Viktor Suvorov

Viktor Suvorov (Ви́ктор Суво́ров) is the pen name for Vladimir Bogdanovich Rezun (Влади́мир Богда́нович Резу́н) (born April 20, 1947 in Barabash, Khasansky District, Primorsky Krai), a former Soviet and now British writer of Russian and Ukrainian descent who writes primarily in Russian, as well as a former Soviet military intelligence (GRU) officer who defected to the UK.

Suvorov made his name writing books about the history of the Soviet Army, GRU, and Spetsnaz, but it was his book Icebreaker about the role of the Soviet Union in World War II that spurred considerable controversy.

Biography
According to his own claims, Suvorov attended the Voronezh Suvorov Military School from 1958-63, and the one in Kalinin from 1963-1965. From 1965-1968 he attended the Kiev Red Banner Higher Military Command School Frunze. In 1968 Suvorov served in the 145th Motorized Rifles Regiment, participating in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. In 1970-1971 he served on the staff of the Volga Military District and with the 808th Independent Army Reconnaissance Company (Spetsnaz). After attending the Military Diplomatic Academy from 1971-1974, he joined the Soviet mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva working for the Soviet military intelligence (GRU). On June 10, 1978 Suvorov defected to the United Kingdom. Rezun was smuggled out of the country to England with his wife and two young children, where he worked as an intelligence analyst and lecturer.

Books about the Cold War era
Suvorov has written several books about his Soviet Army experiences and also joined the team led by the British General Sir John Hackett in writing the book The Third World War: The Untold Story. Published in 1982, this book was the sequel to the 1978 original The Third World War, in which Hackett and his team had speculated about the possible course of a Soviet/NATO war in Germany.

Suvorov made his name writing books about the contemporary Soviet Army, GRU, and Spetsnaz (Soviet Army's special forces). His publications included Aquarium, GRU, and The Liberators.

Historical works about World War II
Suvorov wrote ten books so far about the outbreak of the Nazi-Soviet War in 1941 and circumstances that led to it. The first such work was Icebreaker, followed by M Day, The Last Republic, Cleansing, Suicide, The Shadow of Victory, I Take it Back, The Last Republic II, The Chief Culprit, Defeat. Suvorov's provocative idea is that Joseph Stalin originally planned to use Nazi Germany as a proxy (the “Icebreaker”) against the West. For this reason Stalin provided material and political support to Adolf Hitler, while at the same time preparing his Red Army for an offensive against Nazi Germany and further against all of Western Europe. Suvorov argued that Hitler, learning of Soviet offensive preparations in 1940, chose to launch a preemptive strike at the Soviet Union, what we know today as Operation Barbarossa. In the end, Stalin was able to achieve some of his objectives by establishing Communist regimes in Eastern Europe and Asia. However this victory according to Suvorov was unsatisfying to Stalin, as he intended to bring Soviet domination to the whole continent of Europe.

Suvorov's assertions remain a matter of debate among historians, and the final result of the debate is not yet clear. See Soviet offensive plans controversy for details on the debate.

In some countries, particularly in Russia, Germany and Israel, Suvorov's controversial theses have left the bounds of academic discourse and captured the public imagination.

Political implications of the debate
Although the debate concerns the events of more than a half-a-century-old history, it can indirectly affect contemporary public sentiments about the true nature of the best known and much praised historical collaboration between the democratic and communist regimes. Preserving the officially accepted model of the Second World War (that Hitler was the sole initiator of the war, that Stalin tried to avoid the war, and that the collaboration of the leading Western democracies with Stalin's authoritarian regime was justified by the events of the time) is arguably more acceptable for most of the world's historians and general public, both Western and Eastern. On the contrary, the new historical model of the Second World War (that Stalin was the active supporter of Hitler's aggressive plans for the world war, that Stalin was planning to use the World War to his own advantage to further spreading of the communist ideology, and most importantly, that Stalin manipulated both Hitler and Western leaders to his own advantage might upset both professional historians and people's sentiments in both Western and Eastern countries for different reasons.

Fictional books
Suvorov wrote some fiction set in World War II era in the Soviet Union.

About the Cold War-era Soviet Union

 * The Liberators, 1981, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, ISBN 0-241-10675-3
 * Inside the Soviet Army, 1982, Macmillan Publishing Co.
 * Inside Soviet Military Intelligence, 1984, ISBN 0-02-615510-9
 * Aquarium (Аквариум), 1985, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, ISBN 0-241-11545-0
 * Spetsnaz. The Story Behind the Soviet SAS, 1987, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, ISBN 0-241-11961-8
 * Devil's Mother (Майката на Дявола), 2011, Sofia, Fakel Express, ISBN 978-954-9772-76-0

About the outbreak of the Nazi-Soviet War

 * Icebreaker (Ледокол) 1990, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, ISBN 0-241-12622-3
 * Day "M" (День "М")
 * Suicide. For what reason did Hitler attack the Soviet Union? (Самоубийство), Moscow, ACT, 2000, ISBN 5-17-003119-X
 * Last Republic, ACT, 1997, ISBN 5-12-000367-4.
 * Last Republic II. Why did the Soviet Union loose the Second World War? (Последната Република II), Sofia, Fakel Express, 2007, ISBN 978-954-9772-51-7
 * The Chief Culprit: Stalin's Grand Design to Start World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2008 (hardcover, ISBN 978-1-59114-838-8).
 * Defeat. Why was the "great victory" worst than any defeat? (Разгромът), Sofia, Fakel Express, 2009, ISBN 978-954-9772-68-5

About Soviet historical figures

 * Shadow of Victory (Тень победы), questions the image of Georgy Zhukov. The first book of trilogy with the same name.
 * I Take It Back (Беру Свои Слова Обратно), questions the image of Georgy Zhukov. The second book of "Shadow of Victory" trilogy.
 * Cleansing (Очищение). Why did Stalin behead his army?, Moscow, 2002, ISBN 5-17-009254-7

Fiction

 * Tales of a Liberator (Рассказы освободителя), novel, this is The Liberators book in Russian language.
 * Control (Контроль), novel
 * Choice (Выбор), novel
 * Snake-eater (Змиеядеца), novel (Sofia, Fakel Express, 2010), ISBN: 9789549772692