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Soviet Armed Forces
Components
General Staff Strategic Rocket Forces Red Army Soviet Army Air Defence Forces Air Forces Navy Airborne Forces
Ranks of the Soviet Military
Military ranks of the Soviet Union
History of the Soviet Military
Military history of the Soviet Union History of Russian military ranks
v t e

The military ranks of the Soviet Union were those introduced after the October Revolution of 1917. At that time the Imperial Russian Table of Ranks was abolished, as were the privileges of the dvoryanstvo (the pre-Soviet nobility).

Immediately after the Revolution, personal military ranks were abandoned in favor of a system of positional ranks, which were acronyms of the full position names. For example, komdiv was an acronym of Division Commander, kombat stood for Battalion Commander, and so forth. These acronyms have survived as informal position names to the present day.

Personal ranks were reintroduced in 1935, and General ranks were restored in May 1940. The ranks were based on those of the Russian Empire, although they underwent some modifications. Modified Imperial-style rank insignia were reintroduced in 1943.

The Soviet ranks ceased to be used after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, although the military ranks and insignia of the modern Russian Federation have been largely adopted from the Soviet system.

Rank Table

This table shows the rank structure in use shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, circa 1980–1991.

Generalissimo of the Soviet Union

This rank was created for Josef Stalin on June 27, 1945, and he was the only person ever to hold it. It is sometimes regarded as an equivalent to the rank of General of the Armies of the United States or the North Korean Dae Wonsu.

Marshal of an arm

The ranks of Marshal of an arm and Chief Marshal of an arm were used in five Soviet military branches (the Air Force, Artillery, Tank Forces, Engineer Forces, and Signal Forces). These ranks were established in 1943 and were both equivalent to General of the Army, although they maintained precedence between each other.

Rank insignia

Army

Navy

See also

• Air Force ranks and insignia of the Russian Federation
• Army ranks and insignia of the Russian Federation
• Naval ranks and insignia of the Russian Federation
• History of Russian military ranks

External links

• Military Ranks of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics
• Anatomy of Army, Russian
• SOVIET MILITARIA, sells Soviet ranking insignia, etc.

• Military of the Soviet Union
• Russian military ranks
• Military ranks by country