Combat operations and protection of military secrets during the Soviet-Finnish war and at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War

The article is concerned with the problem of the military and state secrets' protection during combat operations and its interrelations with the course of military development. The purpose of the article is to define whether the course of military actions influences the structure, the contents, and the character of classified information. The question has not been previously studied in the open historiography. This fact explains both its contemporary relevance and novelty. The author provides the facts and describes measures, undertaken by the Soviet State in the form of the activity conducted by “Glavlit”, aimed at the protection of the state secrets at the very beginning and during military actions of the 1939-1940 and 1941-1942. The author of the article provides a wide range of examples containing classified data. The protection of these classified data becomes essential in the course of military operations. Active interaction of political and governmental bodies on the information security is observed in the event of classified information expansion. Criteria on the classified information justification and its timely protection become practically effective. The author came to a conclusion that the course of military actions directly influences the quantity and the character of data demanding protection. The Soviet state managed to protect a considerable part of classified information of the military and state value so necessary for the enemy.