Commissars, Commanders, and Civilian Authority: The Structure of Soviet Military Politics PDF
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Commissars, Commanders, and Civilian Authority Russian Research Center Studies, 79 Brought to you by | Shenzhen University Authenticated Download Date | 12/14/17 3:47 AM Brought to you by | Shenzhen University Authenticated Download Date | 12/14/17 3:47 AM Commissars, Commanders, and Civilian Authority The Structure of Soviet Military Politics T i m o t hy J. C o l t on Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England 1979 Brought to you by | Shenzhen University Authenticated Download Date | 12/14/17 3:47 AM Copyright © 1979 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Colton, Timothy J 1947- Commissars, commanders, and civilian authority. (Russian Research Center studies; 79) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Civil supremacy over the military—Russia. 2. Russia—Armed Forces—Political activity. 3. Kommunisticheskaia partiia Sovetskogo Soiuza I. Title. II. Series: Harvard University. Russian Research Center. Studies; 79. JN6520.C58C64 322'.5'0947 78-23342 ISBN 0-674-14535-6 Brought to you by | Shenzhen University Authenticated Download Date | 12/14/17 3:47 AM To My Parents Brought to you by | Shenzhen University Authenticated Download Date | 12/14/17 3:47 AM Brought to you by | Shenzhen University Authenticated Download Date | 12/14/17 3:47 AM Acknowledgments In the course of preparing the several versions of this study, I have drawn liberally on the knowledge and advice of others. The im- provements in the book are the best measure of these individuals' wisdom, but I wish also to acknowledge here a number of specific contributions. This book evolved initially under the balanced direction of Samuel P. Huntington and Adam B. Ulam. To Professor Huntington I owe a particular debt of gratitude. He helped spawn my interest in civil-military relations, urged me to fashion my work on the Soviet Union with an eye to comparative insights, and patiently saw several of my attempts at comparative analysis move in the direction of intelligibility. Professor Ulam, always with great kindness, reminded me of the need to acquire the direct knowledge of the Soviet ex- perience without which serious comparisons could not be made. In particular, he directed my attention to the rich military memoir literature. The late Merle Fainsod guided my first efforts to analyze the military party organs and provided encouragement out of all proportion to my performance. Over the last decade, Jerry Hough, as teacher and critic, has contributed enormously to this study and to my general understanding of Soviet politics. His prodding was especially important in leading me to question preconceptions of how the Communist party functions and also in spurring my interest in the concrete details of institutional machinery and career patterns. All too often in the Soviet field, partic- ularly in recent years, these matters have been slighted, to the detri- ment of both our immediate understanding of Soviet reality and our contribution to social science theory. I hope this book begins to mea- sure up to the standards Professor Hough has set. Brought to you by | Shenzhen University Authenticated Download Date | 12/14/17 3:47 AM vili Acknowledgments My colleague, Gordon Skilling, has likewise assisted me im- measurably in general terms. He was also a thorough reader of the manuscript, pointing out many shortcomings in logic and execution. I am greatly obliged to Dale R. Herspring for many hours of stimulat- ing conversation on generals and commissars. His attentiveness to some of the more abstruse lines of argument pursued in Part Three helped me avoid some serious pitfalls. William E. Odom also read the manuscript in its entirety at a busy juncture and provided incisive comments on it. Roman Kolkowicz and John Erickson have at several points conveyed detailed and very useful reactions to my findings and ideas, and Matitiahu Mayzel has shared with me his exceptional knowledge of Soviet military history. Donald Forbes kindly facilitated the preparation of the tables in Chapter 2. The following individuals read part or all of one version or another of the manuscript and assisted in its development: Paul Cocks, Helen Desfosses, Herbert Dinerstein, Mary Ellen Fischer, Richard Gregor, Franklyn Griffiths, Thane Gustafson, Grey Hodnett, Christopher Jones, Sanford Lieberman, Donald Schwartz, and Peter Solomon, Jr. The Russian Research Center provided a congenial and rich setting for much of the research embodied in these pages. I am especially grateful for the diligent efforts on my behalf of the Center's librarian, Susan Jo Gardos. I have also benefited at various stages from the generous support of the Canada Council, the Government Depart- ment of Harvard University, and the Centre for Russian and East European Studies, Scarborough College, and the Department of Polit- ical Economy in the University of Toronto. Aida D. Donald and Joan Ryan have been skilled and considerate editors of the final version. Much of the material in Chapter 8 appeared in my article in Soviet Studies, 29 (April 1977), 185-213. I wish to thank the journal for permission to use it here. To my wife, Patricia, goes my heartfelt gratitude for many hours of inspiration, many hours of reading, and many more of waiting. To small Patricia, who has grown up with the clatter of the typewriter and the clutter of piles of Soviet newspapers, go my assurances that it was, indeed, all worthwhile. Brought to you by | Shenzhen University Authenticated Download Date | 12/14/17 3:47 AM Contents Introduction 1 PART ONE THE MILITARY PARTY ORGANS 1 The Structure of the Military Party Organs 9 2 The Roles of the Military Party Organs 35 3 The Military Party Organs in Military Administration 58 4 The Monitoring Capability of the Military Party Organs 85 PART TWO THE MILITARY PARTY ORGANS AND MILITARY POLITICS 5 Routine Administrative Politics 115 6 The Great Purge 136 7 World War II Decision Making 152 8 The Zhukov Affair 175 9 Public Demand Articulations 196 PART THREE ARMY-PARTY RELATIONS REASSESSED 10 The Army in Soviet Politics: Capabilities and Participation 221 11 Explaining the Army's Political Quiescence 250 12 Civil-Military Relations and Soviet Development 279 Brought to you by | Shenzhen University Authenticated Download Date | 12/14/17 3:47 AM Appendix A Biographical Data on Soviet Military Officers 293 Appendix Β A Note on Primary Sources 297 Notes 300 Index 355 Brought to you by | Shenzhen University Authenticated Download Date | 12/14/17 3:47 AM
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