1941 in the Soviet Union
Encyclopedia
Events
- 24-hour clock24-hour clockThe 24-hour clock is a convention of time keeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours, indicated by the hours passed since midnight, from 0 to 23. This system is the most commonly used time notation in the world today...
is used.- January 1: Soviet Armed ForcesSoviet Armed ForcesThe Soviet Armed Forces, also called the Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Armed Forces of the Soviet Union refers to the armed forces of the Russian SFSR , and Soviet Union from their beginnings in the...
reach 4,207,000 - February 15-20: 18th Conference of All-Union Communist PartyCommunist Party of the Soviet UnionThe Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
- February 24: Kramatorsk Heavy Machinery Construction Plant was commissioned
- March 20: Head of Intelligence Filipp GolikovFilipp GolikovFilipp Ivanovich Golikov, was a Soviet military commander, promoted Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1961.Golikov saw service during the Russian Civil War...
presented the report, which indicated the possible directions of German invasion to the Soviet UnionOperation BarbarossaOperation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare... - May 13: Head of the Red ArmyRed ArmyThe Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
's General Staff issued directives on advancing the 25th Soviet Rifle Corps and the 19th, 21st and 22nd Armies to the line of Western DvinaDvinaDvina may refer to:* Daugava river, also known as "Western Dvina", a river in Russia, Belarus, and Latvia.* Northern Dvina, a river in northern Russia.* R-12 Dvina, a theatre ballistic missile from the Soviet Union....
and Dnepr - May 14: Narkom of Defence Semyon TimoshenkoSemyon TimoshenkoSemyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko was a Soviet military commander and senior professional officer of the Red Army at the beginning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.-Early life:...
gave an order on pre-term graduation of cadets, commissioning them to the troops - May 16: diplomatic relations with IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
were established - June 12: Timoshenko ordered the military councils of boundary districts to start the advancing of troops from rear closer to the state frontier
- June 13: Joseph StalinJoseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
suspended Timoshenko's request to bring the frontier troops into alertness - June 14: TASSTASSTASS or Tass may refer to:* Telluride Association Sophomore Seminar, a six-week educational opportunity for minority high school students* Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union, TASS is the transliteration of the Russian abbreviation for it...
issued a report, labelling groundless the statements about the forthcoming war with Germany, spread by foreign and particularly British press - June 21: Georgy ZhukovGeorgy ZhukovMarshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
imparted via HFHigh frequencyHigh frequency radio frequencies are between 3 and 30 MHz. Also known as the decameter band or decameter wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decameters . Frequencies immediately below HF are denoted Medium-frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Very high frequency...
of waiting for important document to the staff heads of the military districts - June 22: The Communist Party Central Committee issues the decree "On the Organization of Struggle in the Rear of German troops"; diplomatic relations with GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
ceased, relations with ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
were interrupted- Commander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet Filipp Oktyabrsky reported Zhukov on approaching of the large amount of unknown aircraft at 03:07
- Head of Staff of the Western Military District General Vladimir Klimovskikh reported on German air raids on Byelorussian towns at 03:30
- Western and Baltic Military Districts reported on the onset of German ground hostilities at 04:10
- Brest FortressBrest FortressBrest Fortress , formerly known as Brest-Litovsk Fortress , is a 19th century Russian fortress in Brest, Belarus. It is one of the most important Soviet World War II war monuments commemorating the Soviet resistance against the German invasion on June 22, 1941...
was shelled at 04:15 - Timoshenko's directive N2 was delivered to military districts at 07:15
- sixteen German aircraft bombed Grodno at 07:15 from the altitude of 1 km
- Government's public radio report on the declaration of war at 12:00
- June 23: High Command Headquarters (later - Headquarters of Supreme Commander-in-Chief) was formed; mobilization plan on ammunition production was introduced; Soviets leave Grodno
- June 25-28: Kaunas pogromKaunas pogromThe Kaunas pogrom was a massacre of Jewish people living in Kaunas, Lithuania that took place in from June 25 to June 29, 1941 – the first days of the Operation Barbarossa and of Nazi occupation of Lithuania. The most infamous incident occurred in the Lietūkis garrage, where several Jews were...
- June 26: DaugavpilsDaugavpilsDaugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...
surrendered - June 27: SlutskSlutskSlutsk is a town in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2010 its population is of 61,400).-Geography:The town is situated in the south-west of its Voblast, not too far from from the city of Soligorsk.-History:...
surrendered - June 28: MinskMinsk- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
surrendered - June 29: Operation Silver FoxOperation Silver FoxOperation Silver Fox was a joint German–Finnish military operation plan during World War II, though it was mainly operated and engaged by Germans. Its main goal was the capture of the key Soviet port at Murmansk through attacks from Finnish and Norwegian territory.The operation had to be three...
begins - June 30: State Defence Committee was formed; diplomatic relations with FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
were interrupted - July 3: Stalin gave a broadcast talk
- July 4: directive on economical policy during the forced evacuation of production facilities was issued; State Defence Committee adopted decree "On voluntary mobilization of Moscow and the Moscow Oblast working-people to the divisions of people's militia"
- July 10: Battle of SmolenskBattle of Smolensk (1941)The Battle of Smolensk was a largely successful encirclement operation by the German Army Group Centre's 2nd Panzer Group led by Heinz Guderian and the 3rd Panzer Group led by Hermann Hoth against parts of four Soviet Fronts during World War II...
breaks out - July 11-September 26: Battle of KievBattle of Kiev (1941)The Battle of Kiev was the German name for the operation that resulted in a very large encirclement of Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kiev during World War II. It is considered the largest encirclement of troops in history. The operation ran from 23 August – 26 September 1941 as part of Operation...
- July 15: Battle of UmanBattle of UmanThe Battle of Uman was the German and allied encirclement of the 6th and 12th The Battle of Uman (15 July–8 August 1941) was the German and allied encirclement of the 6th (General Lieutenant I.N. Muzyrchenko) and 12th The Battle of Uman (15 July–8 August 1941) was the German and allied...
begins - July 16: Presidium of the Supreme Soviet establishes the office of military commissar
- July 18: diplomatic relations with CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
were resumed - July 25: Petliura DaysLviv pogromsThe Lviv pogroms were two massacres of Jews living in and near in the city of Lwów, the occupied Republic of Poland , that took place from 30 June to 2 July and 25–29 July 1941 during World War II. 700 Jews were killed in the rioting by some Ukrainian nationalists and Ukrainian militia and further...
- July 30: Reserve Front was formed; diplomatic relations with Polish government-in-exile were established, while relations with GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
were resumed - August 1: Boris ShaposhnikovBoris ShaposhnikovBoris Mikhailovitch Shaposhnikov was a Soviet military commander.-Biography:Shaposhnikov was born at Zlatoust, near Chelyabinsk in the Urals. He joined the army of the Russian Empire in 1901 and graduated from the Nicholas General Staff Academy in 1910, reaching the rank of colonel in the...
succeeded Zhukov as the Head of the General Staff - August 5-October 16: Siege of Odessa
- August 5: diplomatic relations with NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
were resumed - August 7: diplomatic relations with BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
were resumed - August 21: Germans took ChudovoChudovoChudovo is a town and the administrative center of Chudovsky District of Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Kerest River . It lies on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg, north of Veliky Novgorod and south of St. Petersburg...
- August 25: Anglo-Soviet invasion of IranAnglo-Soviet invasion of IranThe Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran was the Allied invasion of the Imperial State of Iran during World War II, by British, Commonwealth, and Soviet armed forces. The invasion from August 25 to September 17, 1941, was codenamed Operation Countenance...
begins; Germans took Dnepropetrovsk - August 30: Yelnya OffensiveYelnya OffensiveThe Soviet Army's Yelnya Offensive operation was part of the Battle of Smolensk during the initial period of the German-Soviet War....
begins - September 4: shelling of LeningradLeningradLeningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
began - September 8: Encirclement of LeningradSiege of LeningradThe Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
was completed; the city's Badayev Depots and "The Red Star" creamery were ruined by German aviation (3,000 tons of flour and 2,500 tons of sugar were marred) - September 9: Operation WotanOperation WotanOperation Wotan was a codename for the German tank operation with the goal of capturing Moscow during the World War II, developed mainly by Hitler. The name refers to Wotan, a Germanic god....
was started - September 12: 1st Battle of RostovBattle of Rostov (1941)The article is about the German Army Group South Sea of Azov Offensive Operation commanded by General Gerd von Rundstedt, the Soviet Rostov Defensive Operation by the Southern Front commanded by General-Colonel Yakov Cherevichenko, and the Rostov Offensive Operation executed by the...
begins - September 18: the 100th, 127th, 153rd and 161st Soviet Rifle Divisions were converted into the Guards Divisions
- September 19: Soviets left KievKievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
- September 30: the Battle of MoscowBattle of MoscowThe Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
outburst - October 1: VsevobuchVsevobuchVsevobuch , universal military training) is the name of the compulsory military training of men practised in the former Soviet Union. Vsevobuch is affiliated with sports training, to which it contributed....
was re-introduced - October 4: Germans captured Spas-DemenskSpas-DemenskSpas-Demensk is a town in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Demena River west of Kaluga. Population: Spas-Demensk was first mentioned in 1494 as the settlement Demensk. It received its present name in 1855 and was granted town status in 1917.-External links:*...
- October 5: Germans captured YukhnovYukhnovYukhnov is a town and the administrative center of Yukhnovsky District of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Kunava River northwest of Kaluga. Population: It has been known since 1410. Town status was granted to it in 1777....
- October 6: BryanskBryanskBryansk is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: -History:The first written mention of Bryansk was in 1146, in the Hypatian Codex, as Debryansk...
was captured - October 12: State Defence Committee decides on building the defensive lines near Moscow
- October 13: Battle at Borodino FieldBattle at Borodino FieldThe Battle at Borodino Field was a part of the Battle of Moscow, on the Eastern Front of World War II. While referring to the battle in Russian, the Borodino Field is actually more commonly applied rather than just Borodino, cf...
takes place; fall of KalugaKalugaKaluga is a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: It is served by Grabtsevo Airport.-History:... - October 14: Germans took KalininTverTver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
- October 16: fall of BorovskBorovskBorovsk is a town and the administrative center of Borovsky District of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located just south from the oblast's border with Moscow Oblast. It is situated on the Protva River, about southwest of Moscow.Population: 12,000 ....
- October 18: fall of MozhayskMozhayskMozhaysk is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the west from the Russian capital, on the historic road leading to Smolensk and then to Poland. Population:...
and MaloyaroslavetsMaloyaroslavetsMaloyaroslavets is a town in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Luzha River , southwest of Moscow and northeast of Kaluga. Population: 21,200 .... - October 19: State Defence Committee introduced the state of siegeState of SiegeState of Siege is a 1972 French film directed by Costa Gavras starring Yves Montand and Renato Salvatori.-Summary:...
in Moscow and adjacent areas - October 30: Germans imposed siege on Sevastopol
- December 5: Germans entered YeletsYeletsYelets is a city in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Sosna River, which is a tributary of the Don. Population: -History:Yelets is the oldest center of the Central Black Earth Region. It is mentioned in historical documents as far back as 1146, when it belonged to the Princes of Ryazan...
- December 9: Soviets relieved Rogachyovo, VenyovVenyovVenyov is a town and the administrative center of Venyovsky District of Tula Oblast, Russia, located on the Venyovka River, east of Tula. Population:...
and Yelets - December 11: SolnechnogorskSolnechnogorskSolnechnogorsk is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, the administrative center of Solnechnogorsky District. It is situated on the Moscow-Saint Petersburg Highway and the Moscow-Saint Petersburg Railway, on the coast of Senezh Lake, north-west from Moscow. Population: Originally, there was a village...
was relieved - December 15: Soviets relieved KlinKlinKlin is a town and the administrative center of Klinsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Moscow. The M10 highway connecting Moscow to St. Petersburg and the Moscow-Saint Petersburg Railway run through the town. It was home to Klin air base during the Cold War. ...
at 02:00 - December 16: KalininKalininKalinin , or Kalinina , is a Russian surname, derived from the word kalina , and may refer to:People with the surname...
was relieved - December 20: VolokolamskVolokolamskVolokolamsk is a town and the administrative center of Volokolamsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Gorodenka River, not far from its confluence with the Lama River, northwest of Moscow. Population: -History:...
was relieved - December 26: Naro-FominskNaro-FominskNaro-Fominsk is a town and the administrative center of Naro-Fominsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated southwest from Moscow, on the Nara River. The Moscow – Kiev railway passes through the town. Population: -History:...
was relieved
- January 1: Soviet Armed Forces
Births
- Viktor Ageyev, boxer (in Moscow)
- Viktor AnichkinViktor AnichkinViktor Ivanovich Anichkin ; died on January 5, 1975 in Moscow from heart failure) was a Russian footballer.-Honours:* Soviet Top League winner: 1963.* Soviet Top League runner-up: 1967, 1970.* Soviet Cup winner: 1967, 1970....
, football player (in SverdlovskYekaterinburgYekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
) - Andrei MironovAndrei MironovAndrei Alexandrovich Mironov was a Soviet theatre and film actor who played lead roles in some of the most popular Soviet films, such as The Diamond Arm, Beware of the Car and Twelve Chairs...
, actor (in Moscow) - Gennadiy PrashkevichGennadiy PrashkevichGennadiy Martovich Prashkevich is a Russian science fiction writer and International PEN member. He won the Aelita Prize and Garin-Mikhaylovsky Prize . He is also a poet, translator and essayist...
, science fiction writer (in Pirovskoye, Krasnoyarsk KraiKrasnoyarsk KraiKrasnoyarsk Krai is a federal subject of Russia . It is the second largest federal subject after the Sakha Republic, and Russia's largest krai, occupying an area of , which is 13% of the country's total territory. The administrative center of the krai is the city of Krasnoyarsk...
) - Vitaly SolominVitaly SolominVitaly Mefodievich Solomin was a Soviet and Russian actor, director and screenwriter. He was the younger brother of Yury Solomin....
, actor (in Chita) - Vyacheslav VedeninVyacheslav VedeninVyacheslav Petrovitch Vedenin was a Soviet cross country skier who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, training at Dynamo in Moscow.He won the 50 km silver at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble...
, skier (in Sloboda, Tula OblastTula OblastTula Oblast is a federal subject of Russia with its present borders formed on September 26, 1937. Its administrative center is the city of Tula. The oblast has an area of and a population of 1,553,874...
)
Deaths
- Maria SpiridonovaMaria SpiridonovaMaria Alexandrovna Spiridonova was a figure in Russian revolutionary circles at the beginning of the 20th century.- Biography :She joined the Socialist-Revolutionary Party during her training to become a nurse....
, politician (near OryolOryolOryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...
) - Stepan Suprun, twice Hero of the Soviet UnionHero of the Soviet UnionThe title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
(in Monastyri, Byelorussian SSR) - Marina Tsvetayeva, poetess (in YelabugaYelabugaYelabuga The history of the settlement dates back to the 11th century, when a Volga Bulgarian border castle was established. The castle was later abandoned, and its remains are now known as Şaytan qalası ....
)