After a review of the history of Soviet perspectives on military discipline and the current disciplinary problems that the armed forces are experiencing, a detailed analysis of nonjudicial punishment procedures is provided. The discussion then turns to judicial punishment in the Soviet miliary, with attention to the nature and function of military tribunals, as well as the personnel involved in the judicial process. The article concludes with an examination of both the substantive and procedural law operative in military courts of the Soviet Union. Military tribunals of the Soviet Armed Forces apply the law, both substantive and procedural, of the constituent republic in which they sit. Therefore, much of what is discussed regarding military trials is equally applicable to the civilian judicial system. 996 footnotes