Viktor Suvorov

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Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun
Suworow Wiktor.jpg
Born (1947-04-20) April 20, 1947 (age 66)
Primorsky Krai, USSR
Notable work(s) Aquarium, Icebreaker

Viktor Suvorov (Russian: Ви́ктор Суво́ров, real name is Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun, Russian: Влади́мир Богда́нович Резу́н, born April 20, 1947 in Barabash, Primorsky Krai) is Russian writer, historian, and a former Soviet military intelligence officer who defected to the UK. Suvorov made his name writing books about the Soviet Army, GRU, and Spetsnaz, but it was his book Icebreaker and several follow-up books about World War II that spurred considerable controversy.

Contents

Biography [edit]

According to Suvorov, he attended the Voronezh Suvorov Military School from 1958–63, and the one in Kalinin from 1963-1965. From 1965-1968 he attended the Kiev Red Banner Higher Military Command School Frunze. In 1968 Suvorov served in the 145th Motorized Rifles Regiment, participating in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. In 1970-1971 he served on the staff of the Volga Military District and with the 808th Independent Army Reconnaissance Company (Spetsnaz). After attending the Military Diplomatic Academy from 1971-1974, he joined the Soviet mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva working for the Soviet military intelligence (GRU). On June 10, 1978 Suvorov defected to the United Kingdom. Rezun was smuggled out of the country to England with his wife and two young children, where he worked as an intelligence analyst and lecturer.[1][2]

Publications [edit]

Books about the Soviet Army [edit]

Suvorov made his name writing books about the Soviet Army, military intelligence, and special forces, including The Liberators,[3] Aquarium,[4] Inside the Soviet Army,[5] Inside Soviet Military Intelligence[6] and Spetsnaz,[7] which were partly based on his personal experience. He also joined the team led by the British General Sir John Hackett in writing the book The Third World War: The Untold Story.[8] Published in 1982, this book was the sequel to the 1978 original The Third World War,[9] in which Hackett and his team had speculated about the possible course of a Soviet/NATO war in Germany.

Historical works about World War II [edit]

Main article: Soviet offensive plans controversy

Suvorov has written ten books so far about the outbreak of the Nazi-Soviet War in 1941 and the circumstances that led to it. The first such work was Icebreaker, followed by M Day, The Last Republic, Cleansing, Suicide, The Shadow of Victory, I Take it Back, The Last Republic II, The Chief Culprit, Defeat.

According to Suvorov, Stalin planned to use Nazi Germany as a proxy (the “Icebreaker”) against the West. For this reason Stalin provided significant material and political support to Adolf Hitler, while at the same time preparing the Red Army to “liberate” the whole of Europe from Nazi occupation. Suvorov argued that Hitler had lost World War II from the very moment he attacked Poland: not only was he going to war with the powerful Allies, but it was only a matter of time before the Soviet Union would seize the opportune moment to attack him from the rear. This left Hitler with no choice but to direct a preemptive strike at the Soviet Union, while Stalin's forces were redeploying from a defensive to an offensive posture in June 1941, providing Hitler with an important initial tactical advantage. But this was strategically hopeless because the Nazi now had to fight on two fronts, a mistake Hitler himself had identified as Germany's undoing in the previous war. In the end of the war, Stalin was able to achieve only some of his initial objectives by establishing Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, China, and North Korea. According to Suvorov, this made Stalin the primary winner of World War II, even though Stalin was not satisfied by the outcome, as he intended to bring Soviet domination to the whole continent of Europe.

The works by Suvorov remain a matter of debate among historians. While most agree that Stalin made extensive preparations for an upcoming war and exploited the military conflict in Europe to his advantage, the assertions that Stalin planned to attack Nazi Germany in the summer of 1941, and that Operation Barbarossa was a preemptive strike by Hitler, are disputed.

Fictional books [edit]

[icon] This section requires expansion. (June 2012)

Viktor Suvorov also wrote fiction books set in pre-World War II era in the Soviet Union. The first one Control, followed by Choice, and the last and most recent title Snake-eater. He has also written a film script based on those books.

See also [edit]

Bibliography [edit]

About the Cold War-era Soviet Union [edit]

About the outbreak of the Nazi-Soviet War [edit]

About Soviet historical figures [edit]

  • Shadow of Victory (Тень победы), questions the image of Georgy Zhukov. The first book of trilogy with the same name.
  • I Take It Back (Беру Свои Слова Обратно), questions the image of Georgy Zhukov. The second book of "Shadow of Victory" trilogy.
  • Cleansing (Очищение). Why did Stalin behead his army?, Moscow, 2002, ISBN 5-17-009254-7

Fiction [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://www.suvorovrezun.com/biography.html
  2. ^ Sir Dick Franks. Saboteur with the Special Operations Executive who went on to become Chief of MI6 during the Cold War – Obituary, published by Daily Telegraph on October 19, 2008
  3. ^ The Liberators, 1981, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, ISBN 0-241-10675-3
  4. ^ Aquarium (Аквариум), 1985, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, ISBN 0-241-11545-0
  5. ^ Inside the Soviet Army, 1982, Macmillan Publishing Co.
  6. ^ Inside Soviet Military Intelligence, 1984, ISBN 0-02-615510-9
  7. ^ Spetsnaz. The Story Behind the Soviet SAS, 1987, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, ISBN 0-241-11961-8
  8. ^ The Third World War: The Untold Story ISBN 0-283-98863-0
  9. ^ The Third World War ISBN 0-425-04477-7

External links [edit]

Authority control
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