Commissar

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Commissar is the English transliteration of an official title (комисса́р) used in Russia after the Bolshevik revolution and in the Soviet Union, as well as some other Communist countries. Leon Trotsky was the commissar for foreign affairs. He was appointed by Lenin. It denotes a political functionary at a military headquarters who holds coequal rank and authority with his military counterpart. No military order might be issued which did not have the prior approval of both men.

The institute of political commissars has been established to control the military forces by the Communist party. The Soviet Army (together with the whole Soviet state) was also controled by the state security organizations, such as SMERSH and the KGB.

It is used to distinguish the title from similar titles in a variety of languages (such as commissaire in French or Kommissar in German), which are usually translated into English as commissioner.

In Russia, the title was associated with a number of administrative and military functions in the Bolshevik forces during the Russian Civil War and the Soviet government afterwards. During the war, the White Army widely used the collective term bolsheviks and commissars for their opponents.

There were two well established titles: People's Commissar (government) and political commissar (military).

The term derives from a similar term in French to describe the equivalent of the rank of Major both in the army of the ancien regime and the French revolution. Such officials were not military officers but reported back to the political authorities: the king and the National Assembly, respectively. It is the use by the French revolutionary government which gave the idea to the Russian one.

Commissar

See also