On April 8, Russia celebrates the Day of Workers of Military Commissariats. Every Russian man has come across these people in his life, and the defense capability and security of the Russian state directly depends on the results of their work. The date April 8 as a professional holiday was not chosen by chance. It was on this day, exactly 100 years ago, on April 8, 1918, that the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR adopted the "Decree on the establishment of volost, uyezd, provincial and district military commissariats," according to which 7 district, 39 provincial, 385 district and 7 thousand volost military commissariats.
The creation of military commissariats was one of the most important steps of the young Soviet government on the way to the formation of a regular Red Army and to ensure the recruitment of young men into it. Very quickly, the Soviet leadership realized that it was impossible to wage a war against the whites and the interventionists, relying only on the volunteer formations of workers and sailors and the military units of the old Russian army that had gone over to the side of the Bolsheviks. More and more human resources were required.
To replenish the Red Army with conscripts, a developed military accounting system was required, and to prepare reserves, military training was required. Since the general arming of the proletariat was one of the fundamental pillars of the official ideology, and more and more human resources were required to defend the Soviet regime, one of the key directions was assigned to the military commissariats - to train reserves and to call up young people for military service.
On April 22, 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted a decree "On compulsory training in the art of war", which was also inextricably linked with the creation of military commissariats, which performed the functions of directing the All-Learning Education. To manage the activities of military commissariats, the post of military commissar was introduced at the same time, which should not be confused with commissars of fronts, armies, divisions, brigades, regiments of the Red Army. The military commissars of the formations were entrusted with the functions of political leadership and control over the military command, and the military commissars of the military enlistment offices - the military-administrative work in the field.
The first years of Soviet power became the most difficult for the military commissariats - after all, they had to ensure the mobilization of the male population into the Red Army in the context of the Civil War, global political changes, the destruction of the administrative infrastructure on the ground and the reluctance of many citizens of the young Soviet republic to serve on conscription.
The losses among the employees of the military registration and enlistment offices were very high - like other representatives of the Soviet government on the ground, they died primarily during riots or uprisings, they were destroyed by white and anti-Soviet rebels. Nevertheless, in many respects thanks to the operatively deployed system of military commissariats, the Red Army in just a few years turned into a powerful armed force, manned by conscription. The system of general military training, also thanks to the military registration and enlistment offices, covered a large part of the Soviet population.
The key to the successful work of military enlistment offices at that difficult time, of course, was the correct selection of personnel. Who were the military commissars of those years? Basically, as evidenced by historical documents, the employees of the military registration and enlistment offices were recruited from the number of men registered and mobilized for military service in the Red Army. For example, when an order was issued in Ivanovo-Voznesensk to register all persons liable for military service, officers of the military commissariat were recruited within three to four days. Many employees of the military registration and enlistment offices were transferred from other units and institutions of the Red Army.
Far from all the employees of the military registration and enlistment offices were Red Army men, many came from Soviet or party institutions, primarily from the workers 'and peasants' militia. Often workers were sent to military registration and enlistment offices on the basis of party recommendations. This was especially true of the military commissars themselves and their assistants. But sometimes it was necessary to recruit employees and literally from the street, placing ads in provincial or city newspapers.
Candidates for service in military commissariats who came "by advertisement" were required to meet the minimum qualification requirements, that is - experience in military service, for engineering or technical positions - appropriate education or work experience. However, the selection was not very strict and often people who were not ready for such work and were not able to perform it turned out to be in leading or responsible positions. This, of course, affected the work of the military enlistment offices not in the best way. Since during the difficult time of the Civil War, military service, especially in the rear, guaranteed at least some level of income, food rations, uniforms, people willingly went to work in military registration and enlistment offices, like other government or party institutions.
The most important task of the local military registration and enlistment offices in the first year of Soviet power, in addition to mobilization work, was the formation of military units of the Red Army in the field. Already on April 29, 1918, the corresponding order of the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs was issued, which stated that it was the military enlistment offices and only they should be engaged in the direct formation of military units. To create units of the Red Army, local military registration and enlistment offices were required to obtain special permits from the central leadership. The divisions of the Red Army were formed according to special orders sent from the People's Commissariat, while for local needs units and subunits were formed by the military enlistment offices themselves, but strictly according to the states approved by the People's Commissariat.
The recruiting office was also entrusted with the task of selecting command personnel for the newly formed units of the Red Army. This was even more difficult given that commanders had to be recruited from scratch. The old system of military education that existed in the Russian Empire was practically destroyed, and more and more commanders were required for the fighting units of the Red Army. Therefore, on April 22, 1918, a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee "On the procedure for filling posts in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army" was published. It stated that platoon commanders are recruited by local military commissariats from among persons trained in special military schools or who have distinguished themselves in battles and have shown the ability to command personnel.
The lists of candidates for the positions of platoon commanders were drawn up by the commanders of individual units and military commissars. The military enlistment offices were also responsible for checking the newly appointed commanders for full compliance with the position held, which the military commissars carried out together with the unit commanders. Those wishing to serve in the Red Army in command positions could also apply to the military registration and enlistment offices of the district and higher level, after which special military certification commissions were created for their certification under the command of military commissars. They considered the applications of persons wishing to be recruited into the service as commanders of platoons, companies, squadrons, batteries of the Red Army.
There was, as noted by the historian A. B. Kuzmin, and an interesting system of publicity in the selection of candidates - their names were published in local newspapers, after which any citizens within ten days after publication had the right to speak up with their objections to the named candidates. The military registration and enlistment offices took an active part in the creation of military schools and courses, which were attended mainly by workers, less often by poor peasants. A separate group, which was also considered as a reserve for replenishing the command staff, were former tsarist officers, non-commissioned officers, military officials who already had experience in military service and, accordingly, high-quality training in the old Russian army.
After the end of the Civil War, the Soviet state began to further build and strengthen the Red Army. Existing in a hostile environment, in conditions of constant risk of the outbreak of war, the Soviet Union needed not only a cadre and well-trained army, but also a reliable mobilization system that made it possible to instantly mobilize significant military contingents.
By the 1930s. an excellent system of general military training was formed in the Soviet Union. Starting from school, Soviet people underwent basic military training, mastered the basics of military specialties in Osoaviakhim as part of pre-conscription training. Much attention was paid to the physical education of Soviet citizens, especially high school students, students, young workers and collective farmers. In organizing the system of general military training, the military commissariats cooperated, firstly, with party and Komsomol bodies and bodies of Soviet power, and secondly, with Osoaviakhim. As a result, a unique system for training a mobilization reserve was created, which, with some changes, existed until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
A huge amount of work was carried out by military commissariats during the Great Patriotic War. The task of mobilizing millions of Soviet citizens to the front and rear units demanded an enormous exertion of forces from the military commissariats in all Union republics, regions and territories. It was doubly difficult also because the number of servicemen serving in military registration and enlistment offices was reduced. Many were transferred to the active army, others themselves asked to be transferred to the front, not wanting to work in the rear. And, nevertheless, despite all the difficulties, the military commissariats coped well with the tasks set to mobilize those liable for military service.
The final formation of the system of military commissariats of the country in the form in which it, with some changes, exists to this day, took place already in the post-war period. The military commissariats were entrusted with a huge layer of military-administrative work in various areas. Undoubtedly, the most important and well-known area of activity of military registration and enlistment offices was and remains mobilization work - the organization of the military registration of the population and the conduct within its framework of events for conscription and training camps, the preparation of young people for military service by conscription, the organization of recruiting citizens for military service according to contract. Military commissariats also select those wishing to study in higher military educational institutions of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and other ministries and departments where military service is envisaged.
The responsibility of the military registration and enlistment offices and their employees is colossal - after all, they are the ones who select citizens for military service, determining whether young people are worthy to be called up for military service, serve under a contract or enter a higher military educational institution. Medical and psychological selection, studying the biography of a future soldier, determining his moral qualities - all these tasks are performed by employees of military commissariats. But the military registration and enlistment offices also have one more important area of activity - it is the military registration offices that are responsible for the memory of the warriors of past generations, organize search activities in the battlefield, keep records of combat veterans, organize, if necessary, the funeral of former servicemen and the installation of monuments and tombstones.
However, even in our time, the activities of military enlistment offices have undergone many changes that were associated with the military reforms carried out in the country in the 1990s and 2000s. Thus, the reform of military commissariats led to serious consequences, within the framework of which most of the positions in military commissariats became civilian. This circumstance affected the work of military registration and enlistment offices rather for the worse, since professional military personnel - officers were replaced by civilian employees who have a completely different motivation, poorly imagine all the nuances and features of military service, work with a conscript contingent.
Military commissariats, despite all the perturbations, continue to be the most important institution for ensuring the defense capability of the Russian state. As the district police inspector in his person represents the law enforcement system in the eyes of the population, the military registration and enlistment office is a "bridge" connecting the world of the army and military service with civil reality. Voennoye Obozreniye congratulates all employees of the military commissariats of Russia on their professional holiday and wishes them success in their service. Without your work, it is impossible to imagine the armed forces, and the defense of the country as a whole.
