The ''Soviet Military Encyclopedia'' () is an eight-volume

encyclopedic dictionary An encyclopedic dictionary typically includes many short listings, arranged alphabetically, and discussing a wide range of topics. Encyclopedic dictionaries can be general, containing articles on topics in many different fields; or they can sp ...

of military subjects. It was published by

Voenizdat Voenizdat (russian: Воениздат) was a publishing house in Moscow, Russia that was one of the first and largest publishing houses in USSR. The name is a Russian abbreviation for "Voennoe Izdatelstvo", meaning "Military Publication". Voen ...

, the publishing house of the

Soviet Ministry of Defense The Ministry of Defense (Minoboron; russian: Министерство обороны СССР) was a government ministry in the Soviet Union. The first Minister of Defense was Nikolai Bulganin, starting 1953. The Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) was the ...

, between 1976 and 1980.

Background

In the early 1930s, an attempt at publishing a projected twelve-volume ''Soviet Military Encyclopedia'' was made under the direction of Robert Eideman, the head of the Frunze Military Academy. However, only the first two volumes were published by the

People's Commissariat of Defense The People's Commissariat of Defense of the Soviet Union () was the highest military department of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. History In the 1920–1930s, the highest military authority of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic ...

in 1932 and 1933, due to the execution of Eideman and many of the editorial board during the Great Purge. Due to revolutions in military affairs in the second half of the 20th century, the Soviet Ministry of Defense decided to publish an encyclopedia to summarize developments.

Editions and translations

Beginning in 1976, the eight volumes of the encyclopedia were published by

, the publishing house of the

. 106,000 copies were printed. After the publication of the initial eight volumes, two smaller editions of the ''Military Encyclopedic Dictionary'' () were published in 1983 and 1986 based on the content of the ''Soviet Military Encyclopedia''. The first volume of the second edition, under the general editorship of then-Chief of the General Staff Mikhail Moiseyev, was published by Voenizdat in 1990. The second edition was not completed due to the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

. The Russian Ministry of Defense published the successor ''Military Encyclopedia in Eight Volumes'' () beginning in 1994, including articles on subjects excluded by the Soviet version for ideological reasons, such as those relating to the White movement. An abridged four-volume English translation of the encyclopedia was published by Westview Press in 1993, edited and translated by William C. Green and W. Robert Reeves.

Content

The encyclopedia contains around 11,000 articles on military theory,

military history Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians norma ...

, military technology, and military geography, as well as biographical articles. The eight volumes of the encyclopedia are illustrated with more than 5,500 maps, diagrams, and photographs. According to then-Chief of the General Staff Mikhail Kolesnikov, writing in the journal '' Voyennaya Mysl'' (Military Thought), the encyclopedia's articles are mostly objective and reliable, but it devotes much of its space to promoting Soviet ideology, making the encyclopedia "excessively politicized". As a result, it is "not without subjectivity in assessing the role and significance of certain military operations and military and political figures", reducing the "objectivity and scientific value of the articles".

Authors

The Soviet Ministry of Defense supervised the writing of the encyclopedia, with contributions from prominent Soviet military leaders and military scientists. Then-Minister of Defense Andrei Grechko chaired the Main Editorial Commission of the encyclopedia for volumes one and eight, and then-Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Ogarkov took over the position after Grechko's death in 1976. The rest of the editorial commission for the first volume included:{{Cite encyclopedia, encyclopedia=Советская военная энциклопедия oviet Military Encyclopediapublisher=Voenizdat, location=Moscow, url=http://militera.lib.ru/enc/enc1976/index.html, date=1976, editor-last=Ogarkov, editor-first=Nikolay, volume=1, page=7, language=ru, title=ВОЕННАЯ ЛИТЕРАТУРА --[ Справочная литература ]-- Советская военная энциклопедия (1976-1980) *

Colonel General Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

of Engineers

Nikolay Alekseyev Nikolay Aleksandrovich Alekseyev (russian: Николай Александрович Алексеев, 1852 –25 ( OS 13) March 1893) was the elected mayor of Moscow in 1885–1893. Alekseyev is credited with construction of the city's first sa ...

* Colonel General Alexander Altunin * Admiral of the Fleet Sergey Gorshkov * Nikolay Gribachyov * Army General

Alexei Yepishev Alexei Alexeyevich Yepishev, also spelled Epishev (Russian: ''Алексей Алексеевич Епишев''; – September 15, 1985) was a Soviet political officer, politician and diplomat. He served as the Chief of the Main Political Direct ...

(deputy chairman) * Corresponding member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences Lieutenant General Pavel Zhilin (deputy chairman) * Professor Igor Zemskov * Professor Army General

Semyon Ivanov Semyon Pavlovich Ivanov (russian: Семён Павлович Иванов; 13 September 1907 – 26 September 1993) was a Soviet general. Hero of the Soviet Union (1945). Biography Early life Ivanov was born to a peasants' family. He began wor ...

* Corresponding member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences Mikhail Iovchuk * Professor Major General Mikhail Kiryan * Professor S.M. Kovalyov * Chief marshal of Aviation

Pavel Kutakhov Pavel Stepanovich Kutakhov CBE (; – 3 December 1984) was a flying ace during World War II who went on to become Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Air Forces between 1969 and 1984. During his career he held a variety of commands and visited seve ...

* Army General Nikolai Ogarkov (deputy chairman) * Army General Ivan Pavlovsky * Professor A.D. Pedosov (deputy chairman) * Colonel General Gennady Svedin * Army General

Ivan Shavrov Ivan () is a Slavic languages, Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John (given name), John) from Hebrew language, Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. T ...

* Army General

Ivan Shkadov Ivan Nikolaevich Shkadov (russian: Иван Николаевич Шкадов; 15 February 1991) was an army general of the Soviet Army and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Shkadov served in tank units from the late 1930s and commanded tank briga ...

References

Encyclopedias of the military Russian-language encyclopedias Soviet encyclopedias Publications established in 1976 Publications disestablished in 1980 Communist books Military of the Soviet Union