
560
Kira Horiacheva, Anatily Yurkov, Andrii Savchenko, Nataliia Snapkova y Dmytro Kilderov
Formation of military political leadership through the lens of history
take every opportunity when this condition weakens and the troops are 
unwilling to ght, such as when they return to camp.
Sun Tzu in his treatise “The Art of War” (Tzu and Giles, 2021) gives 
advice to the military commander that is still relevant for modern iron 
discipline in the Armed Forces. First, the commander has ve dangers: if 
he strives to die at all costs, he may be killed; if he strives at all costs to 
stay alive, he can be captured; if he is quick to anger, he may be despised; 
if he is too scrupulous to himself, he may be insulted; if he loves people, he 
can be weakened. Secondly, a commander, who during his speech, does not 
seek glory, but, retreating, does not evade punishment, who thinks only 
about the welfare of the people and the benet of the head of state, such a 
commander is a treasure for the state. 
And thirdly, if the commander looks at the soldiers as children, he will 
be able to go with them to the deepest gorge; if he looks at the soldiers 
as beloved sons, you can go with them even to death. But if he is kind to 
them, but will not be able to dispose of them; if he loves them, but does 
not know how to order them; if they have riots, and the commander is not 
able to establish order, this means that they are naughty children of the 
commander, and it will be impossible to use them.
Leadership is not just a set of qualities, traits, techniques. It is the 
ability to direct one’s eorts to  oneself, to a dynamic, qualitative change. 
The leader changes others, changing himself at the same time. Hence the 
conclusion – you cannot learn leadership; you can become a leader (Bakhov 
et al., 2018; Guk et al., 2019).
According to the survey conducted in higher military educational 
institutions of Ukraine: “How do you see your commander (leader)?” 
For cadets (future  ocers)  the  commander  (leader) is a  senior  comrade, 
mentor, bearer of knowledge, culture, morality, the one who is able and 
wants to understand and help; it is also the one they look up to and the one 
who cannot be neglected. The commanders (leaders) are as demanding of 
themselves as they are of their subordinates; they are organizers who value 
not only their opinions but those of others as well.
The leadership qualities of a military commander can be seen in 
the order. A sense of personal responsibility of a military leader, who is 
denitely a commander and has to be able to command is concentrated in 
the order. The commander’s order must be prepared in advance and thus 
could be realized by the executors. 
Therefore, without the commander-to-subordinates cooperation, an 
order is like an arrow ying against the wind. Even the suddenness of the 
order must be foreseen. Then it will turn into an experienced tension. A 
military commander knows how to evoke cooperation not only in deeds 
but also in thinking. Only then the soldier can be let o. The order obliges 
oneself to act independently (Bakhov et al., 2018; Guk et al., 2019).