I'm currently rereading the book 'Hunt for Red October' by Tom Clancy. One of the characters in the book is a militarily blundering, party centric commissar. This character has no military or combat effectiveness. All he does is impede the effectiveness of the "real fighting men". Clearly this is a work of fiction and the author paints a good character. But another book called 'war of the rats' by David L Robbins has another commissar similar in portrayal. Are these portrayals unfair? Did the Soviet commissars attached to combat units hinder the operations or am I simply reading an American take on the situation? Did Soviet soldiers and sailors dislike having a party man looking over their shoulders or were they respected and useful in their eyes? Thank you for any feedback