and other commissars perform their communist duties, and they can endeavour (by appealing to the supreme party organisations or to responsible commissars) to secure that necessary measures shall be carried into effect. Thus only can the Communist Party — without any infringement of general military discipline on the part of Red soldiers who are communists — secure complete control over all its members and prevent any misuse of power on their side.
Apart from the communist groups in the army and apart from the political commissars, the political education of the Red Army is supervised by a whole network of political sections in the divisions and in the armies at the various fronts, and it is also supervised by the propaganda sections of the Commissariat for War. In its various departments, the proletarian State of Russia has created a mighty instrument for the enlightenment and organisation of its army, and it endeavours to secure the maximum of result with the minimum of effort. Thanks to the existence of this apparatus, the work of agitation and enlightenment in our army is not carried on fortuitously, but has a systematised character. The newspaper, the spoken word at meetings, and scholastic instruction, are ensured for every soldier of the Red Army.