Citations.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Auke

Which myths are you referring to?

Myth 1: Interference of political officers was always counterproductive.
Myth 2: Soviet soldiers surrendered en masse because imbecile Stalin sent them into the battle unarmed. While some POWs were captured heavily wounded, the question is not as simple as it seems at first.
Myth 3: NKVD henchmen in zagradotryadi (blocking detachments) hid out of harm's way and fired machine guns in the backs of the good veterans who assaulted Nazi positions. As Rabinovich citation shows, judgments against the timid were issued by men who died themselves fighting to the last bullet. Contrary to the popular belief, the practice of killing your own soldiers is not exclusive to Red Army during GPW.