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MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
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| |
| Formation | 24 August 1945 |
|---|---|
| Extinction | 9 September 1948 |
| Occupied territory | North Korea |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Civilian government | |
| First | Provisional People's Committee (1946–1947) |
| Second | People's Committee (1947–1948) |
| Last | Democratic People's Republic of Korea (July–September 1948) |
| |
| Chair | Kim Il Sung |
| Deputy Chair |
|
| Meeting place | Pyongyang |
| Executive | |
| Head Administrator (de facto)[a] | Terentii Shtykov (1945–1948) |
| Head of the Civil Administration[2] |
|
| Chairman of the People's Committee[b] | Kim Il Sung (1946–1948) |
| Headquarters | Pyongyang |
| History of North Korea |
|---|
 |
 North Korea portal |
The Soviet Civil Administration[c] (SCA) was the official ruling authority of the northern half of Korea from 24 August 1945 to 9 September 1948, governing concurrently with the Provisional People's Committee for North Korea from 1946.
Even though formally referred as civilian administration, it was originally a military organization that included civilians of different professions.[3] The SCA was the administrative structure that the Soviet Union used to govern what would become the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) following the division of Korea. General Terentii Shtykov was the main proponent of setting up a centralized structure to coordinate Korean People's Committees.
After the banning of the People's Republic of Korea by the American occupational authorities in the south in late 1945, the Soviet authorities co-opted the PRK committees on 8 February 1946. This setup was officially recommended by General Ivan Chistyakov and headed by General Andrei Romanenko in 1945 and by General Nikolai Lebedev in 1946, to install Kim Il Sung as the leader of a pro-Soviet regime from Moscow, when he followed his rise to power that transitioned him from the Red Army officer to the absolute dictator of North Korea, who would rule until his death in 1994, he was posthumously declared the "Eternal President" on 5 September 1998.[4]
In the postwar period between 1946 and 1949 the Soviet Sakhalin administration, in anticipation of Japanese evacuation of Karafuto and the Kuril Islands, had allegedly established a relationship with the SCA in order to secure a cheap Korean workforce to be used on Sakhalin fisheries that were about to evacuate from the islands along with Japanese civilians.[3] By 1950 the Korean workforce grew up to 10 thousand people on Sakhalin island alone.[3]
During the Soviet occupation, Soviet soldiers committed rape against both Japanese and Korean women alike.[5][6] Soviet soldiers also looted the property of both Japanese and Koreans living in northern Korea.[5]
Under the Soviet Civil Administration from 1945 to 1948, North Korea was governed by a group of influential Soviet generals who played key roles in shaping the country's political landscape. Colonel General Ivan Mikhailovich Chistyakov, commanding officer of the 25th Army, played a critical role in deciding the location of the 25th Army headquarters, choosing Pyongyang as the capital of North Korea, a decision that continues to have a lasting impact to this day. Alongside him, Major General Nikolai Georgiyevich Lebedev, the political officer of the 25th Army, trained Kim Il Sung and coined the official name of North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, emphasizing the purported rule by the people.
However, the true architect of North Korea's early communist regime during this period was Colonel General Terentiy Fomich Shtykov, the political officer of the 1st Far Eastern Front. De facto leader of North Korea from 1945 to 1948, Shtykov shaped the nation's politics, economy, and education system. He edited the initial draft of North Korea's constitution, formed the first cabinet of ministers, and actively supported Kim Il Sung's invasion plans, which led to the outbreak of the Korean War. Despite being recalled to Moscow and demoted after the military disaster, Shtykov's impact on North Korea's governance was immense. His role in starting the Korean War and overseeing the Soviet influence in North Korean affairs remains a significant aspect of understanding the country's history during this critical period.
During the Soviet Civil Administration, Kim Il Sung, along with other North Korean politicians like Kim Tu Bong and Pak Hon Yong, followed the orders of Shtykov and the Soviet generals. The "Provisional People's Committee for North Korea," though officially presenting itself as the ruling government, had no autonomy and merely executed the decisions made by the Soviet Civil Administration. The generals, including Shtykov, played a decisive role in shaping North Korea's early communist regime, with their actions and decisions significantly influencing the nation's political landscape for years to come.[1][7][2]
At the time of division, the majority of Korean industry was concentrated in the North, while many of the agricultural land was in the South. Power lines and shipping connections were maintained during this period, but were frequently cut off by the Soviets and the supply of electricity or fertilizer to the south, and the U.S. State Department reported it frequently did so. The South, controlled by the United States maintained the power grids and energy.[8]
After the legislative elections held by the Soviet authorities in August 1948, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was proclaimed on 10 July 1948 after the constitution was enacted; Kim Il Sung became its first premier on 9 September by the Soviet authorities. Soviet forces were withdrawn in December 1948.
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
The Soviet Civil Administration (SCA) was the official ruling authority of the northern half of Korea from 24 August 1945 to 9 September 1948, governing concurrently with the Provisional People's Committee for North Korea from 1946. Even though formally referred as civilian administration, it was originally a military organization that included civilians of different professions. The SCA was the administrative structure that the Soviet Union used to govern what would become the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) following the division of Korea. General Terentii Shtykov was the main proponent of setting up a centralized structure to coordinate Korean People's Committees. After the banning of the People's Republic of Korea by the American occupational authorities in the south in late 1945, the Soviet authorities co-opted the PRK committees on 8 February 1946. This setup was officially recommended by General Ivan Chistyakov and headed by General Andrei Romanenko in 1945 and by General Nikolai Lebedev in 1946, to install Kim Il Sung as the leader of a pro-Soviet regime from Moscow, when he followed his rise to power that transitioned him from the Red Army officer to the absolute dictator of North Korea, who would rule until his death in 1994, he was posthumously declared the "Eternal President" on 5 September 1998.
The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation or simply the Manchurian Operation (Маньчжурская операция), began on 8 August 1945 with the Soviet Union's invasion of the Empire of Japan's puppet states of Manchukuo and Mengjiang, in Japanese-occupied Manchuria and Inner Mongolia respectively. It was the largest campaign of the 1945 Soviet–Japanese War, which resumed hostilities between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Empire of Japan after almost six years of peace. The invasion began two days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and one day before the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. The Soviet entry into the war against Japan is often considered a major factor, alongside the atomic bombings, in the Japanese government's decision to surrender unconditionally by 15 August. The Japanese government had previously hoped the Soviet Union would act as a third party, and end the Pacific War by negotiating a conditional surrender for Japan with the Western Allies. The Kwantung Army officially surrendered on 16 August, although fighting continued until 2 September, when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed. The Soviet Union occupied Manchuria as well as the Japanese Mengjiang puppet state in Inner Mongolia. The Soviet Navy also launched an amphibious assault capturing the northern half of Japanese-occupied Korea, later establishing the Soviet Civil Administration. On 14 August it signed the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance with the Kuomintang government. The resumption of full-scale conflict in the Chinese Civil War prompted the Red Army to withdraw by 3 May 1946, handing much of Manchuria and Inner Mongolia to territories controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. The Soviets continued to occupy northern Korea until 1948 and the Port Arthur naval base until 1955. Soviet forces also captured scientists of the Kwantung Army's Unit 731 division, involved in Japanese biological warfare and chemical warfare, sentencing them in the 1949 Khabarovsk war crimes trials while allegedly using their information and experience in the Soviet biological weapons program.
The First Republic of Korea (Korean: 제1공화국; lit. 'First Republic'), officially the Republic of Korea, was the government of South Korea from August 1948 to June 1960. The First Republic was founded on 15 August 1948, and it became the first independent republican government in Korea. Syngman Rhee was the first president of South Korea. The National Assembly was created following the May 1948 general election, and the National Assembly in Seoul promulgated South Korea's first constitution in July, establishing a presidential system of government. In 1947, the United Nations proposed elections under its supervision to establish a unified Korean government. South Korea participated, leading to the formation of the Republic of Korea. The Soviet Civil Administration in northern Korea refused, and North Korea was established separately, which ultimately led to the division. Accordingly, on 12 December 1948, the United Nations recognized the Republic of Korea as the only lawful government in Korea by UN General Assembly Resolution 195. The first republic claimed sovereignty over all of Korea but only controlled Korea south of the 38th parallel until the end of the Korean War in 1953, when the border was modified. The first republic was characterized by Rhee's authoritarianism, limited economic development, strong anti-communism, and by the late 1950s growing political instability and public opposition to Rhee. The April Revolution in April 1960 led to Rhee's resignation and the transition to the second Republic of Korea.
Parliamentary elections were held in North Korea on 25 August 1948 to elect the members of the 1st Supreme People's Assembly. Organised by the Soviet Civil Administration, the elections saw 572 deputies elected, of which 212 were from North Korea and 360 from South Korea. These were the first elections to be held after its establishment one month prior.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
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