The creation of the Red Army after the revolution of 1917 implied a multifaceted work aimed at forming a combat-ready, politically and ideologically motivated armed organization with a high-quality and well-functioning structure of education and management. Propaganda of political ideas and party agitation were among the key moments in the construction of the Red Army, deserving close attention and study. The article reveals the need to create ideological and political education bodies for Red Army soldiers in the army, the process of the education system formation and its functioning. The issues considered in the article allow us to assess the scope of the activities of the political and military leadership in the field of political and educational work. The main attention is paid to the creation of the institute of commissars in the Red Army and the organization of cultural leisure of soldiers, as the main elements involved in the organization and conduct of propaganda of the Soviet government communist ideology. It is emphasized that the formed system of political education, coupled with cultural and educational work, contributed to strengthening the positions of the ruling party in the army, rallying military collectives and improving the moral and psychological state of soldiers. A competent system of political education, which originated after the revolution, became one of the factors that ensured not only victory in the Civil War, but also determined the main directions of education of servicemen of the armed forces for years to come, and it is likely that this experience can be quite applicable at the present time.
For citation:
Shmakov A.A., Abidulin A.M. Formation of the system of political education in the Red Army after the October Revolution of 1917, Ivanovo State University
Bulletin, Series: Humanities, 2023, iss 4, pp. 121—131.