Topic Actions

Topic Search

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 41 guests

People's Commissioners

Join us in talking discussing all things Honor, including (but not limited to) tactics, favorite characters, and book discussions.
Re: People's Commissioners
Post by tlb   » Sat May 07, 2022 7:45 pm

tlb
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 3854
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 11:34 am

ThinksMarkedly wrote:We know of two very famous Aprilists: Kevin Usher, who would later become the head of the Federal Investigation Agency, and the leader of his former Aprilist Brigade, Eloise Pritchart.

Kevin Usher was one of the characters for whom RFC did not have any plans; so was given to Eric Flint for "From the Highlands", which also used Anton Zilwicki.
Top
Re: People's Commissioners
Post by Jonathan_S   » Sat May 07, 2022 11:45 pm

Jonathan_S
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 8269
Joined: Fri Jun 24, 2011 2:01 pm
Location: Virginia, USA

cthia wrote: People's Commissioner

I never understood the criteria that went into choosing a People's Commissioner. The level of power they wielded was insane, and these people were chosen from among enlisted men, as well as other disciplines. But what made them so trusting in Saint-Just's eyes?

What became of most of them after the coup? Who would want to continue to work with some of them. And what would their rank be, going from a very powerful People's Commissioner.
Well their power was great but very limited. Basically they had the power to report on members of the People's Navy (generally their assigned officer or anyone under that person's command) over to StateSec. And sufficiently damning reports could get that person (and their family during the 'collective responsibility' phase of StateSec's reign of terror) arrested and most likely summarily dealt with.

But outside of "narcing" on members of the Navy they didn't really have any other power.

As for why Saint Just trusted them -- well, most he probably didn't trust all that much. But to the extent he did trust them he trusted their pettiness and self-interest. Many of the People's Commissioners seem to have been people who'd felt, rightly of wrongly, that they'd been done ill by Legislaturalist, the navy, or naval officers and retained ill feelings towards all of the the above.

(Now the commissioners assigned to admirals in charge of fleets or major bases were picked a bit more carefully - but by numbers the majority of commissioners would be watching captains of destroyers, light cruisers, transports, etc. And their quality was far more hit or miss)

For those less critical commissioners Saint Just relied on their grudges towards the navy and naval officers to keep them from being coopted by the officers they were monitoring, and to motivate them to report any and all dirt or suspicion they might have on their target. (Then rely on less biased annalists back at StateSec to decide what, if any, action to take based on those reports).


As for what they did after the fall of the regime, I suspect they dispersed into a wide variety of jobs; as they'd come from a diverse set of backgrounds. But I doubt their experience as commissioners translated into useful job skills for anything else. (Though some probably abused their power sufficiently, or actually committed crimes under color of authority, that they'd have be charged and tried for said offenses after the fall of Pierre and Saint Just)
Top

Return to Honorverse