Editing Stalin Line

{{Short description|Soviet fortification system of the interwar period}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F016204-03, Russland, Panzerwerk über dem Dnjestr.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Gun emplacements of a Stalin Line bunker near [[Mogilev]]]]
The '''Stalin Line''' was a line of [[fortifications]] along the western border of the [[Soviet Union]] (USSR).  Work began on the system in the 1920s to protect the USSR against attacks from the west. The line was made up of concrete [[bunker]]s and gun emplacements, somewhat similar to, but less elaborate than the [[Maginot Line]]. It was not a continuous line of defense along the entire border, but rather a network of [[fortified district]]s, meant to channel potential invaders along certain corridors.

In the aftermath of the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]], with the westward expansion of the USSR in 1939 and 1940 into [[Poland]], the [[Baltic region|Baltic]], and [[Bessarabia]], the decision was made to abandon the line in favour of constructing the [[Molotov Line]] further west, along the new border of the USSR. A number of Soviet generals felt that it would be better to keep both lines and to have a [[defence in depth]], but this conflicted with the pre-[[World War II]] Soviet military doctrine.<ref>[[John Erickson (historian)|John Erickson]] ''The Soviet High Command: A Military-Political History, 1918–1941'', Routledge, 2001. {{ISBN|0-7146-5178-8}}</ref>

[[File:STALIN LINE - MINSK - BELARUS.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Preserved remains of the Stalin Line near [[Minsk]]]]
Thus, the guns were removed, but were mostly in storage as the new line began construction.<ref name=OP/> The 1941 Axis [[Operation Barbarossa|invasion]] caught the Soviets with the new line unfinished and the Stalin Line largely abandoned and in disrepair.<ref>[[David M. Glantz]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=SDfInc6Gb40C&pg=PA592 ''Barbarossa Derailed: The Battle for Smolensk, 10 July - 10 September 1941'', Vol.1, p.26], Helion & Co., 2010.</ref> Neither was of much use in stopping the onslaught, though parts of the Stalin Line were manned in time and contributed to the defense of the USSR.

Following World War II, the line was not maintained, in part due to its wide dispersal across the USSR.<ref name=OP /> Unlike [[Western Europe]], where similar fortifications were demolished for development and safety reasons, much of the line survived beyond the breakup of the USSR in 1991 due to being ignored.<ref name=OP /> Today, the remains of the Stalin Line fortifications are located in [[Belarus]], [[Russia]], and [[Ukraine]] (plus possibly the eastern parts of [[Moldova]]).<ref name=OP>{{cite book|last=Short|first=Neil |title=The Stalin and Molotov Lines: Soviet Western Defences 1928–41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=94GHCwAAQBAJ&q=The+Stalin+and+Molotov+Lines%3A+Soviet+Western+Defences&pg=PT6 |publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|year=2008|location=[[Oxford]]|pages=56 |isbn=978-1-84603-192-2}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[KaUR]] – the fortified region north of [[St. Petersburg]]
* [[Soviet offensive plans controversy]] – controversial attempt to explain 1940–1941 dismantling

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Stalin Line}}
* [http://svsm.org/gallery/StalinLine Photos from "Stalin Line" Museum (Minsk Fortified District)]
* [http://www.bunkermuzeum.hu/ Bunkermuzeum]
* [http://www.nortfort.ru/kaur/index_e.html KaUR (Karelskij Ukrepljenyj Rajon) - www.nortfort.ru]
* [https://www.panoramio.com/user/263612/tags/defence%20line KiUR (Kievskiy Ukrepljenyj Rajon)]

[[Category:Fortified regions of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Places associated with Joseph Stalin]]
[[Category:World War II defensive lines]]
[[Category:World War II sites in Belarus]]
[[Category:World War II sites in Russia]]
[[Category:World War II sites in Ukraine]]
[[Category:World War II sites of the Soviet Union]]


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