Political commissar

The political commissar (also politruk from Russian: политрук from политический руководитель, "political officer") is the supervisory political officer responsible for the political education (ideology) and organization, and committed to the civilian control of the military. Historically, the commissaire politique (political commissary) first appeared in the French Revolution (1789–99), guarding it against anti-Revolutionary thought and action.

Despite a French Republican origin, the political commissar usually is associated historically with the Soviet Union (1917–91), where the Russian Provisional Government of 1917 introduced them to the military forces to ensure the government’s political control. In the communist government established by the October Revolution, the political commissar remained in the Red Army until 1942.

In the Red Army and the Soviet Army, the political commissar existed, by name, only during the 1918–24, 1937–40, and 1941–42 periods; not every Red Army political officer was a commissar. The political commissar held military rank equaling that of the unit commander to whom he was attached; moreover, the commissar also had the military authority to countermand the unit commander’s orders when required. In the periods of the Red Army's history when political officers were militarily subordinate to unit commanders, the position of political commissar did not exist.

The political supervision of the Russian military was effected by the political commissar, who was introduced to every unit and formation, from company- to division-level, including the navy. Revolutionary Military Councils (or Revvoyensoviets- RVS) were established at army-, front-, fleet-, and flotilla-level, comprising at least three members — commander and two political workers. The political workers were denominated "members of the RVS", not "commissars", despite being official political commissars.

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