Goodbye Germany! Unknown details of the withdrawal of the Western Group of Forces. Ours in the GDR: Group of Soviet Forces in Germany

Matvey Prokofievich, having learned about the appointment to the post of commander-in-chief of the Western Group of Forces, did you realize that it was you who would bear the heavy cross of withdrawing a military group of many thousands?
I began the withdrawal of our troops from Europe even before my appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Western Group - as Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Group. There were no special complaints against me in this regard, and the USSR Minister of Defense Yazov even decided to conduct practical training for the commands of the Western, Northern and Central groups using the example of the group of troops subordinate to me. First Deputy Minister, Army General Lushev, was appointed to lead the classes in Hungary. Over the course of two days, we showed the procedure for preparing for the withdrawal, the process of collecting and loading equipment. A collection point was set up in Transcarpathia especially for this purpose. Everything went well. “I will report to the minister, and get ready, Matvey Prokofievich: you will most likely have to withdraw the Western group as well. “Your experience is good,” Lushev said then. That was June 1989. And in October 1990, in Moscow, I attended a report with the minister. Yazov listened, was silent for a while: “You know, Matvey, next year, most likely by May, the commander-in-chief of the West Group will resign. The age is still 65 years. Get ready to accept the position." By May, that means by May.
But then chance intervened: an emergency occurred in the Western Group. The commander of one of the regiments, leaving his family and taking with him a rocket that was secret at that time, fled to the West. The Germans, naturally, refused to hand over the defector to the Soviet side. A loud scandal broke out. The country's leadership makes decisions: to remove the commander-in-chief and member of the military council of a group of forces from their positions. Thus, I accepted the ZGV in December instead of May. I was informed about this at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee in Moscow, giving only three days to transfer affairs to the first deputy, farewell to the Hungarian leadership and subordinates. On December 14, 1990, I flew from Budapest to Berlin.

Was the withdrawal of the Western Group of Forces more difficult than the previous withdrawal from Hungary?
Incomparably more difficult. Firstly, the Southern Group of Forces left when the Soviet Union was still in existence - they crossed the Hungarian border, and were already at home, in their native Ukraine. Germany is a different matter, where the group was tens of times larger, and in order to withdraw it, it was necessary to overcome several borders of sovereign states - Poland, Czechoslovakia, and since 1992 - also Belarus and Ukraine. Moreover, the mood towards us was far from friendly. The Poles and Czechs, former brothers in the socialist camp, decided to improve their shaky financial situation at the expense of the Western Group. The leaders of these countries put forward a number of conditions: to repair all routes, build bridges, and, in fact, build new bypass roads around cities. And for the passage of each axle of a railway car across the country, they demanded an astronomical amount - from 4.5 to 5 thousand marks!
Naturally, the group did not have that kind of money, which means there was only one way left - sea. From the German ports of Rostock and Mukran to Kaliningrad, Vyborg and Klaipeda. In order to study the situation and technical readiness for the withdrawal of troops by sea, I and the main part of the headquarters were on the coast for six months. Otherwise, it was impossible: after all, there were not enough warships, and no one knew how civilian cargo ships, not intended for transporting equipment, would behave. Then three ferries “Mukran - Klaipeda” were launched, each of which was loaded with one hundred pieces of equipment. The first six months were spent specifically studying the possibility of withdrawing troops by sea, so they entered the established schedule only in the second half of 1991.

Did the Germans really see off our soldiers and officers with tears in their eyes and bouquets of flowers? Or did the majority still grin maliciously at the backs of the troops leaving Germany?
It was different. The East Germans, especially those who served in the People's National Army of the GDR, were offended that we were leaving them. After the unification of Germany, the GDR army was simply disbanded. The generals and senior officers were dismissed, but everyone else who wished to stay was demoted in rank by two levels. But there really were rallies, flowers, and tears; they saw us off well, kindly. The West Germans reacted surprisingly calmly and evenly to our departure.
There were, however, some negative aspects. Neo-Nazis threw a torch onto one of the carriages of a train carrying ammunition passing under the bridge. The sentry, knowing full well that if the tarpaulin catches fire, a disaster cannot be avoided, climbs up. The guy managed to throw off the torch and put out the flames, but he himself died.

Now, twenty years later, it is absolutely obvious that the withdrawal of the Western Group in such a short time was an absolutely ill-conceived, I would even say adventurous, operation. Did you, as commander in chief, somehow try to influence the situation?
A man in uniform cannot discuss orders or criticize the current president - the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. And we constantly prompted and advised him. Personally, I kept telling both our and the German leadership that the pace of withdrawal should be equal to the pace of settling troops at home. A town is built in Russia - we withdraw a regiment, a division - we liberate the German garrison. The formula is simple and not invented by us! This is exactly how the French withdrew their troops. But our elite units and formations were sent into an open field, everything was so ill-thought out.
The Germans, naturally, wanted to push us out as quickly as possible, and this is understandable. Another thing is unclear: why the leaders of our country, neither Gorbachev nor Yeltsin, who replaced him, thought absolutely about their own army. On the contrary, they were constantly rushing and pushing. And Yeltsin, on top of everything else, reduced the already catastrophic time frame for the group’s withdrawal by another four months.
If the ZGV had been given eight to ten years, then probably everything would have turned out completely differently. During this time, it was possible to create infrastructure, equip training grounds, and build housing for military personnel. After all, in post-Soviet Russia there were practically no military towns; all of them remained along the western borders of the former Union: in Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, and Moldova. The authorities turned out to be aloof from the problems of people in uniform, essentially abandoning them to their fate.
Take, for example, the tank division abandoned near the village of Boguchary in the Voronezh region. The mud is impassable, the nearest railway line is 50 km off-road. No one even thought about how to drive tanks to their destination through black soil! When making such a wild decision, they were guided by other principles: at that time, the Voronezh region was afraid of Chechnya, located not so far away, and Boguchary on the southern outskirts was supposed to become a kind of barrier, an outpost. And they didn’t think at all about where to live for the officers and their families.

Matvey Prokofievich, don’t you think that it was during these years that a time bomb was planted under the prestige of officer service?
The image of the officer corps and the prestige of military service as a whole have suffered, this is indisputable. And how many families have broken up! Judge for yourself: officers traveled in trains with soldiers, and wives and children, who had such an opportunity, were sent to their parents, close relatives, and acquaintances. The forced separation sometimes lasted for several years: where can you bring your family if you yourself are feeding mosquitoes in a tent, and there is no chance of changing anything? Many were never reunited. And this is also a tragedy, one of many.
And how many smart, professional commanders we lost in those years! Even the young officers serving in the Western Front had a wealth of experience: after all, the troops in Germany did not engage in side activities that were not characteristic of the army, but devoted all their time to planned combat training. No annual “battles for the potato harvest”, only improvement of military skills! Arriving home, these people were faced with insoluble everyday difficulties, and, accordingly, the service faded into the background, prospects and meaning were lost. 56,900 officers were withdrawn from Germany. Thousands of them - some immediately, others after several years - left the Armed Forces.

Previously, it was believed that only the so-called “thieves” officers who won the “dad competition” ended up serving in the Western Civil Guard...
Of course, there were some, but I can confidently say: they did not make up the majority. You don’t have to look far for an example: I, who came from a working-class family, after graduating from college with honors, was sent to Germany, where I served as a young officer from 1956 to 1963. When assigned, excellent graduates were then given the right to choose their place of service. And you know, these seven years gave me a lot as a commander; it was impossible to think of a better school.

The sale of the property of the Western Group of Forces has become the talk of the town...
According to the agreement between the heads of our states, the sale of real estate belonging to the Western Geographical Group was to be handled by the German Ministry of Finance. Now think about why the Ministry of Finance would sell our barracks, when it is already clear to everyone that no one will take it with them in any case, and in the end they will get it completely free of charge? Therefore, there was actually no sale of real estate.
Under these conditions, I made a decision: to disassemble everything that was possible and take it to Russia. And these are thousands of all kinds of hangars, storage facilities, boxes - in general, those structures that can be assembled in a new place. More than 37 thousand concrete airfield slabs were removed from runways and parking lots alone! The Germans, of course, began to be indignant. And I tried to calmly explain: in the weapons room, machine guns are in pyramids, which we take along with the weapons, and the combat aircraft is based on the concrete parking lot of the airfield, and this, figuratively speaking, is its pyramid. Why should we leave our property when we leave? In their homeland, these plates were very useful. Today, almost all the tanks withdrawn at one time from the Western Group of Forces, and this is no less than four thousand units of armored vehicles, are located on these plates in the places where the divisions are deployed.

And then…
- ... and then the “fourth estate” was unleashed on me, or rather the watchdogs from the journalistic workshop that I deeply respect. I reacted to all these attacks painfully, and, as they say, spoiled my blood. When I came to Moscow, and this happened infrequently, I tried to appear on television and tell the truth about the state of affairs in the Western Group. But lies flowed from screens and newspaper pages every day! The people wanted fried facts, and they got them in huge quantities. It was hard for my family, loved ones and people who knew me well to read the fables.

Tell us in more detail what kind of explosive compromising evidence was contained in the famous report of Yuri Boldyrev, which spoke about abuses in the Western Group of Forces? After all, as far as I know, its entire text never became public.
But I don’t know who Boldyrev is; I’ve never met him personally. Yes, at the end of 1991 a fairly large group of about fifteen people came from him, led by his deputy Vyacheslav Vasyagin. The commission worked in the group of troops for almost a month. Summing up the results, Vasyagin said: “After all the publications in the press, we came to you with bad intentions, and we are leaving with a good feeling. Everything is going well, and you can fix any minor shortcomings yourself.” The analysis was conducted orally by the head of the commission; they did not leave us any written conclusions. True, the entire meeting, including these words of Vasyagin, was recorded by my chief of staff on a tape recorder. This film, by the way, mysteriously disappeared a month later...
And then it started coming from Moscow: remove him, demote him, put him in prison! The positive conclusion of Vasyagin’s commission after some 30 days turned into the famous, “revelatory” report of Boldyrev. This lie was also necessary in order to divert public opinion from the glaring internal problems of Russia. After all, it was the beginning of the 90s, a difficult time. And here the “fattening, army-plundering generals and officers” came in handy! But think about it: after all, just think about it, 36,095 people visited the Western Civil Guard during various inspections during that period! Couldn’t they all at once, as if by agreement, fail to notice gross violations bordering on crimes?

You once said that the time had not yet come to name those who wanted to compromise you, to make you a whipping boy. Has it already arrived today?
Not yet. These people are still in power.

What can you say about the three-part documentary film “Red Star Over Germany”, shot in 2001 by German filmmakers?
I, along with several former commanders in chief, acted as a consultant on this project. The film is not bad, although the Germans still got negative in places.

How did the infamous August putsch come to fruition in Wünsdorf, far from Moscow?
On the morning of the 19th (by the way, I was then on regular leave) the operational duty officer called me: “Order from the Minister of Defense, at 6 o’clock all commanders should be in front of the televisions in their offices.” I, as befits a vacationer, go to the office in a tracksuit. I sit down, turn on the TV, and watch the State Emergency Committee’s appeal. After this, deputies arrive. I then said that this does not concern us - no one will drive tanks from Berlin to Moscow, this is, to say the least, stupid. After an hour and a half of unsuccessful attempts to reach the minister, I still heard Yazov’s voice on the phone: “Matvey, you are an experienced person and you know what to do. Mind your own business". At that time I had one thing to do - the withdrawal of troops.
Ironically, August 19th is my birthday. In the evening we celebrated a little with our family and colleagues. A little later, Chief of Staff Kuznetsov calls: “Comrade Commander-in-Chief, the Prime Minister of Brandenburg, Mr. Manfred Stolbert, wants to meet with you.” I put on my uniform and moved into the office. It turned out that Stolbert arrived on behalf of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany himself to find out how a group of troops would behave in light of the current situation? My answer that no adjustments would be made to the withdrawal schedule reassured him.
On August 25, when I returned safely from vacation, the commission of a group of troops headed by the chief of staff was working according to plan in the formations of the 2nd Tank Army. And I flew to the coast to monitor the process of withdrawing troops by sea. Before I arrived in Mukran, the Chief of the General Staff got in touch: “Matvey Prokofievich, urgently return to Wünsdorf. The Germans are panicking: Burlakov is raising the 2nd Tank Army and is almost going to attack Germany. At least play preference, but don’t leave the management!” The situation was such that near each of our military camps journalists, police, and special services were on duty almost around the clock. And I, as commander in chief, was the number one figure for spies of all stripes.
Thanks for the frank conversation!

The conversation was conducted by Roman SHKURLATOV

About 25 years ago, without firing a shot, East Germany ceased to exist. The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG) located in the GDR was prepared for any situation, even taking into account an enemy nuclear attack. But the USSR lost the Cold War, which led to the humiliating withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany.

Post-war period

Approximately one month after the USSR's victory over Germany in World War II, the USSR high command decided to create a contingent of occupation forces in Germany, whose commander was the war hero, Marshal Georgy Zhukov. This happened on July 9, 1945. The number of Soviet soldiers present at first was 1.5 million people.

The mission in Germany of the Soviet troops, whose main headquarters was located in the city of Potsdam, neighboring Berlin, was to ensure the administration of the occupation zone of Germany, as well as the restoration of the peaceful life of citizens in it. At the same time, the USSR command did not believe that these troops would remain on German territory for a long time. In addition, the policy of the USSR in the post-war period was focused on the unification of Germany, since after the destruction of the ruling fascist party in this country, communists and socialists became the main political forces. Thus, the Soviet Union viewed Germany as a potential strong ally in the center of Europe.

The GSVG was created on March 26, 1954, this date is considered the end of the occupation of Germany by Soviet troops. Between 1957 and 1958, about 70,000 Soviet troops were present on the territory of the GDR.

This group of troops was created to guarantee the implementation of the decisions taken at the Potsdam Conference, as well as to ensure the security of the western border. Then, on September 20, 1955, the GDR signed an agreement with the USSR and became one of the Warsaw Pact countries. In 1957, a new pact was signed between the GDR and the GDR, according to which the number and location of Soviet troops in Germany was established. According to this agreement, Soviet troops did not have the right to interfere in the internal affairs of the GDR.

In 1963, the GSVG numbered approximately 386,000 soldiers, of which 46,000 belonged to the air force. The armament of the GSVG included:

• 7500 tanks;
• 100 tactical missiles;
• 484 self-propelled military units;
• 146 bombers;
• 101 reconnaissance aircraft;
• 80 helicopters.

In 1968, German Soviet troops took part in suppressing the uprising in Prague. In the late 70s and early 80s, the Soviet military contingent in Germany was reduced. Thus, 1,000 tanks and other military vehicles and about 20,000 soldiers were withdrawn from the territory of the GDR. During perestroika in the USSR, the GSVG had a defensive character according to its structure and weapons. In 1989, the number of armored Soviet vehicles on the territory of the GDR decreased significantly.

At the end of the 80s, the head of the USSR was Mikhail Gorbachev (General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee). In 1989, he decided to unilaterally withdraw Soviet troops from Germany. The military power of the GSVG was greatly weakened, since 8 battalions of soldiers and 4 tank divisions were immediately disbanded. It should be noted that the number of the GSVG has been constantly decreasing since the year of its formation in the GDR, but a major withdrawal of troops began in 1989. Therefore, answering the question of when the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany began, one should name 1989.

On September 2, 1990, the foreign ministers of Germany, Great Britain, the GDR, the USA, the USSR and France signed an agreement concerning the fate of Germany, which in practice meant that the borders of the Federal Republic of Germany would expand, absorbing the GDR completely.

It is interesting to note that the United States did not plan to withdraw its troops from the territory of Germany, while the USSR agreed to carry out a complete withdrawal of Soviet and Russian troops from East Germany by 1994. this name replaced the previous GSVG) at the time of withdrawal included:

• 546,200 soldiers;
• 115,000 units of military equipment;
• 667,000 tons of ammunition;
• 36,290 buildings and structures in 777 military camps.

The withdrawal of such a huge number of troops meant for the USSR a shameful retreat into nowhere.

Troop withdrawal

In 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev announced the withdrawal from Germany of 4 divisions of armored vehicles, attack air forces, and short-range nuclear missiles. Starting from this date, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany became the most full-scale transfer of military forces in the entire history of mankind. Despite the enormous difficulties of transferring such a quantity of military personnel and military equipment from the GDR to the USSR, the withdrawal deadlines were not violated, and the plan was completed by August 1994. The German government pledged to allocate DM 15 million to cover the costs required by the withdrawal of troops.

The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany was carried out mainly by sea, in particular through the ports of the German city of Rostock and the island of Rügen, as well as by rail through Poland.

Problems during troop withdrawal

One of the main problems during the years of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany was the issue of housing. Initially, it was planned to withdraw troops as housing was built for them at home. However, according to the last commander-in-chief of the WGV, Matvey Burlakov, “the country’s government did not think about its own army.” Moreover, the president of Russia at that time, Boris Yeltsin, in order to satisfy the demands of Western authorities, spoke in favor of reducing the withdrawal period by 4 months.

Of the promised 15 million marks for the construction of housing for soldiers, Germany paid only 8 million. As a result, only 45,000 houses were built for Soviet soldiers in Ukraine and Belarus. More than 170,000 Soviet officers and 160,000 soldiers were left homeless.

The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany was also a personal disaster for many thousands of soldiers. Their wives and children were sent to their parents' homes, and many soldiers remained to live in tents and pavilions. Most families were never able to reunite.

Another important issue was compensation to the USSR for the property they left on German territory. The total value of this property at that time was estimated at $28 billion. Russia was paid only $385 million in compensation.

Most of the Soviet military units were disbanded after their withdrawal from Germany. Many Germans sympathized with the Soviet soldiers, because they understood that there was not even housing for them in their homeland. The famous historian Werner Borchert said that Soviet soldiers were friends for many Germans.

Many East Germans were on good terms with Soviet soldiers, having been stationed on German soil for decades. During the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the German people saw off the soldiers with rallies and flowers.

Completion of troop withdrawal

Russian ground forces left German soil on June 25, 1994. Celebrations for the withdrawal of troops took place on June 11, 1994 in the city of Wünsdorf and in Treptow Park on August 31, 1994. The last date is considered the official date when the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany was completed. The festive ceremony in Treptower Park was attended by (German Chancellor) and Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Matvey Burlakov - Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front left Germany by plane on September 1, 1994.

The surrender of Nazi Germany occurred at 01:01 on May 9, 1945 Moscow time or at 23:01 on May 8, Central European time. Three weeks later, on May 29, a Directive was issued to rename the Soviet front into the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany. The Soviet army, which reached Berlin with heavy losses in the last months of the war, remained in East Germany for the next almost half a century. The final withdrawal of Russian troops from Germany occurred on August 31, 1994.

My father was one of the Soviet conscript soldiers sent to serve in Germany (1978-1980, Bad Freienwald, East Germany). In this post I will show some photographs from the time of his service and tell general facts about Soviet troops in Germany.

Potsdam

At first, the unit was called GSOVG - Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (1945-1954). The head of the GSOVG was at the same time the head of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SVAG) - that is, he had full power in the territory of Germany occupied by the Soviet Union. The first Commander-in-Chief of the GSOVG was Marshal of the Soviet Union G.K. Zhukov. After the formation of the GDR on October 7, 1949, the head of the GSOVG carried out control functions in the new state for several more years as chairman of the Soviet Control Commission in Germany.

Potsdam

The headquarters of the Soviet troops in Germany since 1946 was located in Wünsdorf - where the High Command of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces was based during Nazi Germany. Due to the special nature of the town, the territory of Wünsdorf was closed to ordinary citizens of the GDR. Along with 2,700 German residents, 50-60 thousand Soviet military personnel and members of their families lived in the city.

Bad Freienwalde

About half a million Soviet citizens lived permanently in East Germany. GSVG - a group of Soviet troops in Germany (1954-1989) - had its own factories, Russian schools, sanatoriums, shops, officers' houses and other infrastructure. For crimes provided for by the criminal legislation of the USSR, Soviet citizens were tried according to Soviet legislation in special institutions. I have already written about one Soviet detention center in Potsdam.

Chernyakhovsk (formerly Insterburg), educational part (my father is on the right)

The GSVG was a kind of state within a state. Its main task was to protect the western borders of the USSR from possible threats. In the context of the Cold War, the GSVG was the advanced unit of the Soviet army, so it was equipped with the most modern equipment and weapons (including nuclear weapons). In the event of a military conflict with NATO member countries, the group of troops was supposed to hold on to the border line until the armed forces of the USSR and its allies were fully mobilized.

Potsdam

The group owned 777 military camps throughout the German Democratic Republic - more than 36,000 buildings were listed on its balance sheet. 21,000 objects were built with USSR money. However, in many cases, barracks and other premises that once belonged to the Wehrmacht were also used to house Soviet troops.

Potsdam

Conscript soldiers received their pay in GDR marks, so service in the GSVG was considered prestigious. My dad remembers how he used the money he had saved to buy things during the last days of his stay in Germany before being sent home. Among the purchases were, for example, jeans that were rare at that time. In total, eight and a half million USSR citizens served in the Group during its entire existence.

Bad Freienwalde

In 1989, the Group was renamed again - from now on it bore the name of the Western Group of Forces (WGV). After the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany became inevitable. Due to the scale and complexity of the operation, the withdrawal of troops continued until August 31, 1994. A huge amount of equipment and weapons were removed. More than half a million people returned to the territory of the then collapsed Soviet Union. A farewell parade in honor of the withdrawal of Russian troops took place in Treptower Park in Berlin with the participation of Russian President Boris Yeltsin and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Potsdam

August 31 marked 15 years ago since the solemn ceremony of the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of the former GDR took place in Berlin. 500 thousand military personnel and 12 thousand tanks returned to Russia from Germany.

The Western Group of Forces (WGV) is an operational-strategic territorial association of the armed forces (AF) of the Russian Federation, temporarily stationed in Germany. Until March 1992, it was part of the USSR Armed Forces.

The history of the creation of the Western Civil War is connected with the implementation of the political and economic principles of the post-war structure of Germany developed by the Allied powers, the territory of which, after the end of World War 2, according to the Declaration of the Defeat of Germany, was divided into 4 zones of occupation: Soviet, American, English and French. To implement the occupation regime in the Soviet zone, part of the troops from the 1st and 2nd Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts was united in June 1945 into the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSOVG). Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the GSOVG and at the same time Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated June 6, 1945. The field administration of the Group, formed on the basis of the field administration of the 1st Belorussian Front on June 14, 1945, was located in the city of Potsdam (later in Wünsdorf).

In the first post-war years, the Group's troops were involved in protecting the border of the Soviet zone of occupation and took part in the implementation of activities carried out by the Soviet military administration aimed at providing the necessary conditions for eliminating the consequences of the fascist regime and militarization in Germany.

After the formation of the GDR (1949), the GSVG, according to the directive of the General Staff of March 26, 1954, received the name Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSVG). According to the Treaty on Relations between the USSR and the GDR (1955) and the Agreement on the Temporary Stay of Soviet Troops on the Territory of the GDR (1957), the protection of the state border was transferred to the border troops of the GDR, and the Group retained the right to control the passage of military personnel from the USA, Great Britain, and France into West Berlin and other control functions agreed upon at the Potsdam Conference in 1945. The Agreement also determined the legal status of Soviet military personnel, members of their families, workers and employees of the Soviet Army, and included provisions on the non-interference of Soviet troops in the internal affairs of the GDR, on agreement with the state authorities of the GDR on the number of Soviet troops, their deployment, training areas, etc.

In the 1970-1980s, the GSVG was the most powerful and combat-ready operational-strategic formation of the Soviet Armed Forces, which was intended to solve the main tasks in the operations of the United Armed Forces of the Warsaw Pact member states in the European theater of military operations. The GSVG included several combined arms and tank armies, an air army, formations and units of military branches, special forces and rear services. The troops were fully equipped and equipped with the most modern weapons. They numbered more than 1.5 million people and 111 thousand units of weapons and military equipment, including over 4 thousand tanks, about 8 thousand armored combat vehicles, 3.6 thousand artillery pieces, 1.3 thousand airplanes and helicopters, 100 thousand units of other equipment. Among the formations and units, 139 were guards, 127 bore honorary titles, and 214 were awarded orders. Over the years, 1,171 Heroes of the Soviet Union served in the Group, 26 people were awarded this title twice, and Georgy Zhukov and Ivan Kozhedub - three times.

In June 1989, the GSVG was renamed the ZGV.

(Military encyclopedia. Chairman of the Main Editorial Commission S.B. Ivanov. Military Publishing House. Moscow. in 8 volumes - 2004. ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8)

On September 12, 1990, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev signed an agreement regulating the presence and withdrawal of troops. The treaty stipulated that all Soviet troops stationed in Germany had to leave it from the end of 1990 to 1994.

After the collapse of the USSR, by the Decree of the President of the RSFSR of March 4, 1992, the Western Geographical Front came under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation, which assumed obligations for further withdrawal of troops, which was completed on August 31, 1994.

The historical event was marked by a farewell parade in front of the monument to the Soviet soldier-liberator in Treptower Park in Berlin, which was attended by Russian President Boris Yeltsin and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, and in the evening a festive concert of Russian and German artists was held in Lustgardem Park.

More than 3 thousand spectators gathered at the ceremony in Treptow Park. Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who hosted the last parade of Russian troops on German soil, expressed confidence that this day will go down in the history of “Russia, Germany, and all of Europe.” In his speech, he emphasized the role of the USSR in the defeat of the Hitler regime, and, paying tribute to the memory of the fallen Soviet soldiers, focused on the future of Russian-German relations. Yeltsin expressed confidence that their transition to a new quality is now possible, and the mutual trust and understanding achieved in the process of withdrawing the BGV is the most important contribution to their formation.

By order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation dated September 5, 1994, the Western Group of Forces was abolished on September 1, 1994.

(Military encyclopedia. Chairman of the Main Editorial Commission S.B. Ivanov. Military Publishing House. Moscow. in 8 volumes - 2004 ISBN 5 - 203 01875 - 8)

The material was prepared based on information from open sources