How an engineer of a distillery created the Lokot "republic" and what came of it

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In 1941, the Germans sanctioned the creation of Republik Lokot - "Lokot Administrative District". It included several districts located in the North-West of the Kursk and districts located in the south of the Bryansk (then Oryol) regions, and the population was over half a million people. Republik Lokot was subordinate to the rear command of the Second Panzer Army of the Wehrmacht, led by Colonel General Heinz Guderian. The so-called Russian People's Liberation Army (RONA), created in the Lokot "republic", actively fought against the partisans, for which in 1944 it was included in the 29th division of the SS troops. The idea of creating a district was approved by the Reich propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and the head of the SS Heinrich Himmler.

For what purpose was the Lokotsk "republic" created?

Arising due to a lack of law and order (the Soviet leadership in a hurry left some of these areas) Lokot self-government was approved by Heinz Guderian. He was quite satisfied with the discipline and order established in Lokt. The rapidly advancing military units of the Wehrmacht needed to ensure security on the occupied lands.

Before the arrival of the Germans, Konstantin Pavlovich Voskoboinik, a native of the Kiev province, who works as an engineer at a distillery, organized and led the people's squads, eliminating chaos and robberies. The grateful citizens of Voskoboynik appointed him “the governor of the surrounding land,” and he, in turn, proceeded to form government bodies. It turned out to establish administrative life in an urban-type settlement - in Lokte there were many people expelled by the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs in the 30s, and among them there were a sufficient number of those who had managerial experience.

The vast majority of the repressed were well received by the invaders, like many of the indigenous inhabitants of Lokot. Local peasants before the arrival of Soviet power lived in a special situation - the estate of Mikhail Romanov was located in the Oryol region, and the peasants belonging to him did not know oppression and deprivation, they lived in prosperity and stability. With the advent of Soviet power, the situation changed radically and not for the better for them.

Soon the Nazis appointed Voskoboinik as mayor of the Republik Lokot. He created his own party, and on the basis of the self-defense detachment - a paramilitary formation with the pretentious name of the Russian Liberation People's Army (RONA). In addition to the function of maintaining law and order in the Republic of Lithuania, her duties included the fight against partisan detachments and providing the Wehrmacht with reliable transport communications. Making sure that local self-government is capable of ensuring the security of the rear areas on its own, the command of the 2nd Panzer Army reorganized the Lokotsky district into a county, and then into a district. So the small town of Lokot became the capital of the fascist Bryansk region.

After the death of the first burgomaster of the Republic of Lithuania in 1942, power passed into the hands of Bronislav Kaminsky (a former distillery technologist). Kaminsky cultivated the idea put forward by his German masters - the fate of the Russian people depends on the success of the Lokot Republic (patriotism is a shape-shifter).

How the administrative and judicial system of Lokot self-government was organized

In the Republic of Lithuania, the main state institutions were organized, the population was taxed, the press was published, canteens, baths, hairdressers, restaurants, schools, orphanages, factories and workshops worked. The activities of the state bank were established (financial transactions in it were carried out with Soviet money). Despite the fact that German commandant's offices and Abwehr units operated on the territory of the district, the organization of the life and work of the civilian population was almost completely under the jurisdiction of the Lokot administration.

In each of the eight districts there was a government, the number of the governing apparatus in which was about 60-70 people. The district, in turn, was divided into volosts headed by foremen, who had a deputy and a clerk. The chief of police and the magistrate were subordinate to the foremen. The lowest and smallest link in the administrative chain was the headman, who was elected at the village meetings of the community. At such meetings, decisions were made on a wide range of issues of the internal life of the settlement.

Collective farms were abolished, private property and free enterprise were returned. Each peasant was entitled to 10 hectares of land, a cow, a horse, and small livestock he had already raised himself. The products produced by the inhabitants were bought by the German army. The owner of the land allocated 10% of the income to the budget. Families were the first to receive land plots, the sons of whom served in RONA.

A three-tier judicial system was formed. Belonging to the units that fought the invaders was punishable by death, and those who helped them were threatened with imprisonment. For desertion from RON, they were punished not only with a prison term, but also with the complete confiscation of all acquired property. Death sentences were used for gross violations of order. If in other occupied regions the courts dealt only with civil and minor criminal cases, and the German authorities punished criminals for political crimes and murders according to martial law, then in the Republic of Lithuania absolutely all cases were considered by local courts. In Republik Lokot, residents were not completely deprived of rights, as in the neighboring areas occupied by the Nazis.

What was the significance of the Lokot self-government for the Germans

At the beginning of the war, despite the successful offensive, the invaders suffered significant losses - Soviet soldiers fought to the death. The German blitzkrieg was choked with transport problems. To ensure the well-coordinated work of the rear services, security units were required. Therefore, the idea of relying on collaborators worked in the best possible way, especially in the case of the Lokotsky District - they voluntarily and very successfully fought the partisans, whose units greatly complicated the life of the invaders.

In exchange for these services, the inhabitants of the district gained independence - the invaders withdrew their garrisons from the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, supplying local residents with captured weapons. The Germans did not have to worry about maintaining order within the district; their own security in this territory was also ensured by the Lokot paramilitary militia. On the ideological plane, there were also some pluses - this is a clear and successful example of cooperation between local government and the occupation authorities.

"Kaminsky's gangs" or how the Russian People's Liberation Army (RONA) was formed

District self-government relied on the so-called "people's militia". Its main goal was clearly defined - to fight the Bolsheviks and Jews. RONA was subsequently created on the basis of the people's militia. Bronislav Kaminsky took over the duties of the commander of the RONA. This well-organized gang is responsible for a large number of daring operations against partisans and brutal massacres of civilians. More than 10,000 people died at the hands of the Kaminets. For the merciless struggle against partisan detachments, Kaminsky was nicknamed the owner of the Bryansk forest.

RONA had its own intelligence and counterintelligence - it practiced sending agents into partisan detachments. The Nazis awarded Kaminsky the rank of SS Brigadefuehrer (Major General) and appointed him divisional commander. The Kaminsky brigade, which became the 29th division of the Waffen-SS, took part in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, where it showed itself not so much in hostilities as in looting. After the death of Kaminsky, RONA was transferred to the subordination of another fascist henchman - General Vlasov.

What was the fate of the region after the liquidation of Republik Lokot

After Lokot was taken by Soviet troops, the Ronovtsy left with the German army to the city of Lepel, Vitebsk region. The residents of the district, who did not want to remain on Soviet territory, also left with them. An attempt was made to create the "Lepel Republic", but it failed - the population of the city was completely different and did not want to cooperate with the traitors to the homeland.

After the RONA left, clashes with the NKVD units took place on the territory of the former Lokotsky district until 1951. Later on, only a small village remained from the town of Lokot.

It is fair to say that at the beginning of the war, General Vlasov was the favorite of the authorities, a brave and selfless Soviet general. For what merits Vlasov was called Stalin's favorite general, and where the monument in his honor stands today can be found in one of our reviews.