Red Commanders: A Social History of the Soviet Army Officer Corps, 1918-1991

by Reese, Roger R.

• ISBN13: 9780700613977
• ISBN10: 0700613978
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-09-08
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Kansas

Author Biography

Roger R. Reese is professor of history at Texas A&M University.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
List of Abbreviations and Russian Terms	xi
Introduction	1	(11)
Creation of the Red Army Officer Corps, 1918--1922	12	(37)
The Formative Years, 1921--1928	49	(38)
Expansion and Purges, 1928--1939	87	(47)
The Officer Corps at War, 1939--1945	134	(43)
From the Postwar to the Brezhnev Era, 1946--1979	177	(40)
The Officer Corps and the Collapse of the Soviet Armed Forces, 1979--1991	217	(42)
Conclusion	259	(6)
Appendix A. Biographical Data on Komkors	265	(2)
Appendix B. Officers Reporting at the December 1940 Meeting of the High Command	267	(2)
Notes	269	(30)
Selected Bibliography	299	(10)
Index	309

Excerpts

"In this first comprehensive study of the Soviet officer corps, Roger Reese traces the history of the Red Army from Civil War triumph through near-decimation in World War II and demoralizing quagmire in Afghanistan to the close scrutiny it came under during Gorbachev's reform era. Reese takes readers inside the Red Army to reconstruct the social and institutional dynamics that shaped its leadership and effectiveness over seventy-three years. He depicts the lives of these officers by revealing their class origins, life experiences, party loyalty, and attitudes toward professionalism. He tells how these men were shaped by Russian culture and Soviet politics - and how the Communist Party dominated every aspect of their careers but never allowed them the autonomy they needed to cultivate a high level of military effectiveness." "Red Commanders offers new insight into the workings of a military giant and also restores Leon Trotsky to his rightful place in Soviet military history by featuring his ideas on building a new army from the ground up. It is an important look behind the scenes at a military establishment that continues to face leadership challenges in Russia today."--BOOK JACKET.