The subject of this paper is the primary agency by which the Communist Party overtly exerts political control over the armed forces, the Chief Political Dirctorate of the soviet Army and Navy. The chief Political Directorate of the Soviet Army and Navy is presently one of fifteen departments of the Secretarist of the Central Committee of the CPSU and is under the direct supervision of the key leaders of the Party. It is also one of four major directorates of the Ministry of Defense, but is independent from supervision by the Ministry of Defense.

Unclassified.