Glossary · Term · office

People's commissar

1917–1946 · 20th century

A people's commissar was a minister of the Soviet government between 1917 and 1946, a member of the Council of People's Commissars in charge of a branch of administration such as war, foreign affairs or nationalities. The title was chosen to break with the ministers of the tsarist and Provisional governments. In 1946 the people's commissars were renamed ministers.

Cite this entry

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). People's commissar. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/peoples-commissar
MLA: “People's commissar.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/peoples-commissar. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “People's commissar.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/peoples-commissar.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘People's commissar’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/peoples-commissar (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻