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Commissar (or sometimes Kommissar) is an English language transliteration of the Russian language комиссáр ( komissar), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration commissar often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet Union and Eastern-bloc armies or to the people's commissars (effectively government ministers), while administrative officers are called commissaries.
The Russian word комисса́р, from French commissaire, was used in Russia for both political and administrative officials. The title has been used in the Soviet Union and in Russia since the time of the emperor Peter the Great ().
Commissaries were used during the Provisional Government (March–July 1917) for regional heads of administration, but the term commissar is associated with a number of Cheka and military functions in Bolshevik and Soviet government military forces during the Russian Civil War (the White Army widely used the collective term "bolsheviks and commissars" for their opponents) and with the later terms People's Commissar (or narkom) for government ministers and political commissar in the military.
The government departments headed by a People's Commissar were called People's Commissariat (informally abbreviated narkomat).
People's Commissars and People's Commissariats were renamed Ministers and Ministries in 1946 by a decree of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.
Many lower-level political officers never received the same military training as commanding officers. Prior to becoming a commissar an individual had to be registered as a communist for a minimum of three years and had to attend specific political institutions, many of which never offered any military-oriented training.
Following the problems encountered in 1941 with dual commanders in units, commissars and other political officers were removed from direct command-roles. Political officers were then more directly tasked with morale- and regulation-based goals. A political officer's classification changed to the form of a "Deputy for Political Matters" in 1942. The specific position of "Commissar" itself survived only at and front levels, where the Commissars formed the Military Councils with their corresponding military commanders.
Other Communist-bloc militaries also adopted systems of using political commissars. Mulvenon and Yang (2002) report that the role of the political commissar in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China has become one resembling that of an human resources specialist.
From 1943, the Militsiya switched to a new rank system and insignia introduced in the Soviet Army. Instead of General ranks, top officers used Commissar of Militsiya 3rd, 2nd, and 1st rank, even though they used army-standard Major General, Lieutenant General and Colonel General shoulder boards. These Commissar ranks were replaced by corresponding General ranks in 1975.
The GUGB also switched to military-style ranks and insignia in 1945, although they replaced Commissar-style ranks with General officer ranks right away.
The term commissary was used by the British military and U.S. military to denote an officer in charge of supplying an army with provisions and equipment (and Commissariat).
A similar term in French describes the equivalent of the rank of Major both in the army of the Ancien Régime and the French Revolution. Such officials were not military officers but reported back to the political authorities: the king and the National Assembly (French Revolution), respectively.
Various historical German states have used an equivalent title, Reichskommissar (a compound of Reich and the German Kommissar), for several administrators who held responsibility over a territory or area of government.
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