Not an ordinary man: Ivan nikitich kononov and the problem of frontline defection from the red army, 1941-1945

The question of Red Army soldiers crossing the lines to the Germans during the German-Soviet war of 1941-45 has long obsessed historians. Some have treated all Soviet prisoners of war as deserters to the enemy, while others have tried to minimize the phenomenon. This paper explores newly available evidence from German and Soviet sources in an empirical exploration of the reasons, the extent, and the problems of the process of switching allegiance at the frontline.