ABSTRACT
On 7 May 1976, Leonid Il'ich Brezhnev, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was promoted to marshal of the Soviet Union. The Main Military Council, which is the collegium of the Ministry of Defense, is concerned with problems of the strategic direction and leadership of the Soviet Armed Forces in time of peace. Much is published in the Western world about Soviet weapons systems and their capabilities. Many Soviet writings on military doctrine and strategy now are available, in various translations, for interested readers. There are three major bodies in the top Soviet command structure: the Council of Defense, the Main Military Council, and the General Staff. There were less than a dozen members of Stavka at any one time throughout World War II. Specialists were called in to advise on specific subjects, as needed. Stavka was able to remain small because it had the services of the full resources of the General Staff.
