A Shtraf Company was a punishment or 'penal' company. It was regarded as a Soviet copy of the German 'straf' (penal) units. It was made up of a group of Soviet soldiers who had either ran from the enemy during combat, made defeatist comments or willingly surrendered territory. Also many political prisoners were forcibly added to the Shtraf Company's ranks. Soldiers who were part of a Shtraf Company were called; Shtrafniki. (Penal - Soldiers) Usually, soldiers who had made these offences were marked up for execution immediately by the Company Commissar. (see Commissar

Commissar

Commissar is the English transliteration of an official title used in Russia from the time of Peter the Great.The title was used during the Provisional Government for regional heads of administration, but it is mostly associated with a number of Cheka and military functions in Bolshevik and Soviet...

) Alternatively, the offender could join a Shtraf Company. This decision was of the Commissar's discretion. The men of the Shtraf Company had to perform suicidal jobs in order to be forgiven for their crimes. These jobs could include: Walking through an enemy minefield, assaulting an enemy tank etc. If the offender in a Shtraf Company was killed or injured during one of these jobs, he would be forgiven of his crimes, and (if alive) he could rejoin his regular company. Shtraf Companies were most common in World War 2. The Soviets called World War 2; The Great Patriotic War. (see The Great Patriotic War)