BELARUSIAN SCHOOL

Belaˈrusian School

Belarusian School for training partisan personnel of the Belarusian Headquarters of Partisan Movement during the Great Patriotic War.

It was formed on November 28, 1942 under the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Belarus on the basis of the Special Belarusian Reservist Training Centre. On the eve, on November 26, the State Defence Committee had approved its staff, i.e. 48 military personnel and 33 civilians. It was located at the Shodnya station in Himki Rayon of Moscow Oblast. It was staffed primarily by communists and Komsomol (Young Communist League) members. The head was Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) N. I. Proharaw. Here, Party and Komsomol workers, i.e. organisers of partisan detachments, mine demolition instructors, members of demolition squads, reconnaissance men, editors, printers, typesetters were trained. The duration of training lasted 20 days, from the end of 1942, it lasted 2 months. At the same time, 200 cadets studied at school, and since June 1943, the quantity of cadets equated about 170. The theoretical course was closely connected with practical training, close to a combat situation.

From December 1942 to May 10, 1943, under the Belarusian Headquarters of Partisan Movement Operation Group on the Kalinin Front, the front-line branch of the Belarusian School (head F. P. Iljushenkaw, then captain Fiedziushenkaw) was engaged in partisan personnel training. Partisans who came to the Soviet rear for various reasons were trained here. Mainly sabotage and subversive specialists, including instructors were being repaired here. After completing training, detachments, groups and individual partisans were sent behind enemy lines.

From December 15, 1942 to September 15, 1943 529 people were trained at the Belarusian School. During this time, 112 Party workers and organisers of partisan detachments, 50 Komsomol workers, 12 editors, 40 typographers, 90 reconnaissance men, 24 mine demolition instructors, and 129 members of demolition squads were sent behind enemy lines. 2 partisan detachments (97 people) and 6 groups (69 people) were formed and sent behind enemy lines. More than 280 people, including 240 responsible workers, were sent independently. In total, the Belarusian School trained 636 people to organise the partisan movement in Belarus, with 310 ones trained in the branch.

On September 18, 1943, the Belarusian School was transformed into a training reservist centre under the Belarusian Headquarters of Partisan Movement. In the first set there were 110 cadets, in the second one there were 80 persons. In the period from September 18, 1943 to January 1, 1944, 188 people were trained at the reservist training centre, including 30 mine demolition instructors, 22 members of demolition squads, 32 reconnaissance men, 23 chemical instructors, 12 typographers and 11 divers; 58 radio operators underwent through retraining.

Personnel trained at the Belarusian School and its branch made a great contribution to increasing the effectiveness of the combat operations of partisan forces behind enemy lines.