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Russian & Muslim Soldiers in the Red Army During World War II

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Russian & Muslim Soldiers in the Red Army During World War II University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2016 Comrades In Arms?: Russian & Muslim Soldiers In The Red Army During World War II Daniel Bradfield University of Central Florida Part of the History Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Bradfield, Daniel, "Comrades In Arms?: Russian & Muslim Soldiers In The Red Army During World War II" (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 5297. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/5297 COMRADES IN ARMS?: RUSSIAN & MUSLIM SOLDIERS IN THE RED ARMY DURING WORLD WAR II by DANIEL BRADFIELD B.A. University of North Florida, 2010 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Fall Term 2016 Major Professor: Vladimir Solonari ABSTRACT This thesis focuses on the perceptions of Muslims soldiers regarding their military service during World War II. To thoroughly analyze Muslim soldiers’ attitudes, the thesis explores the total experience of Muslim military service through the Soviet Union’s and Red Army’s policies toward Muslims and how Russian soldiers viewed their Muslim counterparts. To achieve this, the thesis summarized current scholarship on Soviet and Red Army policies toward Muslims. The thesis analyzed the oral histories and written accounts of Muslim soldiers and Russian soldiers to understand the perceptions of Russians and Muslim soldiers. A hierarchy of cultural backwardness underlined Soviet policies in both the Red Army and the larger Soviet system. Soviet authorities viewed Russians and other Slavic peoples as more highly advanced and therefore could progress ‘backward’ minorities through the Marxist teleology. Muslim soldiers who were able to communicate in Russian with Russian soldiers forged primary bonds with them. Muslim soldiers who did not form these relationships correlated the Russian soldiers with the Soviet state. Russian soldiers downplayed the contributions of Muslim soldiers while glorifying their central role to the Red Army’s victory as the ‘Slavic Backbone.’ Immediate post- war interviews focused on the difficulties of serving with Muslims including poor communication, self-injury, & desertion. However, the post-soviet interviews described the Muslim members of their primary groups as integral parts of their units. Their successful service stood tall when balanced against the larger perception of Muslim ineffectiveness. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank my thesis advisor, Professor Vladimir Solonari for his constant support and endless advice throughout my graduate career from my first graduate class until the completion of this thesis. He has been an invaluable resource for knowledge, support, and aid. He has made me a much more competent writer, scholar, and worker. Additionally, his firm supportive touch can be felt throughout all the words of this thesis. Additionally, I would like to sincerely thank my committee members: Dr. Barbara Gannon and Dr. Hong Zhang. Dr. Gannon has worked extensively on my writing (which needed lots of improvement over my graduate coursework) and has helped me immensely with my career in our work with the Veterans History Project. Dr. Zhang has been a steadfast advisor on both this thesis and all coursework. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Amelia Lyons and Dr. Scot French for their support and advice during my coursework. Finally, I need to thank my wife, Jackie Tanner-Bradfield. She and I married when we both started graduate school, and it was immensely stressful on us both. Regardless, she has handled my stress with grace and patience which allowed me to complete this thesis. She has supported me through every setback, stressful editing session, challenging writing problem, or harsh criticism. She is my rock and my inspiration to do better and work harder. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 Historiography ............................................................................................................................................................ 3 Sources........................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................... 9 Content of the Chapters ............................................................................................................................................ 10 “A MUSLIM SOVIET MAN”: SOVIET POLICY TOWARD MUSLIM CITIZENS ............... 11 Imperial Period ......................................................................................................................................................... 12 Re-conquest and New Economic Policy, 1917-1928 ................................................................................................ 13 Cultural Revolution-Socialist Offensive, 1928-1932 ................................................................................................ 21 1932-1941 ................................................................................................................................................................. 27 World War II- 1941-1945 ......................................................................................................................................... 29 THE RED STAR AND THE GREEN CRESCENT: MUSLIM SOLDIERS IN THE RED ARMY........................................................................................................................................... 35 Imperial period.......................................................................................................................................................... 36 Civil War and the Development of the Territorial System ....................................................................................... 37 Cadre System (1935-1941) ....................................................................................................................................... 40 World War II and its effect ....................................................................................................................................... 43 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................ 52 SEPARATE PEOPLES, SHARED SACRIFICE: MUSLIM SOLDIERS’ PERCEPTION OF RED ARMY SERVICE DURING WORLD WAR II .................................................................. 53 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................. 53 Memory .................................................................................................................................................................... 55 Primary Group Cohesion .......................................................................................................................................... 56 iv Nationality’s relations in Primary Groups ................................................................................................................ 60 Perceptions of the relationship between Russians and the Soviet Regime ............................................................... 61 Collective Memory on Nationality Relationship ...................................................................................................... 63 Communication Barrier ............................................................................................................................................ 64 Religious Discrimination’s Impact on Primary group .............................................................................................. 66 Institutional Bonding ................................................................................................................................................ 67 Language’s Military Value and Career Opportunities .............................................................................................. 70 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................ 73 HIERARCHY OF SACRIFICE: RUSSIAN SOLDIERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF MUSLIM SOLDIERS ................................................................................................................................... 74 Wartime Brotherhood ............................................................................................................................................... 75 ‘Slavic Backbone’: ...................................................................................................................................................
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