Slovak National Uprising and the USSR (On the 80th Anniversary)

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the largest event in Slovak history during the Second World War – the Slovak National Uprising (SNU) and is based on the materials from the Russian Foreign Policy Archive, published documents, memoires and scientific research. The author reconstructs the events on the eve and in the beginning of the uprising, and dwells in detail on the assistance of the USSR to the Slovak partisan movement. The work examines the positions of the Czechoslovak emigrant government, some Slovak organizations and political figures in the West, as well as that of the leadership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in Moscow regarding the uprising. The scale of the unfolding national liberation movement in the country is shown. The work analyzes the reasons for the failure to implement the initial plan of the rebels, talks about the leaders’ role in the uprising, their political, economic and social program. It also examines their ideas about principles of the new state and legal structure of post-war Czechoslovakia and Czech-Slovak relations. The article characterizes the actions of the Slovak Minister of War F. Chatlos, individual commanders of the Slovak army, and indicates the attitude of the Soviet leadership towards them. Particular attention is paid to the dedication of the soldiers of the Red Army and the 1^st Czechoslovak Army Corps who took part in the East Carpathian operation, to the uniqueness of large-scale combat operations in difficult mountainous conditions. The work presents the real extent of assistance to the rebels from the USSR and Western allies – Great Britain and the USA. The author shows the unfoundedness of the opinions of some Slovak historians who are trying to blame the USSR for the defeat of the uprising.

Received 22 January 2024

Revised 4 March 2024

Accepted 1 April 2024

For citation: Serapionova, E.P., 2024. Slovak National Uprising and the USSR (On the 80^th Anniversary). Slavic World in the Third Millennium, 19 (1–2), pp. 73–91. https://doi.org/10.31168/2412-6446.2024.19.1-2.05