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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. From then the Imperial Table of Ranks was abolished, as was the right of the pre Soviet nobility to acquire personal ranks or special rights assigned to them previously. Soviet ranks were abolished in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, although modern Russian military insignia has been largely adopted from the Soviet system.

Rank Table

History of Soviet Ranks

The October Revolution of 1917 cancelled the privileges of Russian nobility (Dvoryanstvo). The Table of Ranks was abolished and so were the personal military ranks. The army and the navy has returned to a system of positional ranks that were acronyms of the full position names. For example, komdiv was an acronym of Division Commander; likewise kombat was Battalion Commander, etc. These acronyms have survived as informal position names to the present day.

The personal ranks were not reintroduced until 1935, and General ranks were restored in May 1940. The ranks were based on Russian Empire military ranks, although they underwent some modifications; the modified Imperial rank insignia was reintroduced in 1943.

In the 1970s, the non-commissioned officers serving under contract and holding Starshina (Master Sergeant) rank were reassigned to newly-created Praporshchik rank (not to be confused with similarly named Russian Empire rank of commissioned officers); starshina was reserved for conscripts only.

The table of Soviet military ranks is in the section below (as they were the same as present military ranks of the Russian Federation).

Notable ranks

Generalissimo of the Soviet Union

Was a rank acquired by Stalin in June 1945 during World War II. It has never been used since, and could be observed as a rank similar to General of the Armies of the United States or North Korea's rank of Dae Wonsu.

Two notable ranks during the era of the Soviet Union include that of Marshal of the Soviet Union, along with Generalissimo of the Soviet Union, which was a rank used by Joseph Stalin after June 27, 1945. Other notable ranks include that of Chief Marshal and that of the Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union.

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
• Russian military ranks

Notes

1. US Army Field Manual 100-2-3 - The Soviet Army; Troops Organisation and Equipment. June 1991.

References

• Military Ranks of the Soviet Union
• Military Ranks of the Workers and Peasants Red Army
• Military Ranks of Russia
• Anatomy of Army
• Sovietarmy ranks
• SOVIET MILITARIA
• Russian military
• Marshals of the Soviet Union

External links

• Federal Law No. 58-FZ from March 12, 1998 "On military duty and military service" (in Russian)
• Presidential Decree No. 531 from May 8, 2005 "On military uniform, rank insignia of the servicemen and state bodies' rank isnignia" (in Russian)
• Rank site

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