Party Representation In The Armed Forces, 1919-1945
Party Representation In The Armed Forces, 1919-1945
| Date | No. of Communists in the Armed Forces | Armed Forces Communists as % of the Whole party | Communists as % of all Armed Forces personnel | Notes on Column D |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar-19 | 60,000 | 20% | ———— | |
| Mar-20 | 280,000 | 50% | ———— | |
| Aug-20 | 300,00 | ———— | 8% | |
| Dec-21 | 73,000 | 14% | 5% | |
| Mar-22 | ———— | ———— | 7.50% | |
| Mar-23 | ———— | ———— | 10.50% | |
| Sep-24 | 45,000 | ———— | ———— | |
| Dec-24 | ———— | ———— | 12% | |
| Dec-25 | 57,700 | 5% | ———— | |
| Dec-26 | 78,250 | 6% | 14% | |
| Jan-28 | 82,018 | 6% | ———— | |
| Jan-29 | 93,300 | 6% | ———— | |
| 20-Jan | 102,749 | 6% | ———— | |
| 21-Jan | 133,789 | 7% | ———— | |
| Dec-31 | 200,000 | 7% | ———— | |
| Aug-32 | 300,000 | 9% | 25% | |
| Jan-33 | ———— | ———— | ———— | |
| Jul-34 | 269,000 | ———— | 24% | |
| Jan-35 | ———— | ———— | ———— | |
| Jan-36 | ———— | ———— | ———— | |
| Dec-37 | 147,500 | 7% | 10.00% | (approximate) |
| Dec-38 | 230,000 | 10% | ———— | |
| Dec-39 | 435,000 | 13% | ———— | |
| Jun-41 | 560,800 | 15% | 13% | *Only includes Army |
| Dec-41 | 1,127,000 | ———— | ———— | |
| Jun-42 | 1,413,870 | ———— | ———— | |
| Dec-42 | 1,939,327 | 50% | ———— | |
| Dec-43 | 2,702,500 | 56% | ———— | |
| Dec-44 | 3,030,775 | 53% | 23% | *Only includes Army |
| Jul-45 | 2,984,750 | ———— | ———— |
A table showing Party Representation in the Soviet Armed Forces, 1919-1945.
A graph showing the number of Communist Party members in the Soviet Armed Forces, 1918-1946.
The graph and table above depict the CPSU membership within the Soviet Armed Forces from the Russian Civil War until the end of World War II. Membership rose sharply during the Civil War, as both party organizers sent members into the army and soldiers were recruited into the CPSU. By the war’s end, numbers fell due to the deaths of roughly 200,000 communists in combat and the 1921 purge, which removed about 10% of army party members. Stricter recruitment policies after the purge kept membership low until 1924. This trend began to reverse when Stalin took power in 1924, and as he implemented extreme reforms to the Soviet Union’s policy, especially in the military. His military reforms, including leadership changes and restructuring, boosted membership among Non-Commissioned Officers and privates. The upward trajectory stalled in the early 1930s during the 1933–1934 purge and dropped further after the 1935–1936 verification of party documents. Membership expanded again after the Central Committee relaxed recruitment standards, and it surged following the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, when over one million communists were called by the CPSU to enlist in the Red Army.