Violence and Occupation : The Red Army in the Balkans and Central Europe, 1944–1945

This ground-breaking history examines the Red Army's occupation of Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Austria during World War II. Majstorivic argues that the troops' behaviour in each country was shaped by Kremlin policy, official propaganda, intensity of combat, and troops' differing perceptions of local populations.

This groundbreaking history traces the Red Army's advances across central Europe and the Balkans in 1944–1945. It focuses on the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts that occupied Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and Austria. Utilizing material from archives across Russia, Ukraine, and Serbia, alongside diaries, memoirs, and interviews, Vojin Majstorovic examines the official policies and troops' behavior in each country and analyzes military violations, from deserting and looting to widespread sexual violence. His findings show that the Red Army was an ill-disciplined force, but that military personnel committed fewer crimes against civilians in 'neutral Bulgaria' and 'friendly' Yugoslavia than in 'enemy' Romania, Hungary, and Austria. To explain the variation in troops' conduct, he stresses the interaction of several continuously evolving factors: Kremlin's policies, the severity of the fighting, the command's policies toward criminals, the official propaganda, and troops' martial masculinity, identity, and views of the local populations.