Page "Stavka" Paragraph 20

Stavka of the Soviet Armed Forces during World War II, or the headquarters of the " Main Command of the Armed Forces of the Union of SSR " ( Stavka Glavnogo Komandovaniya ) (), was established on June 23, 1941 by the top secret decree signed by Joseph Stalin in his capacities both as the head of government and as the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

According to this decree Stavka was composed of the defence minister Marshal Semyon Timoshenko ( as its president ), the head of General Staff Georgy Zhukov, Stalin, Vyacheslav Molotov, Marshal Kliment Voroshilov, Marshal Semyon Budyonny and the People's Commissar ( Narkom ) of the Navy Admiral Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov.