Military ranks of the Soviet Union
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Ranks of the Soviet Military |
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The military ranks of the
Immediately after the Revolution, personal
Personal ranks were reintroduced in 1935, and general officer ranks were restored in May 1940. Although they underwent some modifications, the ranks were based on those of the Russian Empire. Modified Imperial-style rank insignia were reintroduced in 1943.
The Soviet ranks ceased to be used after the 1991
system.History
1918–1935
The early Red Army abandoned the institution of a professional officer corps as a "heritage of tsarism" in the course of the Revolution. In particular, the Bolsheviks condemned the use of the word "officer" and used the word "commander" instead. The Red Army abandoned epaulettes and ranks, using purely functional titles such as "Division Commander", "Corps Commander", and similar titles. In 1924 it supplemented this system with "service categories", from K-1 (lowest) to K-14 (highest). The service categories essentially operated as ranks in disguise: they indicated the experience and qualifications of a commander. The insignia now denoted the category, not the position of a commander. However, one still had to use functional titles to address commanders, which could become as awkward as "comrade deputy head-of-staff of corps". If one did not know a commander's position, one used one of the possible positions - for example: "Regiment Commander" for K-9.[1] This rank system stayed on for a decade.
1935–1940
On September 22, 1935, the Red Army abandoned service categories and introduced personal ranks. These ranks, however, used a unique mix of functional titles and traditional ranks. For example, the ranks included "
1940–1943
On May 7, 1940, further modifications to the system took place. The ranks of "
In early 1942 all the functional ranks in technical and administrative corps became regularized ranks (e.g., "Engineer Major", "Engineer Colonel", "Captain Intendant Service", etc.). On October 9, 1942, the authorities abolished the system of military commissars, together with the commissar ranks, and they were completely integrated into the regular officer corps. The functional ranks remained only in the medical, veterinary, and legislative corps, and Private became the basic rank for the enlisted and NCOs.
1943–1955
In early 1943 a unification of the system saw the abolition of all the remaining functional ranks. The word "officer" became officially endorsed, together with the epaulettes that superseded the previous rank insignia, styled like the Imperial Russian Army before, and Marshal and Chief Marshal ranks created for the various arms and branch commands of the Red Army and the Red Army Air Forces save for the infantry (even through the Artillery branch was the first to have one in 1942) with all Marshal and Chief Marshal ranks being equal to General of the Army.
The ranks and insignia of 1943 did not change much until the last days of the USSR; the contemporary
After the war, the rank of Generalissimus of the Soviet Union was proposed to Joseph Stalin in his role as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, however, he refused the proposal of the rank several times.[4] The rank insignia featured the USSR arms above a large Marshal's Star surrounded by a wreath.
1955–1991
1963 saw all Starshina insignia in the Army and Air Force change to their final design.
In 1970 all Starshinas became full-time senior non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel and the new NCO rank of Praporshchik became a Warrant Officer rank, with a new rank of Senior Praporshchik created for senior rank holders later in 1981. And in 1974, Generals of the Army had one star on their shoulder epaulets rather than four with surrounding wreaths. The final rank structure from these reforms stayed well until the Union's dissolution and is the basis for the current ranks of the Russian Ground Forces.
These ranks also became the basic ranks for the
In 1918, the Soviet Navy was raised from the pro-Bolshevik sailors and officers of the Imperial Russian Navy as the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet by a decree by the Soviet Council of People's Commissars. The ranks and rates were, just like in their counterparts in the Army, personal positions for officers, Petty Officers, and seaman rates. The former officers of the IRN who joined the ranks of this new navy retained their ranks with the abbreviation "b." meaning "former" while the new officers were addressed by their positional ranks. They stayed that way until 1925 when new ranks and rates were created. The rank insignia for the 1918–25 ranks were on the sleeve and cuff.
Most of the officer ranks were revived in 1935, save for the high-ranking officers, and the new PO rank of Squad Commander. The PO rank of Starshina was retained, however.
In 1939 all flag officer ranks were reinstated and Midshipman became the highest enlisted rating in the Navy, and in the course of the Great Patriotic War, all Redfleetmen became Seamen in another rank change. In 1943 all naval rank insignia became uniform in the fleet and ground forces. Uniquely, the ranks of the Soviet Naval Infantry, Soviet Naval Aviation, and the other ground services remained army-styled similar to their Red Army counterparts but the rank insignia became uniform. The Admiral of the Fleet rank was also created by then. The rank insignia was now also seen on epaulettes: black on-duty dresses and dark blue and gold on all full and ceremonial dresses for the fleet forces, with air force blue borders for the aviation branch and red borders for the coastal defense and naval infantry branch. In 1952 the senior enlisted rating's insignia (until 1972, Midshipman and from then on, Chief Ship Petty Officer) changed to its final design.
1955 saw the renaming of the Admiral of the Fleet rank into that of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union and was now equivalent to that of a Marshal of the Soviet Union. The shoulder insignia for fleet admirals and all officers' sleeve insignia changed in the following decade as the Admiral of the Fleet rank was revived, now between Admirals and Admirals of the Fleet of the Soviet Union.
1972 saw Midshipmen's status raised to warrant officers with Chief Ship Petty Officers replacing their former roles as the highest enlisted ratings.
Rank comparisons
The Red Army abolished all personal officer and general ranks, retaining only personal positions. Thus, a komvzvoda (platoon commander) was a position for an officer who would typically hold a junior lieutenant or lieutenant rank, {transl|ru|komroty} (company commander) was equivalent of captain, kombat (battalion commander) was an equivalent of major, and kompolka was an equivalent of lieutenant colonel or colonel.
Even though traditional personal ranks for Red Army officers were re-established in 1935, general ranks were not introduced until 1940, probably because they were associated with the White Army movement. So, in 1935–1940 the personal rank system in the Red Army consisted of the following General-grade ranks:
- kombrig (brigade commander), a brigadier general equivalent
- komdiv (division commander), a major general equivalent
- komkor (corps commander), a lieutenant general equivalent
- komandarm 2-go ranga (army commander 2nd rank), a "full" general equivalent
- front commander or supreme commander position, and an equivalent to colonel general, general of the army, or field marshalin other nations
When the Marshal of the Soviet Union was introduced later in 1935, it became the highest rank in the Red Army, extending an already complex rank system.
However, when personal General ranks were introduced in 1940, the updated rank system did not feature a Brigadier-grade rank, mirroring a situation in the Russian Imperial Russian army where the Brigadier rank ceased to exist in the early 19th century. Most of the officers holding the kombrig rank were demoted to Colonels, and only a few were promoted to major general.
Another peculiarity of this new system was the absence of a full General rank, which until the 19th century was called
After discussing this question with my deputies, we conclude that our army needs to have the same number of General ranks as it was in the Tsarist army and as it exists in other European armies such as German, French and British. At present we have five General-grade ranks (kombrig, komdiv, komcor, komandarm 2nd rank, and komandarm 1st rank). We find it necessary to join the military ranks of komdiv and komcor into a single Lieutenant General rank, and to similarly join the military ranks of komandarm 2nd rank and komandarm 1st rank into a single rank of General of the Infantry (artillery, cavalry, aviation, armored troops, etc.). To follow [them] is the highest military rank in the Red Army, the Marshal of the Soviet Union, which corresponds to similar ranks in foreign capitalist armies. We believe there is no need for additional military ranks above Marshal.
However, in the final document, the two komandarm ranks were replaced with Colonel General and General of the Army, with the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union on top of them. In the end, the number of General-grade ranks did not reduce at all even with the abolition of the Brigadier-grade kombrig rank, contrary to the initial proposal by Voroshilov.
After the introduction of this new system, most existing kombrigs were ranked as colonel, although some were ranked as general; existing komdivs were mostly ranked as major general, komcors and Army Commanders 2nd rank was mostly ranked Lieutenant General, and Army Commanders 1st rank were ranked as
The final personal rank structure (for the Army and the Air Force) was thus as follows:
- Colonel – Brigade or Division level
- Major General – Corps, Division, or (rarely) Brigade level
- Lieutenant General – Corps or Army level
- Colonel-General – Army or Front level
- General of the Army – Army or Front level
- Marshal or Chief Marshal – service branch, Army level
- Marshal of the Soviet Union – Front or Supreme Command level, reserved for most honored field commanders
- Generalissimus of the Soviet Union - Reserved for Joseph Stalin[6]
Eventually, the Soviet system of general ranks included commonplace
This unusual rank structure makes rank comparisons difficult; Marshal of the Soviet Union is arguably not the equivalent to NATO five-star general ranks such as British
In the Soviet Navy before 1935 the ranks were personal positions. Since that year the general officer rank structure became as follows:
- Flag officer 2nd rank
- Flag officer 1st rank
- Fleet flag Officer 2nd rank
- Fleet flag Officer 1st rank
From 1940, the rank structure for high officers of the Navy became:
- Captain 1st rank
- Rear admiral
- Vice-admiral
- Admiral
In 1943, the rank structure slightly changed into the final rank formation which remained until the dissolution of the Navy in 1991 with more changes in 1955 and 1962:
- Captain 1st rank
- Rear admiral
- Vice-admiral
- Admiral
- Admiral of the fleet (became Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union in 1955, reinstated in 1962 as a junior rank equivalent to General of the Army)
Ranks in the shore services mirrored the changes in the Red Army save that Colonel-General became the highest rank for troops in those services.
The Russian Navy still uses this, except that Marshal of the Russian Federation is the highest rank of precedence, and the rank below that, Admiral of the Fleet, is the highest deck rank for officers.
Corps color
From 1919 to 1922, colour of collar patch indicating the corps:[7]
- Crimson: infantry
- Blue: cavalry
- Orange: artillery
- Black: engineers
- Light blue: air force
- Green: border guard
From 1922 to 1923, the rank insignia have four colours:[8]
- Colour of collar patch
- Colour of collar patch's edge
- Colour of numbers and letters on collar patch
- Colour of trouser stripes indicating the corps.
- Crimson collar patch with black edge gold numbers and letters and crimson trouser stripe: infantry and all troops services.
- Blue collar patch with black edge gold numbers and letters and blue trouser stripe: cavalry.
- Black collar patch with red edge gold numbers and letters and red trouser stripe: artillery.
- Light blue collar patch with black edge gold numbers and letters and light blue trouser stripe: air force.
- Red collar patch with black edge yellow letters and red trouser stripe: armoured troops.
- Black collar patch with red edge silver numbers and letters and red trouser stripe: engineers.
- Black collar patch with yellow edge silver numbers and letters and yellow trouser stripe: signals.
From 1924 to 1934, the rank insignia have two colours. The colour of collar patch and the colour of collar patch's edge indicating the corps:[9]
- Crimson with black edge: infantry and all troops services
- Blue with black edge: cavalry
- Black with bright red edge: artillery, armoured troops
- Light blue with black edge: air force
- Black with blue edge: technical corps (radio communications, engineers, chemicals, technical military schools, road construction, pipeline units, building and airbase construction, military topography service)
- Dark green with bright red edge: medical and veterinary services, administrative service, judge advocates
From 1935 to 1942, the rank insignia have two colours. The colour of collar patch and colour of collar patch's edge indicating the corps:[10]
- Crimson with black edge: infantry and all troops services
- Blue with black edge: cavalry
- Black with bright red edge: artillery
- Velvet black with bright red edge: armored troops
- Light blue with black edge: air force
- Black with blue edge: technical corps
- Black with black edge: chemicals corps
- Dark green with bright red edge: medical and veterinary services, administrative service
From 1943 to 1955, the rank insignia have two colours. Colour of shoulder board and edge colour indicating the corps:[11]
- Crimson with black edge: infantry, mechanized and motorized infantry
- Blue with black edge: cavalry
- Black with bright red edge: artillery, armored troops
- Light blue with black edge: air force, airborne troops, air technical services
- Black with black edge: technical corps
- Dark green with bright red edge: medical and veterinary services
From December 1955 to 1970, the colours were changed to:[12]
- Crimson: infantry, mechanized and motorized infantry, airborne troops
- Black: artillery, armoured troops, technical corps
- Light blue: air force
- Dark green: medical and veterinary services
- Red: high officers (all branches)
From 1970 to 1991(93):[13][14]
- Red: infantry, military educational institutions
- Light blue: Air Force, airborne troops, air technical services
- Black: artillery, armoured troops, technical corps and navy
In March 1956, general officers' stars were changed to gold.
Letter codes
The letters over the
- ВВ (Внутренние войска, Vnutrennie voiska) – Interior Ministry's troops
- К (Курсант, Kursant) – Higher military college student taking military courses (hence kursant), equivalent to cadet
- ГБ (Государственная безопастность, Gosudarstven'naya bezopastnost' ) – State Security
- ПВ (Пограничные войска, Pogranichnye voiska) – Border Troops
- СА (Советская Армия, Sovietskaya Armiya) – Soviet Army
- ВС (Вооружённые Силы, Vooruzhennie Sily) – Armed Forces (Soviet Army, late USSR to modern Russia)
- СШ (специальная школа, spetsialnaya shkola) – Special school
- Ф (Флот, Flot) – Navy
- СФ (Северный флот, Severnyi flot) – Northern Fleet
- ЧФ (Черноморский флот, Chernomorskiy flot) – Black Sea Fleet
- КФ (Каспийский флот, Kaspiyskiy flot) – Caspian Sea fleet
- БФ (Балтийский флот, Baltiyskiy flot) – Baltic fleet
- ТФ (Тихоокеанский флот, Tikhookeanskiy flot) – Pacific Fleet
- СВУ (Суворовец, Suvorovets) – Suvorov School student, an Army cadet
- ВМУ (Военно-музыкальное Училище Voyenno-muzikalnoye Uchilishche) – Military Music School student, a Marching Band cadet
- H (Нахимовец, Nakhimovets) – Nakhimov School student, a Navy cadet
Unofficial grade system and military culture in the Soviet Army
Besides the official rank system in the armed forces, another system was developed and established within the military culture. The military culture of the Soviet Union was driven by a "seniors" (Russian: Дедовщина, Dedovshchina). The concept of "Dedovshchina" usually pertains to soldiers in their first two-year obligatory tour in the armed forces, particularly in the Army.
- Ghost, Warrior (first year), other names are a goose, rabbit, small elephant, etc.
- Elephant, Warrior (6 months to a year), other names are a grand goose, senior rabbit, etc.
- Scull, Candidate (first year), other names are ladle, first year, pheasant, etc.
- Grandfather (a year and a half)
- Dembel, Grandfather on orders (at demobilization)
Influence on rank systems in other countries
The Soviet ranks and insignia (post-1943) are based on the ranks of Imperial Russia, which influenced the rank systems in imperial Japan, Thailand, Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria. While the first three later took their course of development, the Bulgarians remain under the influence of the Russian and the (post-)Soviet tradition until recently.
The rank systems in the pro-Soviet states of Mongolia and Tuva developed under the Soviet influence, following the pattern change in 1943.
The Soviet influence on the rank and insignia of other countries reached the apex after WW2 when most countries of East Europe changed their traditional insignia to the Soviet design. Yugoslavia abandoned the Soviet-style insignia in 1951, following the breakaway from Stalin's block; other countries quickly reverted to previous designs shortly after Stalin's death (1956–1958). Only Poland and East Germany remained loyal to the pre-war uniform and ranks style out of the Warsaw block countries. Albania kept the Soviet-based system until 1966 when ranks and insignia were abolished completely. Romania retained the Soviet-based system of ranks until the 1989 revolution.
Outside the Warsaw Alliance, the Soviet system of ranks and insignia influenced those in the following countries:
Post-Soviet countries mostly retained the Soviet-based system of ranks and insignia, except for the Baltic States (they restored their pre-Soviet rank systems), Azerbaijan (which wanted to make its uniforms and ranks prominently different from Armenian), Georgia, and Ukraine (Soviet-style designs were used before 2003 and 2016 in both Georgia and Ukraine respectively).
See also
- Army ranks and insignia of the Russian Federation
- Air Force ranks and insignia of the Russian Federation
- Naval ranks and insignia of the Russian Federation
- History of Russian military ranks
- Military ranks of Ukraine
References
Citations
- ^ Erickson 2001, pp. 72–73.
- ^ Erickson 2001.
- ^ Glantz 1998.
- ^ Shtemenko 1985, pp. 587–588.
- ^ "Появление генеральских званий РККА в 1940 году". army.armor.kiev.ua/ (in Russian). Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Awarded to Stalin on 27 June 1945, although he soon regretted taking the rank and continued to wear his Marshal uniform afterwards. See: Generalissimus of the Soviet Union
- ^ "Знаки различия РККА по родам войск 1919-21 гг". army.armor.kiev.ua/ (in Russian). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "Знаки различия РККА по родам войск 1922-23 гг". army.armor.kiev.ua/ (in Russian). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "Знаки различия РККА по родам войск 1924-36 гг". army.armor.kiev.ua/ (in Russian). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "Эмблемы родов войск РККА 1936-42 гг". army.armor.kiev.ua/ (in Russian). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "Эмблемы родов войск Красной(Советской) Армии 1943-55 гг". army.armor.kiev.ua/ (in Russian). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "Эмблемы родов войск Советской Армии 1955-69гг". army.armor.kiev.ua/ (in Russian). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "Эмблемы родов войск Советской Армии 1970-88гг". army.armor.kiev.ua/ (in Russian). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "Эмблемы родов войск Советской Армии 1988-91(93)гг". army.armor.kiev.ua/ (in Russian). Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "Изменения в знаках различия званий военнослужащих Советской Армии 1955-92(94) гг". army.armor.kiev.ua/ (in Russian). Retrieved 19 November 2021.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0415408608.
- ISBN 978-0700617890.
- ISBN 5-9713-0069-5. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
External links
- "Russia 1922-1991 (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)". uniforminsignia.org. The International Encyclopedia of Uniform Insignia. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- Anatomy of Army, Russian
- SOVIET MILITARIA, sells Soviet ranking insignia, etc.