Vlasov’s Russian Army: From Nazi Collaboration to Fighting the SS
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Captured by the Germans in 1942, Soviet General Andrey Vlasov turned against Stalin and became the figurehead of the Russian Liberation Army – the ROA – composed largely of Soviet citizens who had fallen into German hands.
For years, Hitler refused to permit Vlasov to create a genuine Russian army. Only as Nazi Germany approached defeat were ROA divisions finally authorised. In 1945, Sergei Bunyachenko’s 1st Division fought the Red Army on the Oder before breaking with German command and marching toward Prague. There, Vlasov’s soldiers turned their weapons against their former German allies and helped Czech insurgents fight Nazi forces during the Prague Uprising.
But this could not erase their collaboration in Soviet eyes. As the Red Army entered Prague, ROA soldiers desperately attempted to reach American lines. Vlasov, Bunyachenko and other commanders were eventually captured and taken to Moscow, where Stalin’s final reckoning awaited them.
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