Page:Joseph Davies Memorandum regarding Military Strength of the Soviet Union.djvu/10

 supervision of a political officer. One of the greatest accomplishments of Frunze and Voroshilov in building up the Red Army was the establishment of a large number of military schools through which all the younger officers and many of the older officers of the Red Army were required to pass.

25. By 1934, the number of former tsarist officers still commanding Red Army unit's had become almost negligible, and the successive classes of graduates of Soviet military schools had risen to posts of importance. As these officers were generally considered politically reliable, they were often appointed "commander and commissar" of their respective units, the system of political control by an independent commissar being considered unnecessary

26.As a result of the treason trials of 1937, the Soviet government reconstituted the system of military, commissars and of military soviets composed largely of political officers, to supervise the political education of the army and to maintain a closer supervision over military commanders than had been thought necessary during the preceding four years.

27. The typical Red Army officer of today is a man who has passed through the military school of his arm or service and who has in addition been graduated from one of the higher -10-