At the forefront of the units of the 100th Infantry Division of the Red Army on the Karelian Isthmus
Pine tree on the slopes curls
Frontier mean outlook.
Take us, Suomi, beauty
In a necklace of transparent lakes!
Breaking Tanks wide cuts
Airplanes circling in the clouds
Low sun of autumn
Lights the bayonet lights.
We used to fraternize with victories
And again we carry in battle
On the roads paved with grandfathers
Red star glory.
A lot of lies over the years
To confuse the Finnish people.
Now reveal to us trustingly
Halves of the wide gate!
Neither the jesters nor the fools scribblers
Do not embarrass your hearts anymore.
Your homeland was taken more than once -
We have come to return it to you.
We come to help you deal
To pay with interest for shame.
Take us, Suomi, beauty
In a necklace of transparent lakes!
Lyrics: Anatoly D'Actil (Frenkel), music: Daniel and Dmitry Pokrass
Frontier mean outlook.
Take us, Suomi, beauty
In a necklace of transparent lakes!
Breaking Tanks wide cuts
Airplanes circling in the clouds
Low sun of autumn
Lights the bayonet lights.
We used to fraternize with victories
And again we carry in battle
On the roads paved with grandfathers
Red star glory.
A lot of lies over the years
To confuse the Finnish people.
Now reveal to us trustingly
Halves of the wide gate!
Neither the jesters nor the fools scribblers
Do not embarrass your hearts anymore.
Your homeland was taken more than once -
We have come to return it to you.
We come to help you deal
To pay with interest for shame.
Take us, Suomi, beauty
In a necklace of transparent lakes!
Lyrics: Anatoly D'Actil (Frenkel), music: Daniel and Dmitry Pokrass
Record with a song
Fictionalized история. Did you notice that in the song cited as an epigraph, it is about early autumn? Because in Finland, after November 7, in those years it was already a deep winter. And the war began on November 30, right? But the song still had to be written, approved by the appropriate authorities, which required more than one or two days. So the "liberation" was in the snow! There was no global warming then. But songwriters ... fall. Funny, isn't it? But this is the introduction to the theme of the Finnish war. Because recently there were several “imperial” articles about this war on “VO”, and I would like to supplement them. Especially since there is something ... Besides this song.
And my story in this material will be this time somewhat unusual. Usually I always know where I get what in my texts. And then the story is this: when I wrote my novel in the genre of alternative history, “If Hitler had taken Moscow ...” (the second edition of “We die near Moscow, or the Swastika over the Kremlin”), I naturally needed information about the war. Interesting, unusual, "romance". Where to get? Information on establishing the release of "Katyusha" in Penza is not a cart at the plant them. Frunze was found in the archive. A book on the military route of the Penza division is in the library of the museum of local lore. Its employees regularly publish such books. Well, he began to look at the regional newspaper Young Leninist, in which journalist Vladimir Verzhbovsky regularly published local history materials, including memoirs of our fellow countrymen from the regional state archive. And it was there that I came across material about the “Soviet Finns”. It is clear that one-on-one could not be used. Therefore, it was literary processed, that is, somewhat "fictionalized." Not much so that historicism is not lost, but by a few percent. That is, the numbers are all correct, the events are one to one, but the form has changed very significantly.
Cooking in the cold
And now I read articles on the Finnish war on VO and thought: but I have very interesting material about the events of that war. Of course, many have read my novel, “Let’s die ...”, but why not rewrite this passage from it again and publish it with a high level of novelty? I am sure that for many this will be very interesting. Firstly, not everyone read this novel. Secondly, human memory is imperfect. After 90 days + 1 day, 80% of people forget 90% of what is written. But what remains in their memory after 365 days? But this is not 100% documented material. That is, the surname of the main participant is undeniable, the fact of the presence of “Soviet Finns” is undeniable. But did Murukin hear the words of the Mehlis? The newspaper "Young Leninist" about this could well be. But where am I going to look for newspapers for 2002, when this novel was written, and is it worth it? So, there may be something and slightly changed. But, I repeat, lightly, within the framework of the Advego-Plagiarist electronic system, and nothing more!
Bask and cook
Private Boris Murukin was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army in 1939. And in the fall, and immediately sent to the 106th Infantry Division, which was near Leningrad. At first he ended up in an artillery regiment, but here the regimental special officer, apparently digging through his papers and focusing on his name, most decisively changed his fate. “We are sending you to the front, comrade fighter, to the Finnish army,” he said sternly into his eyes, and pursed his lips pointedly. - It's a serious matter, so do not dissolve the language. And here sign the non-disclosure. ” Murukin only managed to read the words: “I undertake not to divulge state and military secrets ...”, as he immediately signed it. And already on November 23, 1939, he found himself in a completely different part, although also standing near Leningrad.
And all this happened only because Comrade Stalin had a brilliant idea at that time, namely: to create another 16th Karelian-Finnish Soviet Republic in the USSR! For what it was required to take a piece of territory from Finland and combine it with the lands of our Karelians. Finnish communists, ready for anything in order to get into power, were at hand with him. All that remained was to create a Finnish army of liberation, which would become the shock force of the new government of the "lake country".
Harmonists on a blown up pillbox
Another friend, still civilian, people's commissar Voroshilov, immediately gave the corresponding order, after which they began to gather people from all over the country with Scandinavian roots. And when it became clear that they weren’t gaining anything, the “remnants” were acquired by Russians, Ukrainians, and even Kazakhs and Uzbeks. Thus, Boris Murukin, a native of the village of Telegin of the Penza Region, and in common parlance the most ordinary penny, but by the will of his superiors became Finnish! Although, in the 106th division, there was such a dialogue: “Are you a Finn?” - the soldiers asked the newcomer a question, since they really wanted to see the Finns. - “That neither! I’m so hvin, I am Ukrainian! ”
Trophy guns captured by the Red Army
All the Finns were gathered in a military town isolated from the rest of the units and dressed in strange and unusual uniforms. Boys from villages and steppes examined her with amazement. Orphaned Soviet tunics didn’t even stand next to Finnish uniforms. French jackets with large pockets from English cloth, the same pants, boots made of good leather and earflaps - looked simply gorgeous. But the most surprising were shoulder straps. After all, there was no epaulette in the Red Army. True, the soldiers of the 106th several times because of this form fell into trouble. The fact is that for some reason they were released on dismissal in the same form, and local residents not only “squinted” at them, but mistook their spiritual simplicity for spies and handed over to the police.
In addition to the new uniform, everyone was given Russian-Finnish phrasebooks and told them to study. Then the “national” army appeared with its own anthem: “Neither liars nor fools scribblers can confuse Finnish hearts anymore. They took your homeland more than once. We are coming to return it! ”All the soldiers were ordered to know him by heart.
Trophy Finnish FT-17
Despite all the efforts, on November 20, 1939 the divisional commissioner Vashugin nevertheless informed “upstairs” that “although we tried very hard, the Finns themselves were only 60 percent ...” And what was Voroshilova doing here? It is clear that he reconciled and reported to Stalin that the “army” of the Finns was fully equipped. Well, such a tradition has been in Russia for centuries, to do a part, but to inform the top that the work has been completed. He was not the first, on this path, he was not the last ...
In December, the future liberators of the Finnish people were placed in the city of Terioki. “The boredom there was simply mortal,” Boris Timofeevich subsequently recalled. - It seems to be like everyone forgot about us. For a long time they were not thrown into battle at all. We became timidly interested in why this is so. And in reply to us: your task is not to fight, but to solemnly march into Helsinki! And the soldiers of the 106th languished from idleness. And it led to what’s known: drunkenness and drunken fights began. As a result, two soldiers were even given to the tribunal. ”
Then came December 21 - a great holiday, the 60th anniversary of Comrade Stalin, and in each unit soldiers were appointed who needed to write him a letter of congratulation. Boris was one of those elected - he was sent from the regiment. However, he himself did not need to write anything. The text was ready and began with the words: "To the great friend of the Finnish people, Comrade Stalin ..." Murukin was supposed to sign the letter. And in total, no less than 5775 people signed up!
Solemn meeting of the unit of skiers of the Red Army, who fought on the Karelian Isthmus, in Leningrad
At the beginning of the winter of 1940, Boris was transferred by a sound engineer to a special loud-speaking installation mounted on a wheeled van. There was a control panel with a microphone, a player, and a set of records. There were various patriotic songs there, but there were also very special disks on which the sounds of passing cars were recorded, the buzz of tanks ... And when it was turned on on quiet frosty nights, the sound from the speakers was heard for seven kilometers. Thus, the Finns were misled: they say, the Russians are transferring military equipment to the front.
Once Murukin was sent to intelligence. It was necessary at night to "rummage" in the rear of the enemy and take the "tongue". And they took the “language”, and under the scouts they began to interrogate. But he did not answer any of the questions asked to him. Just for cash weapons in its part, first spat on the floor, and then said: “Enough to shoot you dogs!”
Then the platoon that Boris served in was supposed to go to the Finnish side at night with the stuffed bags stuffed with leaflets, where it was written in Finnish and Russian: “Surrender, kill your commanders!” It was necessary to prick them on tree branches. There was a severe frost, and many fighters froze their legs and arms.
Strange photo. Maybe it was not just him showing how our soldiers went to the Finnish rear to hang leaflets on the branches?
Several times Lev Mehlis came to part of Murukin. It so happened that on one of the sections of the front the attack was choked, and Mehlis then personally shot the battalion commander and three commanders of the company “for cowardice” in front of the formation. And then Murukin was also “lucky”: he became an unwitting witness to the conversation between Lev Zakharovich and Commissioner Vashugin. Mehlis nervously walked around the room and shouted: “Your Finns and Karelians are such a rabble that it would be better if they killed them all!” You can only rely on the Russians! ”Our penny broke cold sweat from fear. But he was lucky to leave the dugout unnoticed, and you never know what could be attributed to him with a hot hand!
These books were published by the staff of the Penza Museum of Local Lore. This one, for example, about the combat route of the 62nd and 277th rifle divisions was published in 2015. Memories, excerpts from diaries, documents - that's it. It would seem a find for a historian, take it and use it, and even a journalist - a gift of fate. But ... alas. It is written “in such a language”, there are so many things crammed into it that it’s just hard to read, and working with it is even harder, in fact you have to rewrite it all over. Alas, this also happens when you want to write and it seems like “maybe”, but there’s no skill. The book does not take for the soul, but should
Unfortunately, but rather, fortunately, Murukin was wounded by a mine fragment and sent to the hospital for treatment, and from it to his native Penza - to be healed. There he met on June 22, 1941, and immediately ran to the draft board. But he was not sent to the front immediately, but as an experienced soldier he was sent to the 354th Infantry Division, formed from natives of the Penza region, to train new recruits.
PS It would be interesting to see documents on this “Soviet-Finnish part” in the MO archive. They should be there. But this will already be the case of young researchers who may read this material on VO.