12. Russia’s Most Infamous Traitor of WWII
The most infamous traitor of the Soviet Union and modern Russia is probably Andrey Andreyevich Vlasov (1900 – 1946), one of Stalin’s favorite generals early in WWII. Vlasov went from golden boy to redheaded stepchild after he turned on the Soviet dictator, and switched sides after he was captured by the Germans in 1942. Throwing in his lot with the Nazis, Vlasov turned coat, and went from hero to reviled jerk when he fought against his countrymen at the head of the so-called Russian Liberation Army.
Vlasov was drafted into the Red Army in 1919. He fought in its ranks during the Russian Civil War that followed the communists’ seizure of power in 1917, and distinguished himself. Rising steadily through the officer ranks, he earned a reputation for his ability to whip poor units into shape. In 1930, Vlasov gave his career a boost by joining the Communist Party, and in 1938, he was sent to China as a Soviet military advisor to its generalissimo, Chiang Kai-Shek.