Record of Direct-Line Negotiations with the Commander and Member of the Military Council of the Leningrad Front, 4 September 1941

Source: Tom 18

Source: Tom 18

At the apparatus: Voroshilov, Zhdanov.

At the apparatus: Stalin, Shaposhnikov. Hello.

Voroshilov, Zhdanov: Hello, Comrade Stalin and Comrade Shaposhnikov.

Stalin: I would like no one else to be at the apparatus besides you.

Voroshilov, Zhdanov: At the apparatus, apart from us and two telegraphists, there is no one.

Stalin: 1. We do not trust your chief of staff [M.M. Popov -- Ed.] in either the military or the political respect. Find a replacement for him today and send him to our disposal.

Voroshilov, Zhdanov: Yes, it will be carried out today without fail.

Stalin: 2. In Tikhvin there are two aviation divisions -- the 39th and the 2nd. Both are at your disposal, but they are not receiving assignments from you. What is the matter -- do you not need aviation?

Voroshilov, Zhdanov: This is unexpected and pleasant news for us. Today our Air Force front chief of staff reported that the Tikhvin airfield has been reserved by Marshal Kulik for some special purposes, and our front aviation units received an order from Kulik to clear out of there. No one informed us about aviation divisions in Tikhvin designated for our front. The appropriate orders will be issued today.

Stalin: You misunderstood us. Both of these aviation divisions are your old divisions. Your front simply does not know or has forgotten about their existence. This speaks to the character of the former Commander of the Northern Front, now Chief of Staff of the Leningrad Front, as well as the Commander of the Leningrad Front Air Forces. You simply did not know -- or did not know -- and now learn from us that in the Tikhvin area, and not in Tikhvin itself, your two divisions have been sitting without receiving assignments. Kulik found these divisions. That is how things stand.

Voroshilov, Zhdanov: No, we have not forgotten about the existence of these divisions, but these divisions have been receiving and continue to receive assignments from the Air Force chief, and only the bad weather of the last two days has prevented the use of these divisions. Kulik demanded that these divisions relocate to another place. That is all.

Stalin: It is one or the other -- either these divisions are a pleasant surprise for you, or you have long known about them. One or the other. In whose hands is the Mga station now?

Voroshilov, Zhdanov: We repeat, we know that our aviation units are located in the Tikhvin area, but today our pilots complained that five aviation regiments assigned to us have still not arrived from the center, which is why we thought you were speaking about new aviation units.

The Mga station has not yet been fully cleared; the southeastern part of the station is occupied by the enemy.

Comrade Stalin, we urgently request that you expedite the dispatch to us of the planned aviation regiments. The enemy has recently further intensified its air operations against our ground troops. Our fighter aviation on the whole is performing well. Bomber aviation, due to low cloud cover over recent days, has been unable to operate, although there are a great many targets for it. This morning the enemy struck the Dubrovsky airfield with a large force of bombers. Our anti-aircraft guns met the enemy with organized fire and downed fifteen aircraft.

Stalin: Report that to us in a separate communique. No new aviation regiments were designated by the Stavka for the Leningrad Front. Everything that was assigned to you, you have already received. It is wrong to say that bombers cannot fly in cloudy weather. The "Ils" are also bombers; they are not afraid of cloud cover, since they can fly at a height of 150 meters, or even lower. In any case, this is a fact: despite the cloud cover, aviation from Tikhvin today, on Kulik's orders, successfully bombed the Germans south of the Mga station. Give your Novikov a good shake-up, and he will find the means for bombing in cloudy weather. That is all. Goodbye.

The Blockade of Leningrad in Documents of Declassified Archives. Pp. 29-31.

TsAMO RF. F. 148a. Op. 3763. D. 78. L. 42-46.