History Main / ThePoliticalOfficer

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Around the 3nd Chechen War, [[BadassPreacher priests]] are being installed in the [[RussiansWithRustingRockets Russian Army]] for similiar reasons but they aren't allowed to bear arms except in extreme conditions.

** It is implied that while the outcry was intentionally high, he was demoted only to keep the official face on the thing, political officers being a rather new institution and just another ool in the [[MagnificentBastard Ezar's]] box.

They had real power only earlier years, mainly during the [[RedOctober Russian Civil War]], where most of the commanders on the both sides were the FormerRegimePersonnel, and Bolsheviks distrusted their allies. During the WWII (in 1942, to be precise) , they were renamed ''zampolits'' (political assistants) or ''politruks'' (political guides) and stripped of most of their authority, becoming little more than advisors to commanding officers and lectors on communism among soldiers.

* Commissars in ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'' are [[BadassLongcoat longcoat-wearing]] political officers attached to [[BadassNormal Imperial]] [[RedshirtArmy Guard]] armies and [[SpaceNavy Imperial Navy]] ships, and mostly conform to the worst Western stereotypes of the Soviet commissars - they even have rules to summarily execute officers who try to flee during battle. [[CharacterExaggeration Common fan portrayal of them is even worse,]] though it is usually PlayedForLaughs ("Heresy!" ''BLAM!''). There are exceptions, though, as some such as [[GauntsGhosts Ibram Gaunt]] fit the "benevolent commissar" mold, while others such as {{Ciaphas Cain}} have caught on to the fact that overzealous commissars [[UnfriendlyFire tend to die in combat suspiciously far from the front line]].
** Yeah, but given what the Guard are up against, there's actually a good reason for the Commissars to be there. Once again; in the {{Grimdark}} future, the best you can hope for is a quick death at the hands of something that doesn't want your soul. If one Guardsman runs, the Line will break. If the Line breaks, the Artillery won't be able to hold Them off. If the Artillery can't hold Them off, the planet will be overrun. if the planet is overrun, the Inquisition will be forced to execute an Exterminatus, costing untold billions of lives as the ripples tear through the web of Imperial Logistics, devastating the neighbouring systems, the sub-sector or even the whole Sector... So the Commissar shoots that one man, who would betray his Sacred Duty, and does so with a prayer on his lips. Can you blame him?
*** And then when another runs, he does it again, for the same reasons, and then again, and again, and again... This kind of very steep but inviting slippery slopes are what make the setting so grimdark.
** ''DawnOfWar'' plays the above straight: the ''Winter Assault'' tutorial specifically mentions that the Guardsmen are [[RedShirt simple humans fighting against the worst monstrocities of the universe]], hence why they break so easily. Attaching a commissar to a squad however makes that squad near-immune to morale: not even a flamethrower will make them run. If they do break anyway, the commissar has the ability of executing a random soldier to instantly restore squad morale. And they happen to be [[BadassNormal awesome melee fighters]] to boot... but only three can be deployed at a time.

*** Citizen Admiral Theisman, who had spend years duping his political officer into rubber stamping all of his strategic decisions, eventually [[spoiler: teamed up with him to successfully take down the Committee of Public Safety, installing Eloise Pritchart as the new President.]]

They had real power only earlier years, mainly during the RussianCivilWar, where most of the commanders on the both sides were the FormerRegimePersonnel, and Bolsheviks distrusted their allies. During the WWII (in 1942, to be precise) , they were renamed ''zampolits'' (political assistants) or ''politruks'' (political guides) and stripped of most of their authority, becoming little more than advisors to commanding officers and lectors on communism among soldiers.
Around the 3nd Chechen War, [[BadassPreacherOrthodox priests]] are being installed in the [[RussiansWithRustingRockets Russian Army]] for similiar reasons but they aren't allowed to bear arms except in extreme conditions.

* Several political officers are seen [[WeHaveReserves shooting anyone attempting to retreat]] in the movie ''Enemy At The Gates''.

* In Harry Turtledove's Darkness books, the Russia-parallel nation has a line of these people stationed half a mile behind the front with sticks (magic guns) and orders to blaze (shoot) anyone passing by them.
* In the HonorVerse, the People's Commissioners of Haven's second regime fit this to a tee. Their dampening effect on the competence of "elitist, recidivist" officers (who were liable to get shot, along with their entire extended families, for the slightest imagined disloyalty or failure in battle-based on the French Revolution) was half the reason Manticore won that war.

* One major sign of [=EarthGov's=] slide into dictatorship was the assignment of a political officer to {{Babylon 5}}. A very [[GoodLookingPrivates hot female political officer]]. Who can go from fully clothed to stark naked in the time it takes someone to turn around (neat trick).

** Yeah, but given what the Guard are up against, there's actually a good reason for the Commissars to be there. Once again; in the Grimdark, the Best you can hope for is a quick death at the hands of something that doesn't want your soul. If one Guardsman runs, the Line will break. If the Line breaks, the Artillery won't be able to hold Them off. If the Artillery can't hold Them off, the Planet will be Overrun. if the Planet is Overrun, the Inquisition will be forced to execute an Exterminatus, costing untold Billions of lives as the ripples tear through the web of Imperial Logistics, devastating the neighbouring systems, the sub-sector or even the whole Sector... So the Commissar shoots that one man, who would betray his Sacred Duty, and does so with a prayer on his lips. Can you blame him?

* Commissar Dottski from Up Front. He adds +1 morale to everyone in his group ("in the Red Army, advance is less dangerous than retreat") but if any man in the group becomes pinned, draw a card to see who the commissar is watching. If he's watching the pinned soldier, BAM! Dottski takes out his pistol and executes the man. Germans score victory points for KIA.

* Modern ideological dictatorships tend to have these guys in no small number. Communist regimes are perhaps the most obvious, but ThoseWackyNazis and even Chiang Kai-Shek's KMT had them. This is also OlderThanYouThink, with their introduction early in the NapoleonicWars by the Revolutionary government. Any general that failed in battle could except to meet La Vuve (the Widow, i.e. the Guillotine).

Around the 3nd Chechen War, [[BadassPreacherOrthodox priests]] are being installed in the [[RussiansWithRustingRockets Russian Army]] for similiar reasons but they aren't allowed to bear arms except in extreme conditions. "Heresy---someone lend a 'BALM'?"
cockfighting ring.

-->[[BoomHeadshot * BLAM!* ]]

*** He may have had it coming but the real reason Ramius killed him was because he couldn't be trusted. They were, after all, about to defect to the United States without telling the loyal, socialist crew. If he'd learned about their defection he would have, as was his duty, tried to stop them, possibly by inciting a mutiny. [[NecessarilyEvil Cold-hearted, yes]]. [[IDidWhatIHadToDo But rational under the circumstances]].

*** Which is [[DidNotDoTheResearch absolute]] [[AuthorTract rubbish]] in RealLife. Such behavior would've inevitable lead to the solid whack to the head and quarters arrest pending court-martial for any real Soviet ''zampolit'' -- after all, they all ''were'' subordinated to their commanders.

* In Harry Turtledove's Darkness books, the Russia-parallel nation has a line of these people stationed half a mile behind the front with sticks (magic guns) and orders to blaze (shoot) anyone passing by them
* In the HonorVerse, the People's Commisioner's of Haven's second regime fit this to a tee. Their dampening effect on the competence of "elitist, recidivist" officers (who were liable to get shot, along with their entire extended families, for the slightest imagined disloyalty to the Revolution) was half the reason Manticore won that war.

* One major sign of [=EarthGov's=] slide into dictatorship was the assignment of a political officer to {{Babylon 5}}. A very [[GoodLookingPrivates hot female political officer]]. Who can go from fully clothed to stark naked in the time it takes someone to turn around.

** Yeah, but given what the Guard are up against, there's actually a good reason for the Commissars to be there. Once again; in the Grimdark, the Best you can hope for is a quick death at the hands of something that doesn't want your soul. If one Guardsman runs, the Line will break. If the Line breaks, the Artillery won't be able to hold Them off. If the Artillery can't hold Them off, the Planet will be Overrun. if the Planet is Overrun, the Inquisition will be forced to execute a Exterminatus, costing untold Billions of lives as the ripples tear through the web of Imperial Logistics, devastating the neighbouring systems, the sub-sector or even the whole Sector... So the Commissar shoots that one man, who would betray his Sacred Duty, and does so with a prayer on his lips. Can you blame him?

* Modern ideological dictatorships tend to have these guys in no small number. Communist regimes are perhaps the most obvious, but ThoseWackyNazis and even Chiang Kai-Shek's KMT had them. This is also OlderThanYouThink, with their introduction early in the NapoleonicWars by the Revolutionary government.

* Commissar Dottski from Up Front. He adds +1 morale to everyone in his group ("in the Red Army, retreat is more dangerous than advance") but if any man in the group is pinned, draw a card to see who the commissar is watching. If he's watching the pinned soldier, BAM! Dottski takes out his pistol and executes the man. Germans score victory points for KIA.

*** He may have had it coming but the real reason Ramius killed him was because he couldn't be trusted. They were, after all, about to defect to the United States without telling the loyal, socialist crew. If he'd learned about their defection he would have, as was his duty, tried to stop them, possibly by inciting a mutiny. [[GrayAndGreyMorality Cold-hearted, yes]]. [[IDidWhatIHadToDo But rational under the circumstances]].

** Yeah, but given what the Guard are up against, there's actually a good reason for the Commissars to be there. Once again; in the Grimdark, the Best you can hope for is a quick death at the hands of something that doesn't want your soul. If one Guardsman runs, the Line will break. If the Line breaks, the Artillery won't be able to hold Them off. If the Artillery can't hold Them off, the Planet will be Overrun. if the Planet is Overrun, the Inquisition will be forced to execute a Terminatus, costing untold Billions of lives as the ripples tear through the web of Imperial Logistics, devastating the neighbouring systems, the sub-sector or even the whole Sector... So the Commissar shoots that one man, who would betray his Sacred Duty, and does so with a prayer on his lips. Can you blame him?

** Yes.

*** Citizen Admiral McQueen and her political officer, a staunch party loyalist, eventually [[spoiler: [[EnemyMine team up to take down the Committee of Public Safety]], but are almost immediately killed afterwards by a hidden nuke in their headquarters.]]

The Political Officer was an officer in the old Soviet military, attached to a unit, but outside its regular chain of command. His job was to ensure that the regular soldiers and officers followed the orders of the Party leadership in Moscow, basically a leash to ensure civilian control of the military. Stereotypically, this character is unconcerned with the difficulties the unit faces in actual combat, and will insist on slavish adherence to orders no matter what the circumstances.

* Commissar Letlev at the beginning of the Soviet campaign in ''[[CallOfDuty Call of Duty 2]]''. However, he was portrayed more as a gently chiding but still tough training officer and the only threats of being shot for cowardice came not from him but from regular officers.