Autumn 1936: the battle for Madrid (from the working materials of the book on the history of Spain in the ХХ century)

The article is devoted to one of the most vivid episodes of the Spanish civil war, the defense of Madrid in the autumn of 1936. The author tells about the participation in the war of members of International brigades, Soviet military specialists, shares his own memories of the opening of the monument to Soviet volunteers in the suburbs of Madrid in 1989. The article assesses the role in the defense of the Spanish capital and in subsequent events of some prominent figures of the Republican political and military leadership, in particular Prime Minister Largo Caballero, General Miaja and Lieutenant Colonel, and later General Vicente Rojo.