ideological party was always concerned with loyalty. It feared not only
its people but the institutions of the state - army, police, foreign
ministry, power ministries etc. The institutions it used to control the
people, the secret police and interior ministry, were also feared by the
party.
What to do? The solution was to place a political commissar at all
levels of each institution - down to ships in the Navy and maneuver
units in the Army, even within the secret police. The commissars were
creatures of the party and reported to the party not to the agencies
they were assigned. It was a way of control.
Clearly, from the Washington Post article linked below, Trump and his
key White House advisers can learn from history because they have
recreated the system within the US Government.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/white-house-installs-political-aides-at-cabinet-agencies-to-be-trumps-eyes-and-ears/2017/03/19/68419f0e-08da-11e7-93dc-00f9bdd74ed1_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_minders-705pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
It begins to put the whole question of why he so soft on the Russians in
a new light. Maybe he and Bannon just admire their knack for control
and suppression of dissent?
It make the current hearings of the House Intelligence Committee even
more interesting.