Editing Lokot Autonomy (section)

==History==

=== Foundation ===
In October 1941, the Nazi German military advanced into the [[Soviet Union]] during [[Operation Barbarossa]]. They reached the Lokot area near the city of [[Bryansk]] and captured it on October 6, 1941.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://militera.lib.ru/research/sokolov3/03.html|title=ВОЕННАЯ ЛИТЕРАТУРА --[ Исследования ]-- Соколов Б.В. Оккупация. Правда и мифы|website=militera.lib.ru}}</ref> In November 1941 Bronislav Kaminski (an engineer at a local [[distillery]]) and [[Konstantin Voskoboinik]] (a local technical school teacher) were approached by the German military administration to help them establish a civil administration and local police. Voskoboinik was designated by Germans as [[starosta]] of the "Lokot [[volost]]." Kaminski became Voskoboinik's deputy. Other deputies appointed were Stepan Mosin and Roman Ivanin (the head of the local militia), both former prisoners.{{Sfn|Yermolov|Drobyazko|2001}}

=== Militia ===
{{Main|Kaminski Brigade}}
Initially, the militia headed by Voskoboinik numbered no more than 200 men. It assisted Germans in policing the area and committed numerous atrocities against the civilian population loyal to the Soviet authorities or [[Soviet partisans]], Soviet [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] (POWs), [[Jews]] and ordinary civilians.{{Sfn|Yermolov|Drobyazko|2001}}<ref name="debryansk1">{{cite web |url=http://www.admin.debryansk.ru/region/history/guerilla/pril3_collaboration.php |title=Администрация Брянской области / Брянская область / История / "Партизанская республика" |access-date=2013-04-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130503103556/http://www.admin.debryansk.ru/region/history/guerilla/pril3_collaboration.php |archive-date=2013-05-03 }}</ref> By January 1942 the militia's personnel was increased to 400–500.

During a [[Battle of Lokot|partisan attack headed by Alexander Saburov on January 8, 1942]], Voskoboinik was fatally wounded. Kaminski took over the command and further expanded the militia.<ref name="scribd1"/><ref name="debryansk1"/>

In cooperation with German forces, the militia commenced [[Bandenbekämpfung|security operations]], and by the spring of 1942, the militia had 1,400 armed personnel. The number of Soviet partisans in this area was estimated at 20,000 men; they controlled almost the entire rear of the [[Army Group Centre]]'s area of operations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Howell |first=Edgar M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4O-0WaSL9XwC&q=Kaminski&pg=PT104 |title=The Soviet Partisan Movement, 1941-1944 |date=1997 |publisher=Merriam Press |isbn=978-1-57638-014-7 |pages=99 |language=en}}</ref>

In March 1942, Kaminski's representative to the German [[2nd Panzer Army]] in [[Oryol]] gave assurances that Kaminski's unit was "ready to fight the [[guerrilla]]s actively" and to carry on a propaganda campaign against "[[Jewish Bolshevism]]" and Soviet partisans. Soon after that, the commander of [[2nd Army (Wehrmacht)|the 2nd Army]] [[Generaloberst]] [[Rudolf Schmidt]] appointed Kaminski as the mayor of the Korück 532 centered in the township of [[Lokot, Bryansk Oblast|Lokot]]. On 19 July 1942, after the Commander of the Army Group Centre, Field Marshal [[Günther von Kluge]] gave an official approval, the Lokot administration received some degree of [[autonomy]] and nominal self-rule under the supervision of Major von Veltheim and Colonel Rübsam. Kaminsky was appointed the [[Oberbürgermeister]] of the Autonomous Administration of Lokot (comprising eight [[raion]]s) and the brigadier of the local militia.

From June 1942, Kaminski's militia took part in a major anti-partisan operation code-named Operation Vogelsang, as part of General [[Werner von Gilsa]]'s [[Kampfgruppe]] (battle group) Gilsa II.

Germans did not interfere in the Lokot Autonomy's affairs as long as their transports were kept safe, and the republic delivered the required food quotas to the [[Wehrmacht]]. Kaminski established a court, jails, and newspapers. [[Collective farming|Collective farms]] were abolished, and a significant degree of free enterprise was permitted. Kaminski's speeches published in the region's newspapers emphasized that Nazi Germany and Russia "are the same."

The schools (closed after the German invasion) reopened, and a radio station and some theater groups were established in Lokot, [[Dmitrovsk]] and [[Sevsk, Bryansk Oblast|Sevsk]]{{Sfn|Yermolov|Drobyazko|2001}} Newspapers published in the Lokot Autonomy were typical of all newspapers published on Nazi-occupied Russian territories, featuring articles claiming [[Jewish Bolshevism|Judeo-Bolshevik]] crimes along with [[Nazi propaganda]] with the usual heavy dose of [[antisemitism]]. The Jewish population in the Autonomy was murdered without German assistance: 223 Jews were shot dead in the township of [[Suzemka]], and 39 at [[Navlya, Bryansk Oblast|Navlya]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Альтман И. Жертвы ненависти, стр. 263</ref>

In October 1942, Kaminski renamed Lokot township as the town of Voskoboinik. Streets in other townships of the Autonomy were also renamed.

In the autumn of 1942, Kaminski ordered the compulsory draft into the militia of all non-disabled men. Its units were reinforced with the "volunteers" drafted from Soviet POWs at the nearest Nazi concentration camps. Due to the lack of uniforms and boots (some units were barefoot), the Germans provided Kaminski's brigade with used uniforms: these were sufficient for only four battalions. Kaminski ordered the gathering of Soviet tanks and armored cars abandoned in 1941 due to the lack of fuel or minor mechanical failures – by November 1942, his unit had at least two [[BT-7]] tanks and one 76&nbsp;mm artillery gun.

By late 1942, the militia of the Lokot Autonomy had expanded to the size of a 14-[[battalion]] [[brigade]] with close to 8,000 men under arms called the [[29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS "RONA" (1st Russian)|Russian National Liberation Army]] (RONA). From November 19, 1942, to December 1942, Lokot was inspected by [[Alfred Rosenberg]].{{clarify|inspected?|date=February 2023}}

In January 1943, the brigade numbered 9,828 people; the armored unit of brigade had in total 15 vehicles:<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 August 2022 |title="Бригада Каминского" А, сколько это бойцов? |url=https://dzen.ru/showcaptcha?cc=1&mt=4B237F1334D31B56DB9127FF43D2B1443AB21A3E89BF70A10633DCAA5DBA644B59F83F1832E009E4909E6936949F068F132A7EB9727048CAE6C6329C0A6037477C80DFDF3D17B8014FDF41EF6C85FA7D624B3F91EF124B885BEF&retpath=aHR0cDovL2R6ZW4ucnUvbWVkaWEvaWQvNjA0MTEwMjJlODUzZGIzOGM3YjdiYmY4L2JyaWdhZGEta2FtaW5za29nby1hLXNrb2xrby1ldG8tYm9pY292LTYzMDY1MzVlZTRmM2M0NzM5NmM2YzM2Mz8%2C_4922670c317b04fc411ee940c69a0a32&t=2/1689037230/44000960fca024ff8f6c070b635e9431&u=46b9a517-3b4be54d-55838128-6cfa583f&s=c146a5983c9803278689887b888a2207 |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=dzen.ru }}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

* two heavy [[KV-2]], 
* four medium [[T-34]], 
* four [[BT-7]],
* two [[SU-76]] self-propelled guns.
* three armored cars ([[BA-10]], two [[BA-20]]).

In the spring of 1943, the brigade's structure was reorganized. There were five regiments created with three battalions in each, an anti-aircraft battalion (three AA guns and four heavy machine guns) and an armored unit. A separate "guard" battalion was created, with brigade strength estimated to be 12,000 men in total.

Before [[Operation Citadel]], the massive offensive to destroy the [[Kursk]] [[Salient (military)|salient]], in May–June 1943, the brigade took part in Operation Zigeunerbaron ("Gypsy Baron") together with other German units.

Similar operations followed this operation, such as ''[[Operation Scherhorn|Freischütz]]'' and ''Tannhäuser'', in which the brigade and other units under German command were involved in action against partisans and also took part in [[reprisal]] operations against the civilian population.

In the summer of 1943, the brigade began to suffer significant desertions, due in part to the recent Soviet victories and the partisans' efforts to "turn" as many of Kaminski's troops as possible. As a part of these efforts, several attempts on Kaminski's life were carried out. Each time, Kaminski narrowly avoided death and punished the conspirators with execution. Several German officers passing through Lokot reported seeing bodies hanging from [[gallows]] outside Kaminski's headquarters. Fearing a breakdown in command, a German liaison staff was attached to Kaminski's HQ to restructure the brigade and return stability to the unit.

After the German failure of Citadel, the Soviet counteroffensives forced the brigade, along with their families, to flee with the retreating Germans. On the 29th of July, 1943, Kaminski issued an order to evacuate the RONA brigade and Lokot authorities' property and families. Germans transferred up to 30 thousand persons (10–11,000 of them were brigade members) to the [[Lyepyel|Lepel]] area of [[Vitebsk]] in [[Belarus]] by the end of August 1943.

By September 1943, the force had 10,000 men, divided into:<ref name="Littlejohn 1994 309">{{Cite book|last=Littlejohn|first=David|title=Foreign Legions of the Third Reich.|year=1994|isbn=0-912138-36-X|volume=4 (Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, India, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Russia)|location=United States of America|pages=309}}</ref>

* 5 infantry regiments, each of 3 battalions,
* one artillery battalion (36 field guns),
* and an armour unit of 24 captured Soviet tanks and armoured vehicles,
* in addition to engineer, signal, and medical units.

According to possibly unreliable post-war Soviet estimates, up to 10,000 civilians were killed by forces loyal to the Lokot Autonomy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=29 гренадерская дивизия сс рона. Предатели. русская дивизия сс рона. локотская "республика" |url=https://srcaltufevo.ru/29-grenaderskaya-diviziya-ss-rona-predateli-russkaya-diviziya-ss-rona-lokotskaya.html |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=srcaltufevo.ru}}</ref>