History 1401E Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Petrograd Soviet, Political Commissar, Proletariat
1 Apr 2019
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Document Summary
Role in the army that is attatched to each unit job was to make sure that everyone in the unit was following political policies (following politics, not against bolsheviks, not saying anything bad, etc) Ranks are abolished, saluting is dropped, uniforms were all the same. Created chaos because it got rid of the hierarchy that is necessary for an army. They didn"t know who was in charge, didn"t know who to take orders from, who was supposed to lead them, etc. Leon trotsky came into control of the red army in april 1918 and began reorganizing the army. Even though they"d gotten out of bolshevik war, they were now plunged into a civil war. Brutal in his tactics but very effective the army he creates was essential in winning civil war. Got rid of election of officers, reinstitues commanders and officials, Reinstated death penalty for military crimes after it had been abolished. The extraodinary committee to combat counterrevolution (secret police)
