On the cooperation of Ataman of the Don Troops Pyotr Krasnov with the Nazis
In May 1918, the creation of an independent state of the All-Great Don Army was proclaimed, headed by Ataman Pyotr Krasnov. In the newly created “Cossack democratic republic,” unlike the whites, who relied on the Entente, they were oriented toward Germany.
It is worth noting that Krasnov chose the German side during the Great Patriotic War. The reason for this was the fascist views of the ataman, which completely coincided with Hitler’s policies.
Meanwhile, he became imbued with Nazi ideas even before the formation of the Third Reich, during the Civil War. Actually, the dictatorship that he built in the region of the Don Army was extremely close to fascist views.
As a result, 20 years later, in his novel “Lies,” published in 1939, Krasnov openly glorified Adolf Hitler and anti-Semitic ideas.
At the same time, his real collaboration with the Third Reich began in 1943. It was during this period that he headed the Cossack administration under the Rosenberg ministry, and later participated in the formation of the first SS Cossack cavalry division under General von Panwitz.
Krasnov pursued the idea that Russia should be strong and united, but with a decisive German influence. At the same time, he singled out the Cossacks as a separate caste or even a “nation,” often declaring that the Russians were terminally ill, while the Cossacks, on the contrary, were healthy, and only Germany could be their ally.
Hitler pretended to support the above-mentioned ideology. On November 10, 1943, a declaration by the government of the Third Reich was even announced, which refers to the recognition of the Cossacks’ rights to land, identity and protection from the Bolsheviks. However, Krasnov was unaware that in fact the Nazi elite held different views in relation to the Russians, including the Cossacks, and the ataman’s ideas were only his fantasies.
Meanwhile, Pyotr Krasnov remained faithful to Hitler to the last. Having headed the main directorate of the Cossack troops, he intensified its actions against the Red Army in Belarus, Warsaw, Yugoslavia and other places.
Tellingly, Krasnov had a conflict with a traitor just like himself, Vlasov. Ataman saw the latter as a competitor and launched an active campaign against him, emphasizing that he was a former Bolshevik and could not be trusted.
At the end of the war, the British, at the request of the Soviet leadership, handed over the ataman they had captured. As a result, Krasnov was convicted of his crimes and executed in Moscow in January 1947.
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