Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun (; ; born 20 April 1947), known by his pseudonym of Viktor Suvorov (), is a former Soviet GRU officer who is the author of

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

books about

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the GRU and the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

, as well as fictional books about the same and related subjects. After defecting to the United Kingdom in 1978, Suvorov began his writing career, publishing his first books in the 1980s about his own experiences and the structure of the Soviet military,

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

, and

secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...

. He writes in Russian with a number of his books translated into English, including his semi-autobiographical '' The Liberators'' (1981). In the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, according to Suvorov and according to an

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

with the former head of the GRU, he was sentenced to death in absentia. In his

military history Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...

books, he offers an alternative view of the role of the USSR in World War II; the first and most well-known book on this topic being '' Icebreaker: Who started the Second World War?''. The proposed concept and the methods of its substantiation have caused numerous discussions and criticism in historical and social circles. In ''Icebreaker'', ''M Day'' and several follow-up books Suvorov argued that

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

planned to use

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

as a proxy (the "Icebreaker") against the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

. The books are based on his personal analysis of Soviet military investments, diplomatic maneuvers,

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

speeches and other

circumstantial evidence Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact, such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly, i.e., without need ...

. Suvorov also wrote a number of fiction books about the Soviet Army, military intelligence and the pre-war history of the USSR. The trilogy ''Control'', ''Choice'' and ''Snake-eater'' was a bestseller and was approached for movie adaptations. According to ''

Novye Izvestia ''Novye Izvestia'' () is a daily newspaper published in Moscow, Russia. History It was founded in 1997 by a group of journalists who left ''Izvestia'' newspaper with the financial backing of Boris Berezovsky. After Vladimir Putin's election as P ...

'', an online newspaper, the circulation of some of Suvorov's books exceeds a million copies.

Early years

Suvorov, born Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun, comes from a military family of mixed Ukrainian-Russian descent; his father, Bogdan Vasilyevich Rezun, was a veteran of

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and a Ukrainian, while his mother Vera Spiridonovna Rezun (Gorevalova) is Russian. According to his own statements, Suvorov considers himself, his wife and children to be Ukrainians. He was born in the village of Barabash, Primorsky Krai; raised in Ukraine's

Cherkasy Cherkasy (, ) is a city in central Ukraine. Cherkasy serves as the administrative centre of Cherkasy Oblast as well as Cherkasy Raion within the oblast. The city has a population of Cherkasy is the cultural, educational and industrial centre ...

, where his father served. The family subsequently settled in

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

after his father's retirement. According to Suvorov, he went to first grade in the village of Slavyanka (Primorsky Territory), then studied in the village of Barabash. In 1957, after graduating on four classes, at the age of 11 he entered the Suvorov Military School in

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

(from 1958 to 1963). In 1963, the school was disbanded, and the students, including Rezun, were transferred to the Kalinin (now

Tver Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population: The city is ...

) Suvorov Military School (from 1963 to 1965). In 1965, Rezun graduated from said school and was admitted without examinations to the second year of the Kyiv Higher Combined Arms Command School then named after General

Mikhail Frunze Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze (; ; 2 February 1885 – 31 October 1925) was a Soviet revolutionary, politician, army officer and military theory, military theorist. Born to a Bessarabian father and a Russian mother in Russian Turkestan, Frunze at ...

(now Odesa Military Academy).

Prague Spring invasion

10 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia - Flickr - The Central Intelligence Agency

In 1968, Suvorov graduated with honours from the Frunze Red Banner Higher Military Command School in Kyiv. At the same year, he served in

Chernivtsi Chernivtsi (, ; , ;, , see also #Names, other names) is a city in southwestern Ukraine on the upper course of the Prut River. Formerly the capital of the historic region of Bukovina, which is now divided between Romania and Ukraine, Chernivt ...

as a tank platoon commander with the 145th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 66th Guards Training Motor Rifle Division, of the Carpathian Military District in Ukraine, participating in the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

invasion of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, Operation Danube. This experience is narrated in his 1981 book ''The Liberators: My Life in the Soviet Army''. The book was Suvorov's first after his defection and in it he narrates his eyewitness account of the invasion, recounting the daily life within the

. He points to deficiencies in readiness and in mindset. Suvorov mentions that middle-ranking officers struggled to impress their superiors, something that does not contribute to military effectiveness or

discipline Discipline is the self-control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed, and the ability to keep working at something that is difficult. Disciplinarians believe that such self-control is of the utmost importance and enforce a ...

– instead fostering on officers a behavior of cunning and deceit in order to climb the ranks. At the age of 19 he was admitted to the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

(CPSU). From 1970 to 1971 he was an officer in the intelligence department of the

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

of the Volga Military District (in the city of Kuibyshev), and later with the 808th Independent Army

Reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

Company (''

Spetsnaz SpetsnazThe term is borrowed from rus, спецназ, p=spʲɪtsˈnas; abbreviation for or 'Special Purpose Military Units'; or () are special forces in many post-Soviet states. Historically, this term referred to the Soviet Union's Spet ...

''). In 1970 he became a member of the nomenclature (

nomenklatura The ''nomenklatura'' (; from , system of names) were a category of people within the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries who held various key administrative positions in the bureaucracy, running all spheres of those countries' activity: ...

) of the

Central Committee of the CPSU The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the Central committee, highest organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) between Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Congresses. Elected by the ...

. In this position he came under the

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of the commander of the Carpathian Military District, Lieutenant General of Tank Forces (later

General of the Army Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

) Gennady Obaturov. This general was known for suppressing anti-communist uprisings in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in 1956 and later Czechoslovakia in 1968 with ruthless efficiency, for which Obaturov received the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

Espionage in Geneva and defection

Geneva station

From 1971 to 1974, Suvorov studied at the Military Diplomatic Academy, known as "the Conservatory", located in Moscow. The Academy trained officers for work abroad as intelligence operatives or "scouts" ( in the Russian language). These worked often "under diplomatic cover" ("jackets", in the jargon of Soviet intelligence operatives), and also as "illegals", meaning intelligence operatives not under diplomatic cover or (quasi-declared) commercial cover. For four years, Suvorov worked in the Geneva

GRU Gru is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the ''Despicable Me'' film series. Gru or GRU may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Gru (rapper), Serbian rapper * Gru, an antagonist in '' The Kine Saga'' Organizations Georgia (c ...

as an employee of the legal residency of military intelligence under the cover of the Permanent Mission of the USSR at the European

United Nations Office at Geneva The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, ) in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG administrative offices are located inside ...

. According to the autobiographical book ''

Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

'', he received the rank of major while working in residency. The same title was named in an interview of 1992 with the newspaper by then head of the GRU, Colonel general Yevgeny Timokhin.

Defection

On 10 June 1978 he disappeared from his Geneva apartment with his wife and two children. According to Suvorov himself, he made contact with British intelligence because the Geneva station wanted to make him a "scapegoat" of a major failure. On 28 June 1978 British newspapers reported that Rezun was in England with his family. At the time, he was married to Tatiana Korzh. The couple had a son, Aleksandr, and a daughter, Oksana. They were smuggled out of Switzerland to Britain by British intelligence. There Suvorov worked as an

analyst for the government and as a lecturer."Виктор Суворов, Биография"
Internet Archive. Since 1981, he has been writing under the pseudonym Viktor Suvorov, having written his first three books in English: ''The Liberators'', ''Inside the Soviet Army'', and ''Inside Soviet Military Intelligence''. The author explains the choice of pseudonym by the fact that his publisher recommended that he choose a Russian surname of three syllables, evoking a slight "military" association among Western readers. According to Viktor himself, he teaches

tactics Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics In chess, a tac ...

and

at a British military academy and lives in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Publications

Non-fiction

Suvorov drew on his experience and research to write non-fiction books in Russian about the Soviet Army,

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

, and

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

. He publishes these works under the pseudonym "Viktor Suvorov." *'' The Liberators'', includes his eyewitness account about the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet forces *'' Inside the Soviet Army'', *''Inside Soviet Military Intelligence'' *''

'', his memoir, and *''Spetsnaz'', about Special Forces units

Novels

Suvorov also wrote several fiction books set in the pre-World War II era in the Soviet Union. * ''Control'' * ''Choice'' * ''Snake-eater'' (2010)

Movies

Suvorov was in participant the movie The Soviet Story (2008).

Works about World War II

Suvorov has written ten books about the outbreak of the Nazi-Soviet War in 1941 and the circumstances related to it. The first such work was ''

Icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

'' (1989), followed by '' M Day'', ''The Last Republic'', ''Cleansing'', ''

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

'', ''The Shadow of Victory'', ''I Take it Back'', ''The Last Republic II'', ''The Chief Culprit'', and ''Defeat''. In the ''Icebreaker'', ''M Day'' and several follow-up books Suvorov argued that

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

planned to use

as a proxy (the “Icebreaker”) against the West. For this reason, Stalin provided significant material and political support to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

, while at the same time preparing the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

to "liberate" the whole of Europe from Nazi occupation. Suvorov argued that Hitler had lost

from the time when 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 The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

would seize the opportune moment to attack him from the rear. According to Suvorov, Hitler decided 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. Although Hitler had an important initial tactical advantage, that was strategically hopeless because he subjected the Nazis to having to fight on two fronts. At the end of the war, Stalin achieved only some of his initial objectives by establishing Communist regimes in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

, China and

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

. According to Suvorov, this made Stalin the primary winner of World War II, even though he was not satisfied by the outcome, having intended to establish Soviet domination over the whole continent of Europe. Most historians agreed that the geopolitical differences between the Soviet Union and the Axis made war inevitable, and that Stalin had made extensive preparations for war and exploited the military conflict in Europe to his advantage. However, there was a debate among historians as to whether Joseph Stalin planned to attack Axis forces in Eastern Europe in the summer of 1941. A number of historians, such as Gabriel Gorodetsky and

David Glantz David M. Glantz (born January 11, 1942) is an American military historian known for his books on the Red Army during World War II and as the chief editor of '' The Journal of Slavic Military Studies''. Born in Port Chester, New York, Glantz ...

disputed or rejected this claim. But it received some support from others, such as

Valeri Danilov Valeri Danilov (also spelled: Valeriy; Russian:Валерий Дмитриевич Данилов) is a Russian military historian and a retired officer (Colonel). Danilov has a Candidate of History Sciences degree (''кандидат истори ...

, Joachim Hoffmann, Mikhail Meltyukhov, and Vladimir Nevezhin.

Other works

About the Cold War-era Soviet Union

* '' The Liberators: My Life in the Soviet Army'', 1981, Hamish Hamilton, * '' Inside the Soviet Army,'' 1982, Macmillan Publishing. *
Inside Soviet Military Intelligence
', 1984, * ''

'' (), 1985, Hamish Hamilton, , memoir *
Spetsnaz
The Story Behind the Soviet SAS'', 1987, Hamish Hamilton, * ''Devil's Mother'' (), 2011, Sofia, Fakel Express,

About the outbreak of the Nazi-Soviet War

* ''

'' () (1980s), Hamish Hamilton Ltd, * '' Day "M"'' () * ''Suicide''. For what reason did Hitler attack the Soviet Union? (), Moscow, ACT, 2000, *
The Last Republic
', ACT, 1997, *

' (). Purification. Why did Stalin behead his army?, Moscow, 2002, * ''Last Republic II''. Why did the Soviet Union lose the Second World War? (), Sofia, Fakel Express, 2007, * '. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2008 (hardcover, ). * ''Defeat''. Why was the "great victory" worse than any defeat? (), Sofia, Fakel Express, 2009,

About Soviet historical figures

*

' (), 2003. This questions the status and image of General

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( 189618 June 1974) was a Soviet military leader who served as a top commander during World War II and achieved the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. During World War II, Zhukov served as deputy commander-in-ch ...

, known for his defense of the Soviet Union and later victory in the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

. The first book of a trilogy under the same name. *
I Take It Back
' (), is also about Georgy Zhukov. this is the second book of the "Shadow of Victory" trilogy.

Fiction

* ''Control'' (), novel * ''Choice'' (), novel * ''Snake-eater'' (), novel (Sofia, Fakel Express, 2010),

References

External links

Official website (archived)

Official website

Online books of Viktor Suvorov (mostly in Russian)

Viktor Suvorov
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Appearances by Viktor Suvorov
on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

* *
''Who Started World War II? – Stalin as a Chief Culprit''.
:: Viktor Suvorov's presentation at the

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the sec ...

, Eurasia Forum, in Annapolis, Maryland (October 7, 2009). *
"The Chief Culprit: Stalin's Grand Design to Start World War II."
:: Viktor Suvorov speaks at the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...

in Washington, D.C. via

C-SPAN2 Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises proceedings of the United States federal gov ...

(February 2009). *
Selection of online books
by Viktor Suvorov and links to related online publications at th
Maxim Moshkov's Library
*

of Suvorov's online books (some in English), a
Militera Project
*
Viktor Suvorov, ''Ledokol''
audio book {{DEFAULTSORT:Suvorov, Viktor 1947 births Living people People from Khasansky District Russian people of Ukrainian descent Soviet intelligence personnel who defected to the United Kingdom GRU officers 20th-century Russian writers 21st-century Russian writers Russian military historians 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers