A military commissariat (from Russian: военный комиссариат, shortened as военкомат, voyenkomat), is an institution that is part of military service or law enforcement mechanisms in some European countries. As part of the British Army in the 19th century, military commissariats were used for organisational, accounting and bookkeeping duties regarding military transport, personnel and equipment. The most widespread historic use of military commissariats existed as part of administrative military infrastructure in the Soviet Union. Each Soviet district would have a military commissariat that was responsible for keeping documentation up to date concerning military resources, including the labour force, in their region. Military commissariats in the Soviet Union were also tasked with the recruitment and training of military servicemen. The use of military commissariats as local military administrative agencies continued as a part of modern Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. There has been criticism and speculation regarding corruption in the recruitment process of military personnel and allegations of an abusive military culture in commissariats since their inception. This has caused the role of military commissariats as administrative agencies to be questioned. Buildings that were military commissariats still serve their purpose in Russia and some other post-Soviet states. In France and Italy, the word "commissariat" can refer to factions of the police and law enforcement, some of whom are connected to the military.
In Soviet Russia / Soviet Union A military commissariat (Russian: Bоенный коммисариат, translit: voyenny kommisariat) was a local military administrative agency used in the Soviet Union to provide administrative and organisational military services. They were led by a military commissar (Russian: Bоенный коммисар, translit: voyenny kommisar) who worked in a political and bureaucratic role alongside a regional military commander who served as a traditional military official. As is typical of Soviet phraseology, military commissariats can be referred to in Russian as 'voyenkomat' and military commissars can be referred to as 'voyenkom'; examples of Soviet portmanteaus. Military commissariats were used in Soviet Russia and later Soviet Union from 1917 until the dissolution in 1991. Soviet republics were divided into Krais and Oblasts and then into national districts and at each division a military commissariat was instated. The role of the military commissariat at each stage of hierarchy differed; however, its core functions centred around administrative housekeeping regarding military personnel and military equipment and the provision of military training. Other duties included troop mobilisation, forced conscription and punishments for draft dodging, preparing local men for service, registering all relevant weaponry including all machinery and cars in the region, delivering pensions to retired army personnel, and selecting and promoting officers. The structure and function of military commissariats initially developed between 1917 and 1922 during the Russian Civil War. A political officer was introduced by the Red Army to each occupied military district to collaborate with the existing military commander and to provide military administrative services. This officer was the precursor to the military commissar. The introduction of a political officer alongside a military commander at a local level established leadership accountability and cooperation in each Soviet district and also lay foundation for a close relationship to develop between the political and military spheres in the Soviet Union. Additionally, strong relations between political and military figures allowed for an overarching administrative structure to interact with civilians through a combined political and military partnership. The military commissariat system rose in importance during the 1920s and 1930s as it allowed the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to exert political control alongside the military at a local level. Vladimir Lenin, head of government of Soviet Russia and subsequent Soviet Union from 1917 to 1924, said that "without military commissariats we would not have a Red Army". Military commissariats organised the mobilisation of troops before the Soviet invasions of Finland, Poland and other countries in 1939 and in the subsequent outbreak of World War II. As part of recruitment processes and to encourage military service and participation in World War II military commissariats would organise dispatch centres in their individual districts that displayed various propaganda materials such as portraits of Soviet leaders and slogans that encouraged defence of the homeland. Additionally, military commissariats would organise local military functions, military discussions, artistic performances and film screenings to increase morale and to promote military service. After 1945, military commissariats and their administrative processes were increasingly monitored closely by the United States through espionage to establish greater understanding of the Soviet Armed Forces. This is a result of the bookkeeping and accounting information held by individual military commissariats regarding population, recruitment and equipment numbers in their districts. In the 20th century the Soviet Union was considered a major military strength. The Soviet Armed Forces were a source of pride for the state and this is reflected in the Soviet Union's military budget which was the largest in the world at the time measured as a percentage of Gross National Product, reaching 25% of the country's total Gross Domestic Product. This military culture and expenditure is reflected in the development of the military commissariat system which allowed the military to grow and serve as an important feature of all Soviet districts.
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