The political leader ( abbreviated political commissar ) [1] is a military post of military and political personnel of the armed forces of Soviet Russia and the USSR Armed Forces , which existed during various periods of 1919-1942 and authorized to exercise political control over the actions of subunit commanders (commanders of non-independent military formations , members of the military units ), as well as to work on political education and the maintenance of moral-psychological readiness of personnel data subsection Nij, to which they are assigned.
During the Soviet period of its existence, the position of political leader was the position of middle and senior commanding officers of the USSR Armed Forces , and there was in almost all subdivisions at a level not lower than a company , battery , squadron , squadron , battalion , division , etc. the above companies, battery, squadron, squadron, battalion, division, etc. were not separate parts ). In independent military formations - military units and formations , at this time there was a post of military commissar for the military-political composition [2] .
During the existence of the institute of military commissars and political leaders in the Armed Forces of the USSR (periods 1937–1940 and 1941–1942 ), the posts of military-political staff were ranked equal to the positions of commanders of military units.
Political leader of a company (squadron, battery) :
- Along with the company commander, he is the direct chief of all company personnel and is responsible for the political and moral condition and combat training of the company, military discipline, for the economy, combat readiness of the company and for maintaining military secrets ...
- UVS-37 [3]
Content
History
For the first time, positions of political leaders were introduced into the armed forces of the RSFSR by the RVSR Order of 14 November 1919 No. 1694 [4] , and they had much less rights than the posts of military commissioners introduced earlier, in fact, performing only political educational functions.
Then, starting in 1920, as the Civil War ended, the reduction and transition to the militia system of recruitment of the Red Army , there was a gradual transition of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet - the Red Army to unity of command , primarily in formations, units and divisions where the commanders were members of the RCP (B) - All - Union Communist Party ( b) . After that, the institute of military commissars and political leaders in the Red Army was abolished by Order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR of March 2, 1925 No. 234 "On the implementation of unity of command" [5] . Instead, in the Red Army , the institute of assistants to the commander for political affairs ( abbr. Pompolit ) was introduced, which had similar rights and duties with the positions of political leaders of the period 1919-25 , that is, they did not have supervisory powers, and served only as political education personnel .
Again, the institute of military commissioners in the Red Army was introduced by the Decree of the CEC and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR on May 10, 1937 “On the creation of military councils of military districts and the establishment of the institute of military commissioners in the Red Army” [6] , after which in the same year the Order of the NKO USSR No. 0178 “On the introduction of the post of political officers in companies, squadrons, batteries " political leaders were returned to the military units of the Red Army [7] . On December 21, 1937, the Order of the NKO USSR No. 260 [8] introduced the new Charter of the internal service of the Red Army (UVS-37) [9] , which established the rights and duties of servicemen, including those of a military-political composition. Under the Charter, broad rights were established for all military political workers, effectively equating them in rank with the commanders of military formations to which they were attached. Already, political leaders were vested with supervisory powers at the level of their units.
Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 12, 1940 "On strengthening the unity of command in the Red Army and Navy" [10] , announced by Orders of the NKO of the USSR of August 14, 1940 No. 262 [11] and the NC of the USSR Navy of August 19, 1940 No. 487, the institution of military commissars in the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union is again abolished and, instead of them, the posts of deputy commanders for political affairs ( abbreviated political officer ), performing the same functions as the pompolites of the period 1925-1937 , are introduced. However, before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the overwhelming majority of military units of the Red Army and the Soviet Navy did not have time to move to new states , and therefore, despite the de jure abolition of these positions, many military personnel of the military-political structure of the USSR Armed Forces met the - in fact, being in the old posts of military commissioners and political leaders .
After the start of the Great Patriotic War, in the difficult situation of the Red Army failures on the fronts, cases of unauthorized retreat and mass surrender of Soviet military personnel began to occur, and as a result, on July 16, 1941 the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On the reorganization of political propaganda bodies and the introduction of political commissars in the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ' [12] , once again returning to the ranks of the USSR Armed Forces military commissars and political leaders, and giving them broad powers counter oscillating bodies.
The institution of military commissars and political leaders in the Armed Forces of the USSR was finally liquidated in October 1942 by the Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 9, 1942 "On the establishment of complete unity of command and the abolition of the institute of military commissioners in the Red Army" [13] and on October 13, 1942 "On the distribution of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council" On the establishment of complete unity of command and the abolition of the institution of military commissars in the Red Army "on the Navy" [14] . Instead, the institute of political officers was reintroduced with the functions of only educational work, which existed in the armed forces until the collapse of the USSR .
See also
- Commissioner (in military formation)
- Military Commissioner (military position)
- Politruk (military rank)
Notes
- ↑ Not to be confused with the similar special military rank of political instructor that existed in the USSR Armed Forces in the period 1935-1942 .
- ↑ UVS-37 , 1938 , Ch. I. Duties of military personnel and the relationship between them, p. 21.
- ↑ UVS-37 , 1938 , Ch. I. Duties of military personnel and the relationship between them, p. 26
- ↑ Zemtsov V.S. 4: From the defeat of the Entente's campaigns to the Pacific Ocean // Red commissars against the backdrop of the era: from feat to oblivion. - M .: Border , 2015. - 783 p. - 300 copies - ISBN 978-5-94691-787-2 .
- ↑ Foreword // Reform in the Red Army: documents and materials, 1923-1928 . / Rosarchive ; RGVA ; Ministry of Defense of Russia ; Ivimo ; status V. A. Artsybashev [and others]. - M .: Summer Garden , 2006. - Book. 1 .-- 719 s. - ISBN 5-98856-001-6 .
- ↑ Decree of the CEC and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of May 10, 1937 "On the creation of military councils of military districts and the establishment of the institute of military commissars in the Red Army . "
- ↑ General list of orders of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR for 1937 with the stamp "Secret" . Documents Site " Soldier.ru ". Date of treatment February 13, 2017.
- ↑ Order of the USSR NCO of December 21, 1937 No. 260 "On the enactment of the Charter of the Internal Service of the Red Army of 1937."
- ↑ UVS-37 , 1938 .
- ↑ Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of August 12, 1940 "On Strengthening Unity of Command in the Red Army and Navy . "
- ↑ Order of the USSR NCO of August 14, 1940 No. 262 “With the announcement of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR“ On Strengthening Single-Commandment in the Red Army and Navy ”” .
- ↑ Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 16, 1941 "On the reorganization of political propaganda bodies and the introduction of the institution of political commissars in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army . "
- ↑ Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 9, 1942 "On the establishment of complete unity of command and the abolition of the institution of military commissars in the Red Army . "
- ↑ Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 13, 1942 "On the distribution of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet" On the establishment of complete unity of command and the abolition of the institute of military commissars in the Red Army "in the Navy . "
Literature
- The charter of the internal service of the Red Army. 1937 : (UVS-37) / NKO USSR . - M .: Gosvoenizdat , 1938. - 132 p. : il.