Soviet Military Encyclopedia

Last updated

Soviet Military Encyclopedia 1st edition title.png
Editors Andrei Grechko (Volumes 1 and 8)
Nikolai Ogarkov (Volumes 2–7)
Original titleСоветская военная энциклопедия
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian
SubjectMilitary art and science
Publisher Voenizdat
Publication date
1976–1980
Media typePrint
OCLC 8109684

The Soviet Military Encyclopedia (Russian : Советская военная энциклопедия (СВЭ), romanized: Sovetskaya voyennaya entsiklopediya (SVE)) is an eight-volume encyclopedic dictionary of military subjects. It was published by Voenizdat, the publishing house of the Soviet Ministry of Defense, between 1976 and 1980.

Contents

Background

In the early 1930s, an attempt at publishing a projected twelve-volume Soviet Military Encyclopedia was made under the direction of Robert Eideman, the head of the Frunze Military Academy. However, only the first two volumes were published by the People's Commissariat of Defense in 1932 and 1933, due to the execution of Eideman and many of the editorial board during the Great Purge. [1]

Due to revolutions in military affairs in the second half of the 20th century, the Soviet Ministry of Defense decided to publish an encyclopedia to summarize developments. [2]

Editions and translations

Beginning in 1976, the eight volumes of the encyclopedia were published by Voenizdat, the publishing house of the Soviet Ministry of Defense. [1] 106,000 copies were printed. [2]

After the publication of the initial eight volumes, two smaller editions of the Military Encyclopedic Dictionary (Russian : Военного энциклопедического словаря) were published in 1983 and 1986 based on the content of the Soviet Military Encyclopedia. The first volume of the second edition, under the general editorship of then-Chief of the General Staff Mikhail Moiseyev, was published by Voenizdat in 1990. The second edition was not completed due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. [1]

The Russian Ministry of Defense published the successor Military Encyclopedia in Eight Volumes (Russian : Военная энциклопедия в 8 томах) beginning in 1994, including articles on subjects excluded by the Soviet version for ideological reasons, such as those relating to the White movement. [1]

An abridged four-volume English translation of the encyclopedia was published by Westview Press in 1993, edited and translated by William C. Green and W. Robert Reeves. [3]

Content

The encyclopedia contains around 11,000 articles on military theory, military history, military technology, and military geography, as well as biographical articles. The eight volumes of the encyclopedia are illustrated with more than 5,500 maps, diagrams, and photographs. [1]

According to then-Chief of the General Staff Mikhail Kolesnikov, writing in the journal Voyennaya Mysl (Military Thought), the encyclopedia's articles are mostly objective and reliable, but it devotes much of its space to promoting Soviet ideology, making the encyclopedia "excessively politicized". As a result, it is "not without subjectivity in assessing the role and significance of certain military operations and military and political figures", reducing the "objectivity and scientific value of the articles". [1]

Authors

The Soviet Ministry of Defense supervised the writing of the encyclopedia, with contributions from prominent Soviet military leaders and military scientists. Then-Minister of Defense Andrei Grechko chaired the Main Editorial Commission of the encyclopedia for volumes one and eight, and then-Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Ogarkov took over the position after Grechko's death in 1976. [1] The rest of the editorial commission for the first volume included: [4]

Related Research Articles

The Caucasus Front was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snihurivka</span> City in Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine

Snihurivka is a small city in Bashtanka Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine. It was occupied by Russia from March 2022 until early November 2022. It hosts the administration of the Snihurivka urban hromada. Population of Snihurivka is 12,307

The 75th Guards Rifle Division was a Red Army infantry division during World War II and afterwards, which later became the 75th Guards Tank Division and was finally disbanded in the 1990s.

Stepan Dmitrievich Rybalchenko was a Soviet military officer. He was active in the Red Army as a soldier during the Russian Civil War, as a Soviet Air Force general during the Second World War, and later as a military instructor.

The 6th Guards Airborne Division was a Red Army airborne division that fought as infantry during World War II.

The 1st Airborne Corps was an airborne corps of the Red Army during World War II. It fought in the Battle of Kiev, the Battle of Moscow and in the Battle of Demyansk.

The 66th Army was a field army of the Red Army. It was established in August 1942 from the 8th Reserve Army. The 66th Army fought to break through to the Volga to the north of Stalingrad during September and October 1942. During Operation Uranus, the Soviet encirclement of German troops in Stalingrad, 66th Army troops linked up with those of the 62nd Army, forming the inner encirclement. Until February the army fought to destroy the pocket and then was held in reserve. In May 1943 it became the 5th Guards Army for its actions during the Battle of Stalingrad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military Unit Number</span> Numeric designation for military and paramilitary units of post-Soviet states

A Military Unit Number is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet states, originally used by those of the Soviet Union.

The 15th Rifle Corps was a rifle corps of the Red Army, formed five times; each formation was a distinct unit unrelated to the others. It was part of the 5th Army. It took part in the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">41st Guards Rocket Division</span> ICBM division of the Soviet & Russian Strategic Rocket Forces

The 41st Guards Rocket Division was a division of the Soviet and Russian Strategic Rocket Forces, active from 1961 to 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division</span> Military unit

The 3rd Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division was an anti-aircraft artillery division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II and the Soviet Army during the early years of the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kharkov Military District</span> Military unit

The Kharkov Military District was a military district of the Russian Empire, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and the Soviet Union. Throughout its history, the district headquarters was located in the city of Kharkov in northeastern Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">14th Army (RSFSR)</span> Military unit

The 14th Army was a field army of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War era.

The Western Air Defense Front was an air defense front of the National Air Defense Forces during World War II, formed twice. It was first formed in June 1943 and was responsible for the air defense of the western part of European Russia. It was reorganized in March 1944 along with the Eastern Air Defense Front to form the Northern and Southern Air Defense Fronts. The front was reformed in December 1944 from the Northern Air Defense Front and was responsible for air defense in the sectors of fronts.

The Special Moscow Air Defense Army was an army of the National Air Defense Forces during World War II, responsible for the air defense of Moscow. Formed in July 1943 from the Moscow Air Defense Front, its headquarters was used to form the Central Air Defense Front in December 1944.

The 1st Fighter Air Defense Army was an air army of the National Air Defense Forces during World War II, responsible for the air defense of Moscow. Formed in June 1943 from the 6th Fighter Aviation Corps PVO, the army was disbanded during the postwar reorganization of the Air Defense Forces.

The 58th Guards Rifle Division was an elite Guards infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.

The 28th Guards Rifle Corps was an elite Guards rifle corps of the Red Army during World War II. It existed from 1943 to 1956.

The Donbas–Rostov Strategic Defensive Operation was a defensive operation of the Southern Front and the left wing of the South–Western Front of the Red Army on the territory of Donbas during the World War II. During it, the Donbas and Rostov front–line defensive operations were carried out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9th Guards Artillery Brigade</span> Military unit

The 9th Guards Artillery Kielce-Berlin Order of Kutuzov, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Alexander Nevsky and the Red Star Brigade is an artillery brigade of the Russian Ground Forces. During the years of the Great Patriotic War - a tactical formation of the Red Army. Since 1946, the brigade formed part of the Soviet Ground Forces. Since 1992 it has been located at Luga, Leningrad Oblast.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kolesnikov, Mikhail (1995). "Российская Военная Энциклопедия: традиции и современность" [Russian Military Encyclopedia: Traditions and the Present]. Voyennaya Mysl (Military Thought) (in Russian). 5 (9–10).
  2. 1 2 Milovanov, V.I.; Shvedov, Yu. N. (2004). "Энциклопедии военные" [Military encyclopedia]. In Ivanov, Sergey (ed.). Военная энциклопедия в 8 томах [Military Encyclopedia in 8 volumes] (in Russian). Vol. 8. Moscow: Voenizdat. pp. 508–509.
  3. Parrish, Michael (June 1994). "Review of The Soviet Military Encyclopedia, Abridged English Language Edition, vols. 1-4". Slavic Review. 53 (2): 649–650. doi:10.2307/2501389. JSTOR   2501389. S2CID   164099994.
  4. Ogarkov, Nikolay, ed. (1976). "ВОЕННАЯ ЛИТЕРАТУРА --[ Справочная литература ]-- Советская военная энциклопедия (1976-1980)". Советская военная энциклопедия [Soviet Military Encyclopedia] (in Russian). Vol. 1. Moscow: Voenizdat. p. 7.