol was signed, which restored the previous status quo.
3. Armed conflict with Japan at Lake Khasan, 1938 Provoked by the Japanese aggressors. Having concentrated 3 infantry divisions, a cavalry regiment and a mechanized brigade in the area of Lake Khasan, the Japanese aggressors at the end of June 1938 captured the Bezymyannaya and Zaozernaya heights, which were of strategic importance for the area. On August 6-9, Soviet troops, with the forces of 2 rifle divisions and a mechanized brigade advanced to the conflict area, knocked out the Japanese from these heights. On August 11, hostilities ceased. The pre-conflict status quo was established.
4. Armed conflict on the Khalkhin Gol River, 1939 On July 2, 1939, after numerous provocations that began in May, Japanese troops (38 thousand people, 310 guns, 135 tanks, 225 aircraft) invaded Mongolia with the goal of seizing a bridgehead on the western bank of Khalkhin Gol and subsequently defeating the Soviet group opposing them (12.5 thousand people, 109 guns, 186 tanks, 266 armored vehicles, 82 aircraft). During three days of fighting, the Japanese were defeated and driven back to the eastern bank of the river.
In August, the Japanese 6th Army (75 thousand people, 500 guns, 182 tanks), supported by over 300 aircraft, was deployed in the Khalkhin Gol area. Soviet-Mongolian troops (57 thousand people, 542 guns, 498 tanks, 385 armored vehicles) with the support of 515 aircraft on August 20, forestalling the enemy, went on the offensive, surrounded and by the end of the month destroyed the Japanese group. Air combat continued until September 15. The enemy lost 61 thousand people killed, wounded and prisoners, 660 aircraft, the Soviet-Mongolian troops lost 18, 5 thousand killed and wounded and 207 aircraft.
This conflict seriously undermined Japan's military power and showed its government the futility of a large-scale war against our country.
5. Liberation campaign in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus. The collapse of Poland, this “ugly brainchild of the Versailles system,” created the preconditions for the reunification of Western Ukrainian and Western Belarusian lands, seized in the 1920s, with our country. On September 17, 1939, troops of the Belarusian and Kyiv special military districts crossed the former state border, reached the line of the Western Bug and San rivers and occupied these areas. During the campaign there were no major clashes with Polish troops.
In November 1939, the lands of Ukraine and Belarus, liberated from the Polish yoke, were accepted into our state.
This campaign contributed to strengthening the defense capability of our country.
6. Soviet-Finnish war. It began on November 30, 1939 after numerous unsuccessful attempts to achieve the signing of a territory exchange agreement between the USSR and Finland. According to this agreement, an exchange of territories was envisaged - the USSR would transfer part of Eastern Karelia to Finland, and Finland would lease the Hanko Peninsula, some islands in the Gulf of Finland and the Karelian Isthmus to our country. All this was vital to ensure the defense of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). However, the Finnish government refused to sign such an agreement. Moreover, the Finnish government began to organize provocations at the border. The USSR was forced to defend itself, as a result of which on November 30 the Red Army crossed the border and entered the territory of Finland. The leadership of our country expected that within three weeks the Red Army would enter Helsinki and occupy the entire territory of Finland. However, a fleeting war did not work out - the Red Army stalled in front of the “Mannerheim Line” - a well-fortified strip of defensive structures. And only on February 11, after the reorganization of the troops and after strong artillery preparation, the Mannerheim line was broken through, and the Red Army began to develop a successful offensive. On March 5, Vyborg was occupied, and on March 12, an agreement was signed in Moscow, according to which all the territories required by the USSR were part of it. Our country received a lease on the Hanko Peninsula for the construction of a naval base, the Karelian Isthmus with the city of Vyborg, and the city of Sortavala in Karelia. The city of Leningrad was now reliably protected.
7. Great Patriotic War, 1941-45. It began on June 22, 1941 with a sudden attack by the troops of Germany and its satellites (190 divisions, 5.5 million people, 4,300 tanks and assault guns, 47.2 thousand guns, 4,980 combat aircraft), which were opposed by 170 Soviet divisions, 2 brigades, numbering 2 million 680 thousand people, 37.5 thousand guns and mortars, 1475 T-34 and KV 1 tanks and over 15 thousand tanks of other models). At the first, most difficult stage of the war (June 22, 1941 - November 18, 1942), Soviet troops were forced to retreat. In order to increase the combat effectiveness of the armed forces, 13 ages were mobilized, new formations and units were formed, and a people's militia was created.
In border battles in Western Ukraine, Western Belarus, the Baltic States, Karelia, and the Arctic, Soviet troops bled the enemy's strike forces dry and managed to significantly slow down the enemy's advance. The main events unfolded in the Moscow direction, where, in the battles for Smolensk that unfolded in August, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive and forced German troops to go on the defensive for the first time in World War II. The battle for Moscow, which began on September 30, 1941, ended in early 1942 with the complete defeat of the German forces advancing on the capital. Until December 5, Soviet troops fought defensive battles, holding back and crushing selected German divisions. On December 5-6, the Red Army launched a counteroffensive and pushed the enemy back 150-400 kilometers from the capital.
The successful Tikhvin operation was carried out on the northern flank, which contributed to the diversion of German forces from Moscow, and the Rostov offensive operation was carried out in the south. The Soviet army began to wrest the strategic initiative from the hands of the Wehrmacht, but it finally passed to our army on November 19, 1942, when the offensive at Stalingrad began, ending in the encirclement and defeat of the 6th German army.
In 1943, as a result of the fighting on the Kursk Bulge, Army Group Center was significantly defeated. As a result of the offensive that began, by the fall of 1943, Left Bank Ukraine and its capital, the city of Kyiv, were liberated.
The next year, 1944, was marked by the completion of the liberation of Ukraine, the liberation of Belarus, the Baltic states, the entry of the Red Army to the border of the USSR, the liberation of Sofia, Belgrade and some other European capitals. The war was inexorably approaching Germany. But before its victorious end in May 1945, there were also battles for Warsaw, Budapest, Koenigsberg, Prague and Berlin, where on May 8, 1945, the act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed, putting an end to the most terrible war in the history of our country. A war that claimed the lives of 30 million of our compatriots.
8. Soviet-Japanese War, 1945 On August 9, 1945, the USSR, faithful to its allied duty and obligations, began a war against imperialist Japan. Conducting an offensive on a front of over 5 thousand kilometers, Soviet troops, in cooperation with the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Military Flotilla, defeated the Kwantung Army. Having advanced 600-800 kilometers. They liberated Northeast China, North Korea, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The enemy lost 667 thousand people, and our country returned what rightfully belonged to it - South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, which are strategic territories for our country.
9.War in Afghanistan, 1979-89. The last war in the history of the Soviet Union was the war in Afghanistan, which began on December 25, 1979 and was caused not only by our country’s obligation under the Soviet-Afghan treaty, but also by the objective need to protect our strategic interests in the Central Asian region.
Until mid-1980, Soviet troops did not directly participate in hostilities, being engaged only in protecting important strategic facilities and escorting convoys with national economic cargo. However, with the increase in the intensity of hostilities, the Soviet military contingent was forced to be drawn into battle. To suppress the rebels, large military operations were carried out in different provinces of Afghanistan, in particular, in Panjshir against the gangs of the field commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, to unblock a large provincial center - the city of Khost and others.
Soviet troops courageously completed all the tasks that were assigned to them. They left Afghanistan on February 15, 1989, leaving with banners flying, music and marches. They left as winners.
10. Undeclared wars of the USSR. In addition to the above, parts of our armed forces took part in local conflicts in hot spots of the world, defending their strategic interests. Here is a list of countries and conflicts. Where our soldiers participated:
Chinese Civil War: from 1946 to 1950.
Fighting in North Korea from Chinese territory: from June 1950 to July 1953.
Fighting in Hungary: 1956
Fighting in Laos:
from January 1960 to December 1963;
from August 1964 to November 1968;
from November 1969 to December 1970.
Fighting in Algeria:
1962 - 1964.
Caribbean crisis:
Fighting in Czechoslovakia:
Fighting on Damansky Island:
March 1969.
Combat operations in the area of Lake Zhalanashkol:
August 1969.
Fighting in Egypt (United Arab Republic):
from October 1962 to March 1963;
June 1967;
from March 1969 to July 1972;
Fighting in the Yemen Arab Republic:
from October 1962 to March 1963 and
from November 1967 to December 1969.
Combat in Vietnam:
from January 1961 to December 1974.
Fighting in Syria:
June 1967;
March - July 1970;
September - November 1972;
October 1973.
Fighting in Mozambique:
1967 - 1969;
Fighting in Cambodia:
April - December 1970.
Fighting in Bangladesh:
1972 - 1973.
Fighting in Angola:
from November 1975 to November 1979.
Fighting in Ethiopia:
from December 1977 to November 1979.
Fighting in Syria and Lebanon:
June 1982.
In all these conflicts, our soldiers showed themselves to be courageous, selfless sons of their Fatherland. Many of them died defending our country on the distant approaches to it from the encroachments of dark enemy forces. And it is not their fault that the line of confrontation now runs through the Caucasus, Central Asia and other regions of the former Great Empire.
And today let’s remember the wars in which the USSR stuck “its nose” and its soldiers during such a short history by historical standards.
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As a basis for the list of states, territories and periods of military operations of the Soviet Union, we will take the Appendix to the Russian Federal Law “On Veterans” No. 5-FZ of January 12, 1995. In which the former RSFSR officially recognizes the participation of the USSR in the period from 1920 to 1989 in 43 foreign military conflicts on the territory of 20 countries (not counting the Great Patriotic War, as well as military operations conducted exclusively on Soviet territory).
Of course, this list is incomplete and many armed conflicts involving the Soviet military were not included in it (for example, the entry of troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968). Data on the figures of Soviet losses are given mainly from the book of Colonel General G.F. Krivosheev “Russia and the USSR in the wars of the 20th century”, although they can hardly be completely trusted.
Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939)
The first lost foreign war, in which the USSR helped one of the parties with military and material assistance, and active Soviet military personnel in the form of “volunteers.”
The Soviet Union sent about 3,000 such “volunteers” to Spain: military advisers, pilots, tank crews, anti-aircraft gunners, sailors and other specialists, of whom 189 people died or went missing. (excluding losses among civilian Soviet specialists).
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Fighting against Japan:
— combat operations in the area of Lake Khasan from July 29 to August 11, 1938;
- combat operations on the Khalkhin Gol River from May 11 to September 16, 1939;
- Soviet-Japanese war from August 9, 1945 to September 3, 1945.
In the first half of the 20th century, there were 3 major military clashes between the USSR and Japan, starting with the Russian-Japanese conflict on Lake Khasan and ending with the Soviet “blitzkrieg” of 1945.
The main cause of these conflicts was the territorial issue (not only of the USSR, but also of Mongolia), which was resolved in favor of the Soviet Union with the following official losses: 960 Soviet soldiers died and went missing on Lake Khasan; on the Khalkhin Gol River the USSR lost 9,831 soldiers; in the Russo-Japanese War, irretrievable Soviet losses amounted to 12,031 people.
Fighting in and against China:
- from August 1924 to July 1927;
- October - November 1929;
- from July 1937 to September 1944;
- July - September 1945;
- from March 1946 to April 1949;
- March - May 1950 (for personnel of the air defense force group);
— in the area of Damansky Island: March 1969;
— in the area of Lake Zhalanashkol: August 1969.
Since 1924, the Chinese Eastern Railway has been the subject of a dispute between the USSR and China; during the largest Soviet-Chinese military conflict on the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1929, the USSR lost 281 military personnel killed. Minor conflicts around the CER continued until 1931, when the USSR sold the railway to China.
From 1924 to 1950, the USSR provided military assistance to the Chinese communists in the Chinese Civil War. Official data on Soviet losses are available only for the Third Stage of the Civil War from 1946 to 1950 - during this period, 936 Soviet military personnel died in China or died from wounds and illnesses.
At the end of the 1950s, the political situation changed, and Soviet military personnel began to die at the hands of yesterday’s allies: during the border conflict on Damansky Island, 58 Soviet border guards were killed and 94 were wounded; During the border conflict in the area of Lake Zhalanashkol, 2 servicemen were killed and 10 were wounded.
Korean War (from June 1950 to July 1953)
Before the war, started by North Korea with financial and military support from the USSR with the goal of unifying the Korean Peninsula, there were 4,293 Soviet specialists in the DPRK, including 4,020 military personnel. The Soviet 64th Fighter Aviation Corps took direct part in the battles from November 1950 to July 1953, the approximate strength of which in 1952 reached almost 26 thousand people.
For the USSR, this war was unsuccessful - economically it became a burden for the Soviet national economy, and the goal was never achieved, the unification of the Korean Peninsula did not occur, the borders of the parts of Korea remained practically unchanged. Soviet losses in that war amounted to 315 people (of which 120 were pilots).
Suppression of the Hungarian Uprising (1956)
To suppress the Hungarian uprising, over 40 thousand Soviet troops were brought into the country, of which 669 people were killed, 51 were missing, and 1,540 were wounded. Persons who participated in the suppression of the Hungarian uprising have the status of “Veteran of the Great Patriotic War” in Russia.
However, all Soviet military personnel who took part in all of the above wars and armed conflicts are considered veterans of the Great Patriotic War. Persons who took part in the wars and hostilities listed below have a lower status of “Combat Veteran” in Russia.
Vietnam War (from January 1961 to December 1974)
The decision to provide large-scale military-technical assistance to Vietnam was made by the Soviet leadership in 1965, and according to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexei Kosygin, it cost the Soviet Union 1.5 million rubles per day.
According to the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, during the period from July 1965 to December 1974, a total of 6,359 generals and officers and more than 4.5 thousand conscript soldiers and sergeants were sent to Vietnam as Soviet military specialists. In addition, the work of the 319th separate Red Banner Helicopter Regiment in Vietnam in 1961, and the 339th Military Transport Aviation Regiment in 1964, from 1961 to 1964, are officially recognized. crews of the 11th separate air defense army
Direct participation in hostilities is officially recognized only by crews of anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM). According to the GOU of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, Soviet losses in Vietnam for the period from July 1965 to December 1974 amounted to 16 people.
Civil War in Laos (1960-1973)
It was fought between the Laotian monarchy, supported by the United States and South Vietnam, and the partisans, who received assistance from the USSR and North Vietnam. In December 1960, two Soviet military transport aviation squadrons were urgently sent to Vietnam to supply the Laotian partisans with weapons, ammunition, fuel and food, military advisers and instructors.
According to official data from the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, in 1961-1962 and 1974-1991, 1,840 Soviet army personnel visited Laos, of which 5 died. The following periods are counted as participation in hostilities in Laos:
- from January 1960 to December 1963;
- from August 1964 to November 1968;
- from November 1969 to December 1970.
Demining Algeria(1962 - 1964)
During the war for Algerian independence from France (1954-1962), and in subsequent years, the USSR provided military and political assistance to the Algerian partisans. After the war, the Algerian government turned to the USSR with a request to provide assistance in clearing mines in the country, and a large group of Soviet sappers was sent to Algeria.
The Soviet military cleared about 1.5 million mines, cleared more than 800 km of mine-explosive strips and cleared 120 thousand hectares of land. Irreversible Soviet losses during mine clearance amounted to 25 people.
Fighting in Egypt (United Arab Republic):
Egypt began to occupy an important place in the foreign policy of the USSR since 1955, when a Group of Soviet military specialists was stationed in the country, and since 1967 also a military contingent. And until 1972, Soviet military personnel took part in all the wars fought by Egypt.
Russia has recognized the direct participation of Soviet military personnel and units of the USSR Armed Forces in hostilities on Egyptian territory during the following periods:
- from October 1962 to March 1963(Military coup in Yemen with the participation of Egyptian military and Soviet military experts). Result: victory of the pro-Soviet Republicans.
- from June 1974 to February 1975(Demining of the Suez Canal zone by minesweepers of the Black Sea and Pacific fleets).
Arab-Israeli conflicts:
- June 1967;
- 1968;
- from March 1969 to July 1972;
- from October 1973 to March 1974.
The total number of Soviet military personnel who have visited Egypt since 1955 is unknown, but it is reported that in 1972-1973 about 20 thousand Soviet military personnel were withdrawn from Egypt. There is also no official data on Soviet losses in Egypt over the years.
Civil war in the Yemen Arab Republic:
- from October 1962 to March 1963;
- from November 1967 to December 1969.
Having become an ally of Egypt, the Soviet Union was drawn on its side into the civil war in Yemen, where in 1963 there were already 547 Soviet military specialists. Soviet transport aircraft with Egyptian Air Force markings were used to transport weapons from Egypt to Yemen.
Soviet losses in that war: 2 military advisers in Yemen and 8 crew members of one of the planes in Egypt, which crashed during takeoff.
Civil War in Mozambique:
— 1967 - 1969;
- from November 1975 to November 1979;
- from March 1984 to August 1988.
In 1964, the country began an armed struggle against the Portuguese colonialists, which in 1976 escalated into a civil war that lasted until 1992. The USSR supported the ruling party FRELIMO, which proclaimed a course towards building socialism.
Mozambique received material assistance, military equipment, weapons and specialists from the USSR, of which the death of 8 military advisers and translators was officially recognized.
Cambodian campaign (April - December 1970)
In 1970, a coup d'etat took place in Cambodia (in the Union it was called Kampuchea), Prince Sihanouk was removed from power, Cambodia was invaded by American and South Vietnamese troops, who were opposed by anti-government communist forces (NEFC) and North Vietnamese troops supported by the USSR and China.
The USSR supplied Cambodia with Soviet-made equipment and weapons, military specialists and advisers, until Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge came to power. There is no data on the number and possible losses among Soviet citizens in Cambodia.
Trawling and ship lifting in Bangladesh (1972 - 1973)
During the armed conflict between India and Pakistan in 1971. On the site of East Pakistan, the state of Bangladesh arose, which turned to the USSR with a request to help free the country's ports from mines and sunken ships.
To carry out this work, a special-purpose expedition EON-12 was formed, consisting of ships and auxiliary vessels of the USSR Navy, which was engaged in the destruction of mines and the recovery of ships. One sailor died.
Civil War in Angola (from November 1975 to November 1992)
After the end of the Angolan War of Independence, the country began a civil war that lasted from 1975 to 2002. USSR and Cuba The USSR supported the MPLA (a party of Marxist orientation), which they helped maintain in power in Angola until 1992.
In addition to material and military assistance, a Soviet naval base and three radar stations were stationed in the country. Soviet marine units were deployed to guard these facilities. From 1975 to 1991, 10,985 Soviet military personnel visited Angola, the USSR's losses were 54 dead, ten wounded and one prisoner (according to other sources, three people were captured).
Fighting in Ethiopia (from December 1977 to November 1990)
In the second half of the twentieth century, several military operations took place simultaneously in Ethiopia: a civil war (1974-1991), a war with Somalia (1977-1978), and a war for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia (1961-1993). Soviet military assistance to Ethiopia at this time was so impressive that it gave rise to some foreign military experts to call it “military intervention.”
In 1977-1978, Soviet military transport aviation established an air bridge with Ethiopia, for the smooth operation of which 225 aircraft were involved. The transfer of military equipment and weapons was also carried out by Soviet warships and transports.
From 1975 to 1991, 11,143 Soviet military personnel were sent to Ethiopia through the 10th Main Directorate of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces alone. Of which 79 people were killed (2 generals, 69 officers, 4 warrant officers and 4 privates), 9 people were wounded, five were missing, three were captured.
Lebanon War (June 1982)
In the summer of 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon to stop terrorist attacks by the Palestine Liberation Organization, which resulted in the fifth Arab-Israeli war involving Syria. According to information from Colonel General G.P. Yashkin, who was the chief military adviser and adviser to the Minister of Defense in 1980-1984, at that time there were about a thousand Soviet military advisers and specialists in Syria and Lebanon who took a direct part in the hostilities against Israel. There is no data on the number of Soviet casualties.
Israel won that war - Beirut was taken, Syrian troops and PLO forces were forced to leave Lebanon, which the Israelis controlled until 2000.
Afghan war (from April 1978 to February 15, 1989)
About 620 thousand Soviet military personnel passed through the Afghan war, of which 546 thousand people directly participated in the hostilities. The losses of the Soviet side amounted to 15,052 dead, 53,753 wounded, 417 missing, and these figures became known to us thanks to the special attention paid to them during the period of Glasnost and Perestroika.
Fighting in Syria
Military cooperation between Moscow and Damascus has a long history - according to the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, from 1956 to 1991, 16 thousand 282 people were sent to Syria through the USSR Ministry of Defense.
According to official data from the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, from 1956 to 1991, forty-four Soviet citizens died in Syria from wounds and illnesses, and this is hard to believe - more Soviet people died on foreign tours during this time (35 years).
Russia has recognized the direct participation of Soviet military personnel and units of the USSR Armed Forces in hostilities in Syria during the following periods:
- June 1967(Six Day War). Result: Israeli victory.
— March - July 1970(War of attrition). Result: Both sides declared victory.
— September - November 1972(War in the air, escalation of the struggle for air supremacy). Result: Both sides declared victory.
- October 1973(Yom Kippur War). Result: Israeli victory.
And in the Appendix to the Russian Federal Law “On Veterans”, sooner or later another Syrian period will be added:
— October 2015 - ….(War against ISIS). As a result, both sides will declare victory.
20th century
1. War with the Japanese Empire of 1904-1905.
2. First World War 1914-1918.
Defeat, change in the political system, the beginning of the civil war, territorial losses, about 2 million 200 thousand people died or went missing. The population loss was approximately 5 million people. Russia's material losses amounted to approximately 100 billion US dollars in 1918 prices.
3. Civil war 1918-1922.
The establishment of the Soviet system, the return of part of the lost territories, the Red Army died and went missing, according to approximate data from 240 to 500 thousand people, in the White Army at least 175 thousand people died and went missing, total losses with the civilian population for the years of the civil war amounted to about 2.5 million people. The population loss was approximately 4 million people. Material losses are estimated at approximately 25-30 billion US dollars in 1920 prices.
4. Soviet-Polish war of 1919-1921.
According to Russian researchers, about 100 thousand people died or went missing.
5. Military conflict between the USSR and the Japanese Empire in the Far East and participation in the Japanese-Mongolian War of 1938-1939.
About 15 thousand people died or went missing.
6. Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940.
Territorial acquisitions, about 85 thousand people died or went missing.
7. In 1923-1941, the USSR participated in the civil war in China and in the war between China and the Japanese Empire. And in 1936-1939 in the Spanish Civil War.
About 500 people died or went missing.
8. Occupation by the USSR of the territories of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in 1939 under the terms of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty (Pact) with Nazi Germany on non-aggression and division of Eastern Europe of August 23, 1939.
The irretrievable losses of the Red Army in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus amounted to about 1,500 people. There are no data on losses in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
9. Second World (Great Patriotic) War.Territorial gains in East Prussia (Kaliningrad region) and the Far East as a result of the war with the Japanese Empire (part of Sakhalin Island and the Kuril Islands), total irretrievable losses in the army and among the civilian population from 20 million to 26 million people. Material losses of the USSR amounted, according to various estimates, from 2 to 3 trillion US dollars in 1945 prices.
10. Civil war in China 1946-1945.
About 1,000 people from among military and civilian specialists, officers, sergeants and privates died from wounds and illnesses.
11. Korean Civil War 1950-1953.
About 300 military personnel, mostly officer-pilots, were killed or died from wounds and illnesses.
12. During the participation of the USSR in the Vietnam War of 1962-1974, in military conflicts of the second half of the 20th century in Africa and the countries of Central and South America, in the Arab-Israeli wars from 1967 to 1974, in the suppression of the 1956 uprising in Hungary and 1968 in Czechoslovakia, as well as in border conflicts with the PRC, about 3,000 people died. from among military and civilian specialists, officers, sergeants and privates.
13. War in Afghanistan 1979-1989.
About 15,000 people died, died from wounds and illnesses, or went missing. from among military and civilian specialists, officers, sergeants and privates. The total costs of the USSR for the war in Afghanistan are estimated at approximately 70-100 billion US dollars in 1990 prices. Main result: Change of political system and collapse of the USSR with the secession of 14 union republics.
Results:
During the 20th century, the Russian Empire and the USSR took part in 5 major wars on their territory, of which the First World War, the Civil War and the Second World War can easily be classified as mega-large.
The total number of losses of the Russian Empire and the USSR in wars and armed conflicts over the 20th century is estimated at approximately 30 to 35 million people, taking into account losses among the civilian population from hunger and epidemics caused by the war.
The total cost of material losses of the Russian Empire and the USSR is estimated at approximately 8 to 10 trillion US dollars in 2000 prices.
14. War in Chechnya 1994-2000.
There are no official exact figures for combat and civilian casualties, deaths from wounds and illnesses, and missing persons on both sides. The total combat losses on the Russian side are estimated at approximate figures of 10 thousand people. According to experts, up to 20-25 thousand. According to estimates of the Union of Committees of Soldiers' Mothers. The total combat irretrievable losses of the Chechen rebels are estimated at figures ranging from 10 to 15 thousand people. Irreversible losses of the civilian population of the Chechen and Russian-speaking population, including ethnic cleansing among the Russian-speaking population, are estimated at approximate figures from 1000 according to official Russian data to 50 thousand people according to unofficial data from human rights organizations. The exact material losses are unknown, but rough estimates suggest total losses of at least $20 billion in 2000 prices.
2. Combat operations conducted entirely or mainly on the territory of the USSR (1918-1991) and the Russian Federation (1991-2008).
Combat operations to eliminate the Basmachi: from October 1922 to June 1931.
- Combat operations in the Chechen Republic and in the adjacent territories of the Russian Federation classified as a zone of armed conflict: from December 1994 to December 1996.
- Combat operations during counter-terrorism operations in the North Caucasus region: since August 1999.
3. Combat operations conducted entirely or mainly outside the territory of the USSR (1918-1991) and the Russian Federation (1991-2008).
Fighting against Poland:
Soviet-Polish War: March - October 1920;
- during the reunification of the USSR, Western Ukraine and Western Belarus: from September 17 to 28, 1939.
Fighting in Spain: 1936 - 1939.
Fighting against Japan:
- combat operations in the area of Lake Khasan: from July 29 to August 11, 1938;
- combat operations on the Khalkhin Gol River: from May 11 to September 16, 1939;
- war with Japan: from August 9, 1945 to September 3, 1945.
Fighting in and against China:
- from August 1924 to July 1927;
- October - November 1929;
- from July 1937 to September 1944;
- July - September 1945;
- from March 1946 to April 1949;
- March - May 1950 (for personnel of the air defense force group);
- in the area of Damansky Island: March 1969;
- area of Lake Zhalanashkol: August 1969.
Fighting in Korea: from June 1950 to July 1953 (for personnel of military units that took part in hostilities in North Korea from Chinese territory).
Fighting in Hungary: 1956
Fighting in Laos:
- from January 1960 to December 1963;
- from August 1964 to November 1968;
- from November 1969 to December 1970.
Fighting in Vietnam: from January 1961 to December 1974, including for the personnel of reconnaissance ships of the Pacific Fleet, performing combat service tasks in the South China Sea.
Fighting in Algeria: 1962 - 1964.
Fighting in Egypt(United Arab Republic):
- June 1967;
- 1968;
- from March 1969 to July 1972;
- from October 1973 to March 1974;
- from June 1974 to February 1975 (for personnel of minesweepers of the Black Sea and Pacific fleets who participated in demining the Suez Canal zone)
Fighting in the Yemen Arab Republic:
- from October 1962 to March 1963;
- from November 1967 to December 1969.
Fighting in Syria:
- June 1967;
- March - July 1970;
- September - November 1972;
- October 1973.
Fighting in Mozambique:
- 1967 - 1969;
- from November 1975 to November 1979;
- from March 1984 to August 1988.
Fighting in Cambodia: April - December 1970.
Fighting to Bangladesh: 1972 - 1973 (for personnel of ships and auxiliary vessels of the USSR Navy).
Fighting in Angola: from November 1975 to November 1992.
Fighting in Ethiopia: from December 1977 to November 1990;
An important intellectual aid for anyone interested in the true history of their native country is the Appendix to the Federal Law “On Veterans” No. 5-FZ, which contains a List of states, cities, territories and periods of hostilities with the participation of citizens of the Russian Federation. The List is not talking about the so-called. “volunteers”, but about military personnel and those liable for military service sent to other states by government bodies of the USSR and the Russian Federation. Article 3 of this law provides the corresponding definition of combat veterans.
Article 3. Combat veterans
1. Combat veterans include:
1) military personnel, including those transferred to the reserve (retired), those liable for military service, called up for military training, members of the rank and file and commanding officers of internal affairs bodies and state security bodies, employees of these bodies, employees of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR and employees of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, employees institutions and bodies of the penal system, sent to other states by government bodies of the USSR, government bodies of the Russian Federation and who took part in hostilities while on duty in these states, as well as those who took part in accordance with decisions of government bodies of the Russian Federation in military operations on the territory of the Russian Federation;
2) military personnel, including those transferred to the reserve (retired), private and commanding personnel of internal affairs bodies and state security bodies, persons who participated in operations during government combat missions to clear mines from territories and objects on the territory of the USSR and the territories of other states in the period from May 10, 1945 to December 31, 1951, including in combat minesweeping operations from May 10, 1945 to December 31, 1957;
3) military personnel of automobile battalions sent to Afghanistan during the period of hostilities there to deliver goods;
4) flight personnel who flew from the territory of the USSR on combat missions to Afghanistan during the period of hostilities there;
5) persons (including members of flight crews of civil aviation aircraft who flew to Afghanistan during the period of hostilities there) who served military units of the Armed Forces of the USSR and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, located on the territories of other states during the period of hostilities there, who received in connection with this, wounds, concussions or injuries, or those awarded orders or medals of the USSR or the Russian Federation for participation in supporting the specified hostilities;
6) persons who were sent to work in Afghanistan in the period from December 1979 to December 1989, who worked the period established upon deployment or were sent ahead of schedule for valid reasons.
After World War II, the USSR participated in many local military conflicts. This participation was unofficial and even secret. The exploits of Soviet soldiers in these wars will forever remain unknown.
Chinese Civil War 1946-1950
By the end of World War II, two governments had emerged in China, and the country's territory was divided into two parts. One of them was controlled by the Kuomintang party, led by Chiang Kai-shek, the second by the communist government headed by Mao Zedong. The USA supported the Kuomintang, and the USSR supported the Communist Party of China.
The trigger for war was pulled in March 1946, when a 310,000-strong group of Kuomintang troops, with direct support from the United States, launched an offensive against the positions of the CPC. They captured almost all of Southern Manchuria, pushing the communists beyond the Songhua River. At the same time, relations with the USSR begin to deteriorate - the Kuomintang, under various pretexts, does not fulfill the terms of the Soviet-Chinese treaty “on friendship and alliance”: the property of the Chinese Eastern Railway is stolen, Soviet media are closed, anti-Soviet organizations are created.
In 1947, Soviet pilots, tank crews, and artillerymen arrived in the United Democratic Army (later the People's Liberation Army of China). The weapons supplied to the Chinese communists from the USSR also played a decisive role in the subsequent victory of the CCP. According to some information, in the fall of 1945 alone, the PLA received from the USSR 327,877 rifles and carbines, 5,207 machine guns, 5,219 artillery pieces, 743 tanks and armored vehicles, 612 aircraft, as well as ships of the Sungari flotilla.
In addition, Soviet military experts developed a plan for managing strategic defense and counteroffensive. All this contributed to the success of the NAO and the establishment of the communist regime of Mao Zedong. During the war, about a thousand Soviet soldiers died in China.
Korean War (1950-1953).
Information about the participation of the armed forces of the USSR in the Korean War was classified for a long time. At the beginning of the conflict, the Kremlin did not plan for the participation of Soviet troops in it, but the large-scale involvement of the United States in the confrontation between the two Koreas changed the position of the Soviet Union. In addition, the Kremlin’s decision to enter into the conflict was influenced by American provocations: for example, on October 8, 1950, two American attack aircraft even bombed the Pacific Fleet Air Force base in the Sukhaya Rechka area.
Military support for the DPRK by the Soviet Union was aimed mainly at repelling US aggression and was carried out through gratuitous supplies of weapons. Specialists from the USSR trained command, staff and engineering personnel.
The main military assistance was provided by aviation: Soviet pilots made combat missions in MiG-15s, repainted in the colors of the Chinese Air Force. At the same time, pilots were prohibited from operating over the Yellow Sea and pursuing enemy aircraft south of the Pyongyang-Wonsan line.
Military advisers from the USSR were present at the front headquarters only in civilian clothes, under the guise of correspondents for the newspaper Pravda. This special “camouflage” is mentioned in Stalin’s telegram to General Shtykov, an employee of the Far Eastern department of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
It still remains unclear how many Soviet soldiers actually were in Korea. According to official data, during the conflict the USSR lost 315 people and 335 MiG-15 fighters. By comparison, the Korean War claimed 54,246 thousand American lives and over 103 thousand were wounded.
Vietnam War (1965-1975)
In 1945, the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed, and power in the country passed to the communist leader Ho Chi Minh. But the West was in no hurry to abandon its former colonial possessions. Soon, French troops landed on Vietnamese territory in order to restore their influence in the region. In 1954, a document was signed in Geneva, according to which the independence of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia was recognized, and the country was divided into two parts: North Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh and South Vietnam led by Ngo Dinh Diem. The latter quickly lost popularity among the people, and guerrilla warfare broke out in South Vietnam, especially since the impenetrable jungle ensured its high efficiency.
On March 2, 1965, the United States began regular bombing of North Vietnam, accusing the country of expanding the guerrilla movement in the south. The USSR's reaction was immediate. Since 1965, large-scale supplies of military equipment, specialists and soldiers to Vietnam began. Everything happened in the strictest secrecy.
According to the recollections of veterans, before departure the soldiers were dressed in civilian clothes, their letters home were subject to such strict censorship that if they fell into the hands of a stranger, the latter would be able to understand only one thing: the authors were relaxing somewhere in the south and enjoying their serene vacation.
The USSR's participation in the Vietnam War was so secret that it is still unclear what role Soviet military personnel played in this conflict. There are numerous legends about Soviet ace pilots fighting “phantoms,” whose collective image is embodied in the pilot Li-Si-Tsin from the famous folk song. However, according to the recollections of participants in the events, our pilots were strictly forbidden to engage in combat with American aircraft. The exact number and names of Soviet soldiers who participated in the conflict are still unknown.
Algerian War (1954-1964)
The national liberation movement in Algeria, which gained momentum after World War II, escalated into a real war against French colonial rule in 1954. The USSR took the side of the rebels in the conflict. Khrushchev noted that the Algerians’ struggle against the French organizers was in the nature of a liberation war, and therefore it should be supported by the UN.
However, the Soviet Union provided the Algerians with more than just diplomatic support: the Kremlin supplied the Algerian army with weapons and military personnel.
The Soviet military contributed to the organizational strengthening of the Algerian army and participated in planning operations against French troops, as a result of which the latter had to negotiate.
The parties entered into an agreement according to which hostilities ceased and Algeria was granted independence.
After the signing of the agreement, Soviet sappers carried out the largest mine clearance operation in the country. During the war, French sapper battalions on the border of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia mined a strip from 3 to 15 km, where there were up to 20 thousand “surprises” for every kilometer. Soviet sappers cleared 1,350 square meters of mines. km of territory, destroying 2 million anti-personnel mines.