following: 1) the military schools do not afford knowledge sufficiently 
extensive and profound for the making of modern officers; 2) Owing to 
a artificial “proletarianisation’”” of the army, the staff of commanders is 
augmented by individuals belonging to the least cultured strata of the po- 
pulation; 3) the constant political guardianship in the shape of a severe 
control held over them by a military-political apparatus for safeguarding 
the interests of the communistic party, — deprive the commanders of the 
freedom of action in punely technical matters, which they should have 
possessed under normal conditions; and this state of affairs does not help 
to strengthen their character and will, for a commander lacking the 
latter, will never reach an appropriate efficiency. 
The Government endeavours to improve the military education of the 
men in command by obliging them to go through various repetitive cour- 
ses; but this is obviously not sufficient. It is the commanders in the 
reserve that suffer most by this state of affairs, for their position makes 
it most difficult for them to keep pace with the progress in military art. 
The government, on the other hand, feeling for obvious reasons as if it 
were in a conquered land, can by no means either grant the staff of com- 
manders full rights or renounce the “proletarianisation’ of the army. 
Military Schools. The military schools are divided according to their 
programme and their aims, into three groups: the higher (military acade- 
mies), the normal Soviet schools preparing the middle commanding staff, 
and continuative courses for the commanding staff. 
There are seven schools of the first group: The Military Academy 
of the R.K.K.A. (of the general staff), and the academies for artillery, 
for military engineering and electro-technics, for the air-force, for the 
marines, for military-medical training, and the military politechnical in- 
stitute in memory of Tolmatcheff. 
The academy of the general staff, besides educating the officers of the 
general staff as well as the superior commanders, has also a department 
for the East (i. e., to prepare specialists in Eastern warfare), a course for 
military supply specialists, and special high courses for perfecting the 
superior commanders beginning with brigade commanders. The object of 
the other academies can be recognised by their names; and the “Courses 
in memory of Tolmatcheff”’ serve to train the higher political staff of 
the RX. K. A. 
In the academies the work is rather thorough, but much time is being 
devoted to political training, and in order to give the students manifold 
information in this particular domain, they are in reality overtaxed in this 
respect, and can hardly acquire a profound fundamental knowledge of 
military art.