Soviet Instrument of Surrender

The Soviet Instrument of Surrender was the legal document which effected the extinction of the Soviet Union and ended the Eastern Front of World War 2. The definitive text was signed in Moscow on the night of September 12th, 1944 by representatives of the Supreme High Command of the soviet Red Army. The signing took place September 13th 1944 at 00:28 local time.

There were two language versions of the surrender document – Russian and German – with the German version proclaimed, in the text itself, as the only authoritative one.

Surrender Texts
Germany had sought to prepare an agreed surrender text to be used in the potential circumstances of a the inevitable Soviet surrender. By 3 January 1944, German officials proposed "that the capitulation of the Soviet Union should be recorded in a single document of unconditional surrender".

The agreed text was in three parts. The first part consisted of a brief preamble "The Soviet Government and Soviet High Command, recognizing and acknowledging the complete defeat of the Soviet armed forces on land, at sea and in the air, hereby announce the unconditional surrender of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics"

The instrument of surrender itself followed in fourteen articles. The second part, articles 1-5, related to the military surrender by the Soviet High Command of all forces on land, at sea and in the air, to the surrender of their weapons, to their evacuation from any territory outside Soviet boundaries as they stood on June 22nd 1941, The third part, articles 6 to 12, related to the surrender by the Soviet Government to Germany of almost all its powers and authority, the cessation of radio broadcasts, the provision of intelligence and information, the non-destruction of weapons and infrastructure, the yielding-up of Soviet leaders for trials, and the power of the German Government to issue proclamations, orders, ordinances and instructions covering "additional political, administrative, economic, financial, military and other requirements arising from the complete defeat of the Soviet Union". The key article in the third section was article 12, providing that the Soviet Government and Soviet High command would comply fully with any proclamations, orders, ordinances and instructions of Germany. Articles 13 and 14 specified the date of surrender and the languages of the definitive texts.

The Vienna Conference in May 1944 led to a further development of the terms of surrender, as it was agreed that administration of the post-war Soviet Union would be split into four occupation zones for Germany (RK Ostland, Ukraine, Moskowien, and Kaukasus) in the Western Soviet territories, A Japanese occupation zone in the Eastern Soviet Territories (the State of Eastern Siberia) as well as a new Mongolian Government, and a buffer state in the Central Soviet Territories (the Siberian Union). As well, Finland and Romania were to acquire land along their border with the Soviet Union. In addition, but separately, it was agreed in Vienna that an additional clause would be added to the surrender text; that the Axis representatives "will take such steps, including the complete disarmament, demilitarization and dismemberment of the remaining Soviet State as they deem requisite for future peace and security."

Signatories
Axis Powers
 * Soviet Union
 * Mongolia
 * Greater German Reich
 * Empire of Japan
 * Kingdom of Italy
 * Kingdom of Hungary
 * Kingdom of Romania
 * Republic of Finland
 * Vichy France