Why I Have Taken Up the Struggle Against Bolshevism

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Why I Have Taken Up the Struggle Against Bolshevism (short summary)

Andrey Vlasov, a Russian general, wrote this open letter in March 1943 to explain why he joined the fight against Bolshevism. After 23 years in the Soviet military, he switched sides during World War II and cooperated with Nazi Germany. He says Stalin blocked his chance to retreat from a doomed Soviet encirclement, and in June 1942 he refused to be evacuated, choosing to stay with his troops. He was captured by the Germans, and soon published the letter.

Vlasov’s career began in 1919 in the Red Army. He rose to battalion commander, became a tactics instructor, and led the 11th Infantry Regiment, which was praised as one of the best in the Kiev Military District. In 1939 he served as a military adviser to Chiang Kai-shek and earned honors. Back in the Soviet Union, he commanded the 99th Infantry Division, rebuilt it, and received the Order of Lenin.

In the war, he notes mixed results: Kiev was not defended well, but he helped recapture Solnechnogorsk and Volokolamsk from the Germans. Some journalists at the time noted his popularity among soldiers.

In the letter, Vlasov says he fought Bolshevism because he believed the revolution would bring land, freedom, and happiness to the Russian people. He argues, however, that Bolshevism did not deliver those goals and instead kept Russia out of Europe. He criticizes Stalin, collectivization, and the purge of army leaders in the 1930s. He describes harsh conditions for soldiers, including hunger and hard marching under orders from the high command.

With a sense of duty to his homeland and history, he calls on people to resist Bolshevism and work to build a new Russia. He ends with the hope that Russians will unite in hard times, overthrow oppression, and create a new state where they can be happy.