Party and Political Work in the Red Army's Armored Forces during the Soviet Finnish War of 1939–1940
( Pp. 68-76)

The article examines the organization and practices of party and political work in the armored forces of the Red Army during the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940. Based on the documents of the RGVA, directives and instructions of the GlavPUR, political reports, army press materials and memoirs, the key areas of activity of the political apparatus in mechanized formations are reconstructed: mobilization and explanatory work, monitoring of the moral and psychological state, disciplinary action, the use of printed forms of agitation and instruments of ideological pressure on the enemy. Special attention is paid to the dynamics of tasks and methods of political work in correlation with the changing situation at the front; An analytical review of practices is proposed through a three-stage periodization (initial stage, crisis adaptation, final stage). It is shown that in tank units, party-political work functioned as a mechanism for ensuring the manageability and stability of crews, including elements of social regulation (life, supplies, evacuation of the wounded) and feedback on the problems of using technology. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the emphasis on the specifics of political support for armored units and in identifying a set of practices (including the use of translations of letters from Finnish prisoners of war/the population for propaganda purposes). as part of a unified system of moral and psychological support in the conditions of the winter campaign.

Chizhov, A.V. (2026). Party and Political Work in the Red Army's Armored Forces during the Soviet Finnish War of 1939-1940. History and Modern Perspectives, 8(1), 68-76. 10.33693/2658-4654-2026-8-1-68-76. EDN: TFHBQS

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Soviet Finnish war, Winter War, Red Army, armored troops, tank units, party and political work, political bodies, moral and psychological support..