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{{trope}}
{{quote|''Don't turn around
''Oh oh oh
''Der Kommissar's in town
''Oh oh oh!''|''[[Falco]]'' ([[Covered Up|via]] ''[[After The Fire]]'').}}
'''The Political Officer''' is an officer attached to a unit, usually outside the regular chain of command. His job is to ensure that the regular soldiers and officers follow the orders of the government. In essence, this is another method of civilian control of the military.
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The actual Soviet Political Officer is also a stock character in fictional portrayals of the Cold War era. He 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" (i.e. Communist party) 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.
In reality,
Note that this is the Western depiction. In Soviet fiction, the political officers often were stern but just, inspiring and actually caring, and performed major feats of heroism to inspire similar heroics in soldiers, based on the fact that the Political Officers as an institute were abolished in 1943, and had to continue as common line officers. An alternative Soviet depiction from much later years is a [[Obstructive Bureaucrat|lazy useless paper-pusher]] who never does anything useful and torments other officers with filling countless forms and boring lectures about "political situation".
Often wears a [[Commissar Cap]]. See also [[The Inquisitor General]].
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{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Muruta Azrael from ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' serves this role on the ''Dominion''. While officially just an "observer" from some committee, he's in fact head of the Blue Cosomos terrorist group. He's really there to make sure his plans go right, even undermining the ship's Captain.
** In ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]'' Rey Za Burrel plays a similar, though more subdued role on the ''Minerva'', keeping the crew—and particularly Shinn—on the track that Chairman Durandal wants them on.
== Comic Books ==
* In a manner of speaking, the Sith Lords in ''[[Star Wars Legacy]]'' fill a similar role. Though not part of the Imperial Military hierarchy, they oversee military units to ensure they serve the will of the [[Big Bad]] and [[Evil Overlord]] Darth Krayt. Complete with an [[Warhammer
▲* In a manner of speaking, the Sith Lords in ''[[Star Wars Legacy]]'' fill a similar role. Though not part of the Imperial Military hierarchy, they oversee military units to ensure they serve the will of the [[Big Bad]] and [[Evil Overlord]] Darth Krayt. Complete with an [[Warhammer 40000|"Oops, sorry sir"]] fragging of Darth Maleval by disgruntled stormtroopers.
== Film ==
* ''[[The Hunt for Red October]]'' has a [[Obstructive Bureaucrat|political officer]] accompanying Captain Ramius (who is actually trying to defect). To keep him from making more problems, Ramius 'has him fall into the corner of a desk'.▼
▲* [[The Hunt for Red October]] has a [[Obstructive Bureaucrat|political officer]] accompanying Captain Ramius (who is actually trying to defect). To keep him from making more problems, Ramius 'has him fall into the corner of a desk'.
* Several political officers are seen [[We Have Reserves|shooting anyone attempting to retreat]] in the movie ''[[Enemy at the Gates]]''.
** [[Historical Villain Upgrade|Danilov]] was a reasonably nice person.
* The Imperial Security Bureau served in a similar capacity in ''[[Star Wars]]''.
* ''[[Das Boot]]'' has the 1WO,
== Literature ==
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* In [[Red Storm Rising]] we see a few political officers. They are almost invariably incompetent - when the Soviet forces in Iceland are {{spoiler|about to be mauled by an Anglo-American task force and need to surrender}}, General Andreyev gets rid of his political officer by seizing on a throwaway remark the ''zampolit'' made about "true courage" by giving him a rifle and ordering him to the front, to inspire the men to some more "true courage."
* 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 ''[[Honor Harrington|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.
** Subverted several times as well:
*** Citizen Admiral Giscard and his political officer, Citizen Pritchart, {{spoiler|were having an affair,
*** Citizen Admiral McQueen and her political officer, a staunch party loyalist, eventually {{spoiler|[[Enemy Mine|team up to take down the Committee of Public Safety]], but are almost immediately killed afterwards by a hidden nuke in their headquarters.}}
*** Citizen Admiral Theisman, whose political officer had spent years rubber stamping all of his strategic decisions, and ''not'' reporting Theisman's growing distaste for the Committee of Public Safety, eventually {{spoiler|teamed up with him to successfully take down the Committee, installing Eloise Pritchart as the new President.}}
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**** Jordain also supported Citizen Captain Caslet's decision to try to save an enemy freighter from [[Complete Monster|Silesian pirates]], when obeying their orders to interfere with Manticore shipping ''should'' have meant just sitting back and letting the butchers do their work.
** Actually, it might be quicker to say that almost ''all'' Citizen Commissioners that we meet for more than a chapter or two subvert the trope by turning on their government and collaborating with the fundamentally decent officers they are supposed to be reigning in.
** In the short story "Fanatic" a political officer state that the many Citizen Commissioners become allied with their naval counterparts. Also, several members of the Committee of Public Safety know this; but it is ignored since the Commissioners use this connection to motivate the navy. Also, only the surface relationship is seen, the Committee never bothers asking if the Commissioner also loathes the government. [http://honorverse.wikia.com/wiki/Fanatic
**In the short story ''From the Highlands'' it is explained that StateSec's personal department actually is careful to filter people into the job they are suited for. Thus StateSec agents doing fleet duty or foreign intelligence often have many of the same traits as any Star Nation's naval officers or spies whereas prisons and torture chambers are crewed by those who [[Psycho for Hire|gravitate toward that duty]].
* [[Charles Stross]]'s story ''Missile Gap'' has Misha Gorodin as the zampolit assigned to [[Yuri Gagarin]]'s ship on the [[Star Trek|"five-year mission"]] to explore [[Flat World|the disk-shaped world]] where human civilization [[Alien Space Bats|has been transplanted]].
* [[The Neidermeyer|Strappi]] from ''[[
** Oddly, the identities of Borogravian political officers seems to be a secret - Strappi's status is just rumoured at first, until [[The Reveal]]. As such they're probably more of a cross between this trope and [[State Sec|Stasi-esque]] informants, presumably to avert the inherent risk of [[Unfriendly Fire|fragging]] that comes with the role.
* Barrayar has political officers in the early parts of the [[Vorkosigan Saga]]. Admiral Aral Vorkosigan notoriously murdered his own particularly scheming one with his bare hands on his flag bridge during the invasion of Komarr, and only dodged serious consequences (other than a demotion to Captain) due to his bloodline. Later, another political officer tries to murder him in return.
** 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 tool in the [[Magnificent Bastard|Ezar's]] box.
* ''Broken Angels'' by [[Richard Morgan]]. The [[Private Military Contractors|Wedge]] are kept under the surveillance of a political officer, so to avoid any problems with him they forcefully addict him to "the wire", threatening to withhold it if he causes trouble. The political officer gets his revenge {{spoiler|when his surveillance reveals the protagonist is planning to kill his former colleagues -- he 'forgets' to inform the Wedge commander of this.}}
* Commissar [[Ciaphas Cain]], '''[[Warhammer
* In ''[[CoDominium|Falkenberg's Legions]]'', the Soviet-backed International Brigades sent to the Santiago Civil War are controlled by Political Officers. Very much in the Soviet zampolit style, the one featured takes on the Western stereotype.
* In [[Childe Cycle|Dorsai!]], the Friendlies have "Conscience Guardians" who seek out heresy among their troops. Interestingly enough, the Guardians authority is only over their Chruch members and not foreign mercenaries. In addition, they keep their forces from bickering with each other over issues of religious doctrine, preventing tensions within their army.
* ''[[Grunts!]]'': Having spent a lot of time reading over the political philosophy texts in Dagurashibanipal's hoard, Marine Razitshakra turns into Marine Commissar Razitshakra, complete with [[Commissar Cap]] and Russian Army greatcoat, monitoring her fellow orcs for "idealogical instability".
▲== Live Action TV ==
* One major sign of EarthGov's slide into dictatorship was the assignment of a political officer to ''[[Babylon 5]]''. A very [[Good-Looking Privates|hot female political officer]]. Who can go from fully clothed to stark naked in the time it takes someone to turn around (neat trick).
* In the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' episode "Face of the Enemy", Troi is disguised as a Tal'Shiar officer who fills this role on a Romulan warship. [[Alternate Character Interpretation|It could also be said that this is also her role on the Enterprise]].
== Tabletop Games ==
* Commissars in ''[[Warhammer
** In [[Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay|RPG]], there's "[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Feared And Loathed]]" trait for the peculiar relationship between some [[State Sec|Internal Security Commissariats]] and PDF - but "real" Commissars ''don't'' have this (nor bother to hide their opinion of the spooks who won't show up when the going gets tough). The best Commissars don't need to shoot soldiers, because they are proactive about morale issues. The worst Commissars and/or obstinate ones stuck with more maverick units tend to have "[[Unfriendly Fire|unfortunate accidents]]", however.
▲* Commissars in ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' are [[Badass Longcoat|longcoat-wearing]] political officers attached to [[Badass Normal|Imperial]] [[Redshirt Army|Guard]] armies and [[Space Navy|Imperial Navy]] ships. Interestingly, they feature elements of both the "eastern" and "western" stereotypes in that they are inspirational badasses who are calm under fire and lead by example, but can and will mercilessly shoot soldiers who fail to meet their stringent standards. One or the other angle can be emphasised [[Depending on the Writer]] - minor character commissars are more likely to be [[Bad Boss]]es, while [[Gaunt's Ghosts|Ibram Gaunt]] fits the "benevolent commissar" mold, and [[Ciaphas Cain]] is a pure pragmatist who has caught on to the fact that overzealous commissars [[Unfriendly Fire|tend to die in combat suspiciously far from the front line]].
** The presence of the Commissars in Astra Militarum is an integral part of command structure. Even when Duke Severus seceded from the Imperium, he found it easier to secretly prepare his own corps of Ducal Legates to replace the Commissars ([https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2013/6/14/the-path-of-the-traitor/ see here]) than to remove Political Officer positions altogether and overhaul the army to work without them.
** One or the other angle can be emphasised [[Depending on the Writer]] - minor character commissars are more likely to be [[Bad Boss]]es, while [[Gaunt's Ghosts|Ibram Gaunt]] fits the "benevolent commissar" mold, and [[Ciaphas Cain]] is a pure pragmatist who has caught on to the fact that overzealous commissars tend to die in combat suspiciously far from the front line.
** Catachans, being fiercely independent badass jungle fighter Ramboes, even have a special rule ("Oops, sorry sir!") in which if a commissar is attached to them, you must roll before the game starts to find out whether or not he suffered an "unfortunate accident".
*** ''[[Only War]]'' generalized it to bad relations with assigned authority figures for [[Death World]] regiments, though it can be waived on personal basis.
** Most [[Badass]] of them all is Commissar Sebastian J. Yarrick. He lost an arm in battle with an Ork Warboss and retorted by ''decapitating the Warboss'', only "allowing himself the luxury of passing out" after the battle was won. He then had the Warboss's Power Klaw converted into a prosthetic for his own missing arm, powered (presumably) by the sheer badass he radiates. The Orks have immortalized him in fearful legends, believing that he cannot be killed and that a single glance from him brings death. On hearing the latter part of this legend, Yarrick decided that if the Orks believed he had an evil eye, the by the Emperor he would HAVE an evil eye. He then proceeded to PLUCK OUT HIS OWN EYE AND HAVE IT REPLACED WITH A LASER-SHOOTING BIONIC EYE. The short version? This man makes ''Orks'' wet themselves.
** ''[[Dawn of War]]'' plays the trope straight: the ''Winter Assault'' tutorial specifically mentions that the Guardsmen are [[Red Shirt|simple humans fighting against the worst monstrosities 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 [[Badass Normal|awesome melee fighters]] to boot... but only three can be deployed at a time.
**
*** Same deal with [http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Commissar_Raege Commissar Raege], who ended up wiping out most of her unit single-handedly and failed to understand why this is ''not'' the right way to do this job. After being sent to re-education (which included having to teach Commissar Fuklaw how to act more purposefully than on angry rampage) she became far more human, and far more sneaky.
* 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.
** The name Dottski was a reference to the Dotts, the owners of the game publisher. (Many of the other soldier names in the game were also references to the game designers and playtesters.)
* ''Advanced Squad Leader'' allows the Russians (and a few other countries by scenario special rule) to have commissars until late in 1942. Said leaders raise the morale and improve rallying for any troops they are stacked with. But any squad that does NOT rally is lowered in quality.
*
== Video Games ==
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== Real Life ==
* The [[Red October|Civil War-era]] Red Army is the Trope Codifier for these guys. They also played a large role early during WWII, only to be deactivated in 1942 when a reliable structure of regular commanding officers was
* Dmitri Furmanov, the commissar attached to Chapaev's troops, wrote the book that gave Chapaev lasting fame. Later he became the epitome of the benevolent commissar after the release of [[The Movie]] about Chapaev. Later, he experienced [[Memetic Mutation]] (along with Chapaev and [[The Lancer|Petka]]) and became a recurring character in [[Russian Humour]].
* Valery Sablin, who led a mutiny in 1975 on board the Soviet frigate ''Storozhevoy'' (a "Krivak"), aiming to sail it from Riga to Leningrad and incite a revolution against a regime that he felt was failing. A crew member escaped, alerted the authorities and the ship was stopped in international waters with the aid of Yak-28 "Brewer" bombers (they considered using Tu-16 "Badgers" but realised that launching anti-shipping missiles into a crowded shipping line was a dumb idea). The captain regained control of the ship just before the Yaks actually did some serious damage and Sablin was arrested. He was convicted of treason and shot. This was one of the incidents that inspired ''[[The Hunt for Red October]]''.
* Modern ideological dictatorships tend to have these guys in no small number. Communist regimes are perhaps the most obvious, but [[Those Wacky Nazis]] and even Chiang Kai-Shek's KMT had them. This is also [[Older Than You Think]], with their introduction early in the [[Napoleonic Wars]] by the Revolutionary government. Any general that failed in battle could except to meet La Veuve (the Widow, i.e. the Guillotine).
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* While the Soviet Union is the most obvious example, it was not the only modern dictatorship (communist or otherwise) to use political officers. Ironically enough, the Nazis established their own variant as the [[World War II|war]] went on and gave them increasing amounts of power over time, although they still never became as common or as powerful as their Soviet counterparts sometimes did. Maoist China, Saddam's Iraq, and theocratic Iran also had their own variants, as did many others.
* When Rome was a republic, the senior officers of the roman army were apointed by the senate, or directly elected by the people's assembly. Many politicians were also generals, like Ceasar. There are a few other historical periods when the officers were elected: At the beginning of the french revolution, in some republican units during the spanish civil war...
* The British Army on the Northwest Frontier(Afghan border) in Victorian times had an officer with a similar title. In a subversion he was not their as a watchdog over the general but got the title because he was part of the Indian Political Service. His function was to keep the general up to snuff on the sociology and politics of local tribes, and his duties are better described as intelligence advisor then as what is normally implied by the title.
* Political Officers of the stereotypical manner tend to arise in revolutionary regimes that haven't satisfied a claim to legitimacy. Of course the real claim to legitimacy in any long running state is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" but most states want something that sounds better and of course a revolution is obvious evidence that something is "broke" but not yet evidence that it is "fixed". And the fabled problem of "guarding the guardians" is more strained when said guardians might not take the regime for granted.
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[[Running Gag|*
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Dirty Communists]]
[[Category:Useful Notes/Russia]]
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