History of Russian military ranks
Modern Russian military ranks trace their roots to Table of Ranks established by Peter the Great. Most of the rank names were borrowed from existing German/Prussian, French, English, Dutch, and Polish ranks upon the formation of Russian regular army in the late 17th century.
Muscovy
The Kievan Rus had no standing army apart from small druzhina, a permanent group of personal guards for the local ruler ; an individual member of such a unit called a druzhinnik. In case of emergency, knyaz raised a militia comprising volunteers from the peasantry, and the druzhina served as the core of the troops. Each local knyaz served as the military leader of his troops. Such arrangements had no need for permanent ranks or positions; they were created ad hoc, based on the task in hand.Upon the formation of Strelets troops in the mid-16th century, the low-level commanding officers were appointed to one of the following ranks:
- strelets, a basic soldier
- desyatnik, acting as sergeant/corporal
- sotnik, acting as captain
Upon the formation of standing regiments by Ivan IV, new ranks insinuated themselves into the hierarchy between the existing grades: pyatidesyatnik acting as lieutenant, golova acting as colonel of the regiment. Later, a polugolova rank appeared; eventually golova was renamed polkovnik, and polugolova was renamed podpolkovnik. As usual, voyevoda was simply a commander of a large military group and not a rank of any kind.
Later, under Romanov dynasty the companies of foreign mercenaries were formed; these incorporated foreign ranks of Lieutenant and Rittmeister. They were later changed into New Regiments of the Streltsy Troops and more Western ranks were adopted, including General. Finally, by 1680 the ranks of the New Regiments were unified with Strelets Troops.
Russian Empire
During the beginning of the 18th century, military ranks were frequently changed by the tsar during efforts to reform the army and create a strong Navy. These many changes were routinely documented into Army's Rules of engagement since 1716, until they were finally incorporated into the first variant of Table of Ranks in 1722. Comparing to Strelets Troops, a few more non-commissioned ranks were added, the soldier rank was replaced with many speciality ranks and a few more General ranks were added. The naval ranks were created from scratch, ranks for the naval infantry and engineers would only come in the 19th century.The officers were styled according to their rank as defined by the Table.
;See also:
1722–1917: Army
By 1722, the ranks of both enlisted staff and commissioned/non-commissioned officers were somewhat settled; these ranks survived until the Russian Revolution with only minor adjustments.Captain-Poruchik rank is comparable to Lieutenant Captain. Note that Poruchik can sometimes be styled as Porutchik, as it was originally written by the tsar himself.
Commissioned officers of artillery and engineers enjoyed a handicap of 1 grade, and the Leib Guards units enjoyed a handicap of 2 grades, ending in Life Guards Colonel.
In the 1798–1884 timeline, the General ranks were streamlined and the Brigadier rank was abolished. The Captain-Poruchik rank was reestablished again, this time as Staff-Captain. The Second Major and First Major ranks were united. In 1826, Russian Army adopted shoulder insignia and distinct Cossack cavalry ranks.
In 1884, Major and Captain-Lieutenant ranks were abolished again and the ranks below were shifted several grades up. The latter was not reintroduced until 1907, but then again abolished in 1911.
1722–1917: Navy
As stated earlier, most of the naval ranks and rates were formed from scratch in the 18th century, with many changes since then. Ranks for naval infantry, shore service personnel and engineers would only come in the 19th century.RSFSR and Soviet Union
1918–1925
The October Revolution of 1917 abolished the privileges of the Russian nobility. The Table of Ranks was abolished and so were personal military ranks.Based on the teachings of Karl Marx to replace a regular army with the general arming of the people, the Bolsheviks abolished the Imperial army on 16 March 1918. But the need for an armed struggle against the counter-revolution, and foreign military intervention forced the CEC and the CPC, January 15, 1918 to issue a decree establishing of the "Workers' and Peasants' Red Army", very early before the disbandment of the Imperial ground forces.
At first the new army had no ranks, aside from the single rank of "RedArmyMan". However, due to a real need, first informally and then more formally in official correspondence acronyms began to appear representing position-holder titles. For example, komdiv was an acronym of Division Commander; likewise kombat stood for Battalion Commander, etc. By the middle of the Civil War, these "positional ranks" became quite formal, and since January 1920 the names of officers was fixed by the Order of the Red Army. Instead of ranks, these were officially known as "categories of the Red Army." This system was maintained until May 1924. Some of these acronyms have survived as informal position names to the present day.
During the civil war ships did not play a significant role. Many of the sailors and petty officers of the fleet went to fight on land in the Red Army. For a long time a scale of naval ranks did not exist at all. Most of the naval officers were addressed either by their position or by their tsarist rank with the addition of the prefix byvshiy, which meant "former". Since 1924, the real rehabilitation and creation of the fleet began. Personal ranks as such did not exist during this period in the Navy.
By then, the only new rank created was the Sergeant Major rank in the Red Army. It was first introduced in the Worker's and Peasant's Red Navy at the same time, with the old Imperial Naval rank of Bootsmann in the Navy the only old rank still used.
The Soviet Air Forces began as a committee for ex-Imperial military aviation in 1918, and was later transformed into a separate service later as the Workers and Peasants Red Air Fleet. It shared the same ranks as the Army and the naval air component shared the ranks of its mother service.
1925–1935
By that year, the ranks were expanded to match the military ranks of other countries' armed forces. The Soviet Air Forces soon received its own ranks.| Categories | Names of key posts | Names of key posts | Names of key posts | Groups |
| Categories | Army appointments | Naval appointments | Aviation appointments | Groups |
Командующий фронтом ' | Главнокомандующий флотом республики ' | 'Hачальник BBC CCCP ' | ||
Командующий армией ' & Assistant of Front Commander Помощник командующего фронтом ' | Командующий флотом ' | Помощник начальник BBC CCCP ' | ||
Командир корпуса ' & Assistant of Army Commander Помощник командующего армией ' | Командующий флотилией ' | Командующий авиабригады ' | ||
Командир дивизии ' & Assistant of Corps Commander Помощник командира корпуса ' | Командующий эскадрой ' | |||
Командир бригады ' & Assistant of the Divizia Commander Помощник командира дивизии ' | Командир бригады кораблей ' | Командующий эскадрильи ' | ||
Командир полка ' & Assistant of the Brigade Commander Помощник командира бригады ' | Командир корабля 1-го ранга ' | Командующий авиапарка ' | ||
Помощник командира полка ' | Старший помощник командира корабля 1-го ранга ' | Командующий отдельного авиаотряда ' | ||
Командир батальона ' | Командир корабля 2-го ранга ' | Командующий авиаотряда ' | ||
Помощник командира батальона ' | Командир корабля 3-го ранга ' & Senior Assistant of Ship Commander 2nd rank Старший помощник командира корабля 2-го ранга ' | Командующий авиазвена ' | ||
Командир роты ' | Командир корабля 4-го ранга ' & Senior Assistant of Ship Commander 3rd rank Старший помощник командира корабля 3-го ранга ' | Старший летчик ' | ||
Помощник командира роты ' | Старший помощник командира корабля 4-го ранга ' | Младший летчик ' | ||
Командир взвода ' | Командир боевой части ' & Assistant of Ship Commander 4th rank Помощник командира корабля 4-го ранга ' | Командир взвода ' | ||
Старшина ' | Главный cтаршина ' ,& Chief Boatswain/Bootsmann Главный боцман ' | Старший моторист ' | ||
Помощник командира взвода ' | Старший боцман ' | Mоторист ' | ||
Командир отделения ' | Командир отделения ' & Boatswain/Bootsmann Боцман ' | Младший моторист ' | ||
Командир звена ' & Assistant of Squad Commander Помощник командира отделения ' | Командир группы ' & Assistant of Squad Commander Помощник командира отделения ' | |||
Красноармеец ' | Краснофлотец ' | Красновоздухоплаватель ' |
1935–1940
Personal ranks were formally introduced in the Red Army on September 22, 1935, including the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union that was adopted the year before.| Categories | Ranks | Ranks | Ranks | Ranks | Ranks | Ranks | Ranks | Ranks |
| Categories | Privates & Commanders | Privates & Commanders | Political staff | Technical staff | Technical staff | Administrative staff | Medical staff | Juristical staff |
| Categories | Ground and Air Forces | Naval Forces | Political staff | Ground and Air Forces | Naval Forces | Administrative staff | Medical staff | Juristical staff |
Красноармеец ' | Краснофлотец ' | |||||||
Отделенный командир ' | Отделенный командир ' | |||||||
Младший комзвода ' | ||||||||
Старшина ' | Старшина ' | |||||||
Младший лейтенант ' | Младший лейтенант ' | Младший воентехник ' | Младший воентехник ' | |||||
Лейтенант ' | Лейтенант ' | Младший политрук ' | Воентехник 2 ранга ' | Воентехник 2 ранга ' | Техник-интендант 2 ранга ' | Военфельдшер/ветвоенфельдшер ' | Младший военюрист ' | |
Старший лейтенант ' | Старший лейтенант ' | Политрук ' | Воентехник 1 ранга ' | Воентехник 1 ранга ' | Техник-интендант 1 ранга ' | Старший военфельдшер / Старший ветвоенфельдшер ' | Военюрист ' | |
Капитан ' | Капитан-лейтенант ' | Старший политрук ' | Военинженер 3 ранга ' | Военинженер 3 ранга ' | Интендант 3 ранга ' | Военврач 3 ранга / Ветвоенврач 3 ранга ' | Военюрист 3 ранга ' | |
Майор ' | Капитан 3 ранга ' | Батальонный комиссар ' | Военинженер 2 ранга ' | Военинженер 2 ранга ' | Интендант 2 ранга ' | Военврач 2 ранга / Ветвоенврач 2 ранга ' | Военюрист 2 ранга ' | |
Полковник ' | Капитан 2 ранга ' | Полковой комиссар ' | Военинженер 1 ранга ' | Военинженер 1 ранга ' | Интендант 1 ранга ' | Военврач 1 ранга / Ветвоенврач 1 ранга ' | Военюрист 1 ранга ' | |
Комбриг ' | Капитан 1 ранга ' | Бригадный комиссар ' | Бригинженер ' | Инженер-флагман 3 ранга ' | Бригинтендант ' | Бригврач/Ветбригврач ' | Бригвоенюрист ' | |
Комдив ' | Флагман 2 ранга ' | Дивизионный комиссар ' | Дивинженер ' | Инженер-флагман 2 ранга ' | Дивинтендант ' | Дивврач/Ветдивврач ' | Диввоенюрист ' | |
Комкор ' | Флагман 1 ранга ' | Корпусной комиссар ' | Коринженер ' | Инженер-флагман 1 ранга ' | Коринтендант ' | Корврач/Веткорврач ' | Корвоенюрист ' | |
Командарм 2 ранга ' | Флагман флота 2 ранга ' | Армейский комиссар 2 ранга ' | Арминженер ' | Инженер-флагман флота ' | Арминтендант ' | Армврач/Ветармврач ' | Армвоенюрист ' | |
Командарм 1 ранга ' | Флагман флота 1 ранга ' | Армейский комиссар 1 ранга ' | ||||||
Маршал Советского Союза ' | Маршал Советского Союза ' |
Ranks of Junior Lieutenant and Junior Military Technician were introduced in 1937. Also restored were most of the military officer ranks in the Army and Navy, except for the General officer ranks and the Admiral officer ranks, with the naval rank of 3rd-class Captain being the new officer rank introduced.
1940–1943
General ranks were restored in May 1940. The new ranks were based on the military ranks of the Russian Empire, although they underwent some modifications; modified Imperial rank insignia were reintroduced in 1943. The new ranks also abolished the specialist ranks for the other arms and services, and they were replaced by the new ranks with the service name attached.| Categories | Ranks | Ranks | Ranks | Ranks | Ranks | Ranks | Ranks | Ranks |
| Categories | Privates & Commanders | Privates & Commanders | Political staff | Technical staff | Technical staff | Administrative staff | Medical staff | Juristical staff |
| Categories | Ground and Air Forces | Naval Forces | Political staff | Ground and Air Forces | Naval Forces | Administrative staff | Medical staff | Juristical staff |
Красноармеец ' | Краснофлотец ' | |||||||
Ефрейтор ' | Старший краснофлотец ' | |||||||
Младший сержант ' | Старшина 2 статьи ' | |||||||
Сержант ' | Старшина 1 статьи ' | |||||||
Старший сержант ' | Главный старшина ' | |||||||
Старшина ' | Мичман | |||||||
Младший лейтенант ' | Младший лейтенант ' | Младший воентехник ' | Младший воентехник ' | |||||
Лейтенант ' | Лейтенант ' | Младший политрук ' | Воентехник 2 ранга ' | Воентехник 2 ранга ' | Техник-интендант 2 ранга ' | Военфельдшер/ветвоенфельдшер ' | Младший военюрист ' | |
Старший лейтенант ' | Старший лейтенант ' | Политрук ' | Воентехник 1 ранга ' | Воентехник 1 ранга ' | Техник-интендант 1 ранга ' | Старший военфельдшер / Старший ветвоенфельдшер ' | Военюрист ' | |
Капитан ' | Капитан-лейтенант ' | Старший политрук ' | Военинженер 3 ранга ' | Военинженер 3 ранга ' | Интендант 3 ранга ' | Военврач 3 ранга / Ветвоенврач 3 ранга ' | Военюрист 3 ранга ' | |
Майор ' | Капитан 3 ранга ' | Батальонный комиссар ' | Военинженер 2 ранга ' | Военинженер 2 ранга ' | Интендант 2 ранга ' | Военврач 2 ранга / Ветвоенврач 2 ранга ' | Военюрист 2 ранга ' | |
Подполковник ' | Капитан 2 ранга ' | Старший батальонный комиссар ' | Военинженер 1 ранга ' | Военинженер 1 ранга ' | Интендант 1 ранга ' | Военврач 1 ранга / Ветвоенврач 1 ранга ' | Военюрист 1 ранга ' | |
Полковник ' | Капитан 1 ранга ' | Полковой комиссар ' | ||||||
Генерал-майор ' | Контр-адмирал ' | Дивизионный комиссар ' | Дивинженер ' | Инженер-флагман 2 ранга ' | Дивинтендант ' | Дивврач/Ветдивврач ' | Диввоенюрист ' | |
Генерал-лейтенант ' | Вице-адмирал ' | Корпусной комиссар ' | Коринженер ' | Инженер-флагман 1 ранга ' | Коринтендант ' | Корврач/Веткорврач ' | Корвоенюрист ' | |
Генерал-полковник ' | Адмирал ' | Армейский комиссар 2 ранга ' | Арминженер ' | Инженер-флагман флота ' | Арминтендант ' | Армврач/Ветармврач ' | Армвоенюрист ' | |
Генерал армии ' | Армейский комиссар 1 ранга ' | |||||||
Маршал Советского Союза |
Ranks "Lieutenant Colonel" and "Senior Battalion Commissar" were introduced in 1937. By 1940 the Army rank of Corporal and the Naval rank of Midshipman were revived, and the old rank of Junior Sergeant reinstated into its modern form.
In 1942, the political commissars' service in the Red Army was finally disbanded for good, and its ranks dissolved.
1943–1991
In 1943, all ranks became standardized throughout the Soviet Armed Forces, with the full inclusion of Air/Arm/Branch Marshal and Air/Arm/Branch Chief Marshal ranks. All specialist ranks remaining were replaced by the 1940 standard ranks with the service name attached to them, and Private and Seaman became the basic enlisted ranks. The new Imperial Russian Armed Forces-style shoulder rank insignia also debuted.From 1943 to 1961, naval ranks were adjusted to match the naval ranks of other countries. The rank of Admiral of the Fleet was introduced during the Great Patriotic War, and was the equivalent rank to Marshal of the Soviet Union that in 1955, it was renamed Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. The rank was soon revived in 1962 as a General of the Army-equivalent rank in compliance to new Soviet Navy regulations for officers.
On June 27, 1945 the rank of Generalissimus Sovietskogo Soyuza was created and granted to Joseph Stalin following the tradition of the Russian Imperial Army which granted to the Tsars the military rank in their capacity as Commanders-in-Chief. Formally it existed until 1993 but it was never used after Stalin's death.
In the 1970s, the non-commissioned officers serving under contract and holding Starshina rank were reassigned to newly created Praporshchik rank ; starshina was reserved for conscripts only. In the Soviet Navy, however, as the Midshipman rank was formally elevated to that of a warrant officer, the NCO role of Midshipmen was replaced by the new rank of Ship Chief Master Sergeant as a result of the naval rank change. At the same time all rank insignia became uniform for the Army and Air Force plus the other services, the Navy retained theirs.
Generals of the Army and Admirals soon had their insignia changed in 1974.
The final change was in 1981 when Senior Praporshchik and Senior Midshipman ranks were added in the ranks of warrant officers.
The table of Soviet military ranks can see in military ranks of the Soviet Union or in the section below.
Russian Federation
The independent Russia inherited the ranks of the Soviet Union, although the insignia and uniforms were altered a little. The following is a table of ranks of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.Russian armed forces have two styles of ranks: deck ranks and troop ranks. The following table of Ranks is based on those of the Russian Federation.
Troop ranks are used by:
- Ministry of Defence
- * Ground Forces
- * Air Force
- * Navy — Naval Infantry, Naval Aviation other various shore services of the navy
- * Strategic Importance Missile Troops
- * Airborne Troops
- * Aerospace Defence Force
- * Federal Agency of Special Construction
- * Railway Troops of the Russian Federation
- * Rear of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
- Ministry of Internal Affairs
- * Police, formerly Militia
- National Guard of Russia
- * National Guard Forces Command
- Federal Security Service and
- * Border Service of the FSB
- Federal Protective Service
- Foreign Intelligence Service
- Chief directorate of special programs of the President
- Ministry of Emergency Situations
- * Civil Defense Troops
- * Military personnel of the Russian State Fire Service
- Ministry of Defence
- * Navy — deck personnel
- Federal Security Service
- * Coast Guard of the Border Service of FSB
- National Guard
- * National Guard Naval Service Corps
The highest Navy 'deck' rank is Admiral of the Fleet. In the Soviet era the rank Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union was equivalent to the rank of Marshal and only three persons were given that rank. Since 1991 this rank is no longer used.
Ranks can have additional descriptors according to assignment or status. For example, the rank of a serviceman of a "Guards" unit, formation or ship may be followed by the word "Guards" ; the rank of a serviceman of the legal, medical or veterinary professions is followed by "of Justice", "of the Medical service", or "of the Veterinary service" ; and the rank of a reserve or retired serviceman is followed by the words “Reserve” or “Retired,” respectively. The Russian Federation abolished the descriptor "of Aviation" for pilots, however, that descriptor is still in common use.
Note: the descriptor "of Aviation" has been officially abolished but usage is still common within the Air Forces and Naval Aviation.
On March 11, 2010, by virtue of Law No.2010-293 of the President of Russia, a new set of rank insignia debuted. Privates, Airmen and Seamen sport plain shoulder epaulettes and the chevrons removed for the ranks of senior NCOs and are now replaced by plain bars.
WO's and Officer ranks received updated shoulder rank epaulettes and all General Officer and Flag Officer rank insignia now reflecting service affiliation in the duty dress uniform and gold. This was also the case for the Marshal of the Russian Federation rank epaulette, which still retained the Coat of arms of Russia and the Marshal's Star. But this change is now evident in the battle dress and duty uniforms only, in the new 2008 dress uniforms the change is evident in the enlisted and NCO epaulettes, but in the epaulettes of all warrant officers and officers the gold and black epaulettes stayed as is in the dress uniforms.
As part of the 2008 Russian military reform, the Praporshchik rank was effectively abolished in the Russian Armed Forces, though the rank still may be used in other uniformed services of the government such as the Interior Ministry, the Police, The Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Border Guard Service.
The general and flag officer ranks changed again on February 22, 2013. Thus, for Generals of the Army and Fleet Admirals, instead of sporting 4 stars, the shoulder rank insignia for both were changed back to the Marshal's Star with additional emblems for Generals of the Army and Fleet Admiral's Star for Fleet Admirals. Some retired general and flag officers were spotted wearing the old pre-1994 rank insignia instead of the new.