The Soviet Military Justice in Local Wars 1938–1940

Introduction. The importance of military justice in command and control is underestimated. The main attention of researchers is concentrated on the problems of strategy and tactics, domestic and foreign policy, and demography. Meanwhile, military justice plays a key role in ensuring discipline and maintaining order. Methods and materials. The article is based on the methodological approaches of P. Solomon and A. Kodintsev. The first starts from the idea of using criminal law as an instrument of power and is based on an analysis of the personal views of Soviet leaders. The second considers the pre-war stage of development of Soviet justice as a period of stabilization. The article is based on the use of a wide range of unpublished archival sources stored in the Russian State Military Archive (RGVA). Analysis. The author has identified shortcomings in the organizational structure and logistics of military justice. Differences in the activities of military justice operating in the rear and in a combat situation are determined. The main types of crimes that dominated in the active army were identified. The procedural features of conducting inquiries, investigations, and consideration of cases by tribunals in a combat situation are determined. Results. Along with a positive assessment of military justice during the armed conflicts of 1939–1940. Military justice was not ready to operate in combat conditions: there were no trained personnel, transport, or a reserve of material and technical resources. Participation in hostilities contributed to the emergence of new methods of investigation. Their activities were based on the application of the “campaign justice” model.