Политическая работа в бригаде подводных лодок Северного флота в 1941–1945 гг.

Abstract

Until now the issue of party and political work among the Northern Fleet submarines brigade has never been a key topic for research of the national historians and area studies specialists. Our study aims at comprehensive examination of party and political work conducted on the Northern Fleet submarines in 1941–1945. In order to achieve this goal, we had to define the subject-matter and stages of party and political work, to identify its goals and character, to show the instruments for its execution, specifying its merits and flaws. We came to a conclusion that the political work among the crew members of the Northern Fleet submarines was conducted inconsistently during the Great Patriotic War. At the first stage of work with military personnel and during preparation of political information the political workers approached the problem as a mere formality. They did not take into account the age, education, positions of the listeners. Such approach and methods did not resonate with the military personnel. The political department used standard means of agitation such as lectures, discussions, reading newspapers. Moreover, the activity reports were based on formalist principles with unpalatable facts kept quiet. After 1943 the party and political work would become more systematic. Differentiation, awareness and sequence of operations could be observed in the actions of political department. The political work would be vertically arranged and would interconnect the Northern Fleet staff, brigade headquarters, brigade divisions, submarines. The means of campaigning and propaganda that had been already in place would be supplemented by newspapers, radio, political studies, excursions, photo albums.