Main Military-Political Administration (GVPU)

July 30 can be considered the day of the revival of the once all-powerful, and then almost overnight destroyed GlavPUR - the Main Military-Political Administration (GVPU) of the Soviet Army and the Navy of the USSR. The main military-political department was created in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The creation of the Main Military Political Directorate in the Ministry of Defense will allow the restoration of the Institute of Political Deputies in the Russian Armed Forces "in a new capacity" and introduce new methods of educational work, which is necessary in the context of the growing number of contract workers. This opinion was expressed on 31 July 2018 by the TASS chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, the former commander of the airborne forces, Colonel-General Vladimir Shamanov.

According to two decrees signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, a new post of Deputy Minister-Chief of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (Decree No. 454) is appointed to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Colonel-General Andrey Kartapolov (Decree No. 456) is appointed to this position. The main administration itself, apparently, is recreated and will soon begin to work.

In addition, Decree No. 454 introduces two significant changes to the Regulations on the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, approved by Presidential Decree No. 1082 of August 16, 2004. From now on, the list of powers exercised by the Defense Ministry includes the organization of military-political work in the Armed Forces (previously - the organization of moral and psychological support for the Armed Forces) and military-patriotic activities.

The idea of creating a main military and political administration, on the base of the Main Directorate for Work with the Armed Forces in the Russian military department, similar to the GlavPUR existing in the USSR, appeared in February 2018.

According to Shamanov, today "changes in the structure of the armed forces, when there are more servicemen who contract, and less on the call that was considered and will be considered a sacred duty, suggest new approaches to educational work." "Therefore, this decision has been brewing all the years of the newest history of Russian statehood," said the chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee. "A structure will be formed that will professionally engage in educational, patriotic work," he explained, stressing that the category of servicemen under the contract "must work in a special way." The point is that "new forms and methods of educational work must be developed that will motivate all categories of servicemen to better service," the MP continued.

"This structure will unite the old and new traditions, and, of course, we need an administrative resource in the form of a deputy defense minister," Shamanov stated. "That is, this direction will be equivalent to such areas as staff work, combat training, rear and all-round support, in essence they will be old political forces, but in a new capacity," he stated. The head of the State Duma committee recalled that servicemen under the contract are "people who, after serving the due time, leave the unit and are" brought up "by either a street or a family, if they are married." "Today it will be necessary to develop forms and revive the traditions of the non-commissioned officer corps of the Russian army, when there were non-commissioned officers between the soldiers and the officer corps who solved educational problems and dealt with domestic problems." This is the necessary niche for a contract serviceman to conscientiously served, and his family was reliably protected," the parliamentarian concluded.

In the Russian Imperial Army and the Russian Imperial Navy, the military clergy, led by the Protopresbyter, were responsible for the spiritual (moral and psychological) state of the servicemen. While the term “protopresbyter” (first- or lead-priest) could almost literally be translated as “archpriest,” it is often used as a separate designation for certain clergy in highly visible or distinguished positions. The term “archpriest” is awarded to certain married clergy. A somewhat comparable term for monastic clergy is “archimandrite,” although this generally designates the head of a monastery.

The military-political control body appeared in the Red Army after the revolution. In Soviet Russia in May 1919, on the initiative of Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin, the political leadership of the Revolutionary Military Council of the RSFSR was formed. Then it was renamed the political management of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army. In the RKKA PU, the main structural subdivisions were agitation-informative, cultural-enlightenment, literary-publishing, inspection, administrative-financial departments and the military department of the publishing house VTsIK.

The main task of the unit since its foundation was to work with the moral and psychological state of personnel. The PU of the Red Army was later transformed into the main political administration - GlavPUR (as the department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party) with the functions of organizing party political work in the Armed Forces of the USSR, directing the entire system of army and naval political agencies, the military press, and cultural institutions. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Armed Forces underwent decapitalization and depoliticization processes, and therefore the status of the main military educational structure was lowered, and its name changed many times.

The former commander of the ZVO Kartapolov was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation - Chief of the Main Military-Political Directorate. The corresponding decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin was published on the official portal of legal information. "To appoint Colonel-General Andrei Kartapolov as Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation - Chief of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation," the text of the decree says, which comes into effect from the moment of signing.

Kartapolov is a real military general, not a political worker or a "teacher" who replaced them. Kartapolov was born in 1963 in the German Democratic Republic. He graduated from the Moscow Higher All-Arms Command School (1985), the Frunze Military Academy (1993), the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (2007). The service was held in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, the Western Group of Forces and the Far Eastern Military District in posts from the platoon commander to the division commander. In 2007-2008, he held the post of deputy army commander in the Siberian Military District. From 2008 to 2009 he was chief of staff - first deputy army commander in the Moscow Military District.

From 2009 to 2010, Kartapolov was the head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces. From May 2010 to January 2012, he was commander of the 58th Army of the North Caucasus, then of the Southern Military Districts, in 2012-2013 - Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District, from February 2013 to June 2014 - Chief of Staff of the Western Military District, from June 2014 to November 2015 - Chief of the Main Operations Directorate - Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces. In November 2015, by presidential decree, he was appointed commander of the Western Military District. He was awarded the Order of Military Merit, with many medals.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the political component was withdrawn from the title glavka - in 1992 the General Directorate for Work with Personnel (GURLS) was established, which also changed its names several times. According to the information of the official site of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, today the main tasks of the GURLS are work with the moral and psychological state of personnel, information and propaganda work and patriotic education of servicemen, organization of military special, psychological and cultural-leisure work, as well as creating conditions for free confession.

The main tasks of the Main Directorate for work with the personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were:

• the improvement in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of a system of work with personnel and moral and psychological support, the organization of work with personnel in the daily activities of troops (forces);
• organization of moral and psychological support of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation;
• organization of work to maintain the level of moral and psychological state of the servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, law and order and military discipline in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, ensuring the fulfillment of tasks by designation;
• the organization of information and propaganda work and state-patriotic education of the personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation;
• organization of military-special, psychological and cultural-leisure work in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation;
• creation of conditions for the exercise by the servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation of the constitutional right to freedom of religion, taking into account the characteristics of military surveillance;
• organizational and technical support for the activities of the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation;
• organization in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation of activities related to work with veterans, public associations of veterans;
• organization of the provision of troops (forces) with technical means, printing equipment, cultural-leisure and other property of the nomenclature of the Main Directorate for Work with the Personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

The Main Directorate for Work with the Personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation has directly subordinated:

• Center for military-patriotic work of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation;
• Center for Psychological Work of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation;
• 49 Center for Technical Facilities.

The Main Military Political Directorate (GVPU) was created at the Defense Ministry by presidential decree Vladimir Putin in the summer of 2018. In September, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu approved the structure of the new board. According to the plan, the formation of the GUVP will take place in three stages: on the first (until October 1, 2018) it was planned to complete the formation of central structures, on the second (until December 1 of last year) - to form a system of military-political work among the troops, on the third stage (from 1 September 2019) it is planned to begin training for the GPU in the universities of the Ministry of Defense. On 16 May 2018, the State Duma passed a law according to which the commanders in the Russian army would be responsible for moral, political and psychological condition, military discipline, military-political training and military-political awareness of personnel.

"Today, military-political bodies are staffed by almost 95%. Everyone is working, everyone knows what to do. We believe that the staffed by 95% allows us to work without any discounts in full. Commanders are not just appreciated [ new specialists], they gladly and gladly accepted the decision and help organize the work," he said 31 May 2019. Kartapolov clarified that the recruitment of specialists for a new position does not stop work. “The structure is being improved. We see where something needs to be corrected, somewhere we are introducing new posts, somewhere we are changing the organizational and staff structure,” the deputy minister added.