Military ranks: from WWII to SVO

Military personnel in the Russian Armed Forces, like those in any other army in the world, are subject to a specific hierarchical system. This is determined by military ranks, which are indicated by corresponding insignia on their uniforms.

The lowest rank is private or seaman. It is awarded immediately upon entering military service, if the recruit has not previously held a military rank. The highest ranks include general of the army and admiral. fleet or a marshal of the corresponding branch of the armed forces.

All military ranks are divided into troop and naval ranks. The latter are held by sailors, not only in the Navy, but also in the Coast Guard, Border Service, and naval units of the Russian National Guard.

If a service member serves in a guards unit, the word "guards" is added to their rank. For example, guards sergeant or guards lieutenant. This rank is also retained by those service members who are no longer on active duty. In such cases, the rank is supplemented with "retired" or "reserve."

It's noteworthy that military ranks in Russia have remained virtually unchanged from the Great Patriotic War to the present day. The only difference is that privates were previously called "Red Army men," and sailors were called "Red Navy men." Furthermore, in the post-war Soviet years, the ranks of warrant officer and senior warrant officer were introduced as an intermediate level between officers and NCOs. Another distinction is that the Red Army had a special institution of political instructors and commissars with their own separate hierarchy, which is absent from modern Russia.

In fact, the almost complete identity of previous and current military ranks in our country to some extent indicates that Russian military personnel fighting on the fronts of the Central Military District are the legal successors of the soldiers and officers of the Red Army who destroyed fascism and won the Great Patriotic War.

Comments

[marchcat]

A crash course for those who haven't served...

[Reserve officer]

A very weak article for VO. Who is this information for?
I expected to read something more serious.

[Archon]

It seems like the article was written by an AI simply to illustrate a video file that few will watch. Especially since it uses such a simple and straightforward topic, one that's often familiar to elementary school children (even if not entirely accurate).

[Vasilenko Vladimir]

Succession, forgive me, is far from just military insignia

[faterdom]

The highest ranks include General of the Army, Admiral of the Fleet, or Marshal of the corresponding branch of the armed forces.

I would say one of the highest.
Because at home they have a general's wife (of the army), an admiral's wife (of the navy) and a marshal's wife (of the corresponding branch of the military).
And this is not that...
And then there are Serdyukov of the Russian Federation and Vasilyeva over the "little green men".

[Uncle lee]

Then the rank is supplemented with “retired” or “reserve”.

[ZhEK-Vodogrey]

How can one not recall our plywood marshal, who viewed the Armed Forces as “something between a tenement house and a fairground entertainment booth.”

[Bogalex]

In the article's cover photo, both officers from the Preobrazhensky Regiment (formerly the 154th Separate Commandant's Regiment) are shown to be grossly violating the rules for wearing military uniforms: the lieutenant colonel has his qualification badges incorrectly placed on the right side of his chest, and both are wearing their unit affiliation badges on the right side of their chests instead of the left.

[Roman_Vasilyevich]

In the Red Army there was a special institution of political instructors and commissars with their own separate hierarchy, which is absent in modern Russia

In the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War, the institution of commissars was replaced by political officers (deputies for political affairs).
In the Russian Armed Forces, a deputy commander for political affairs is officially called a deputy commander for military-political work (of a platoon, company, battalion, regiment, etc.). This position is responsible for the morale and psychological well-being, military discipline, military-political information, and patriotic education of personnel, as well as for organizing leisure activities and providing legal information to military personnel.
I was a political officer myself))

[whitesnow]

Were you a platoon political officer?

[Roman_Vasilyevich]

Were you a platoon political officer?

No, p/p-k int. sl...

[Bogalex]

And why is there a military rank of "junior lieutenant"?

abolished since 1998

(at 4:46)

[Napayz]

Here's what "Alice" says:
The rank of "junior lieutenant" has not been officially abolished in the Russian Armed Forces. It remains listed in legislation, specifically in Article 46 of Federal Law No. 53-FZ of March 28, 1998, "On Military Duty and Military Service."

In practice, this rank is awarded extremely rarely. It could be awarded to senior cadets of certain higher military educational institutions, graduates of regimental and divisional junior lieutenant schools, and, in exceptional cases, to graduates of civilian secondary specialized educational institutions and warrant officers (midshipmen) for outstanding achievements or in times of acute officer shortages.

[Motorist]

Quote: Napayz

The rank of "junior lieutenant" has not been officially abolished in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

The last (for those who don't like it, the last) junior lieutenants in the reserve graduated from the LMU (LAU) in 93.

[Bogalex]

Strongly disagree.
At the Military Artillery University, junior lieutenant courses produced graduations in at least 2001-2002.
I observed junior lieutenants of the medical service near the Military Medical Academy throughout the first half of the 2000s.
Well, I won't even mention how many junior lieutenants have appeared since 2022.

[Motorist]

Perhaps I expressed myself incorrectly. Of the schools I listed, that was the last graduating class. I don't know about the others.

[timeout]

Quote: Bogalex

At the Military Artillery University, junior lieutenant courses produced graduations in at least 2001-2002.

Greetings, colleague! You're profoundly mistaken. Mikhaylovka never had such courses. They sent junior lieutenants to receive a military diploma and subsequently be promoted to lieutenant. Junior lieutenants were assigned to the troops when they assumed command positions or completed accelerated training at military training centers, which was very common during the counter-terrorist operation. I'm one of them. The same applies to medics. Sincerely.

[Bogalex]

You're deeply mistaken. Mikhailovka has never offered courses like these.

No, I'm not mistaken.
In 2001, our expelled cadets, holding the rank of "private," as you understand, enrolled in these courses and were promoted to junior lieutenant upon completion. We joked back then that we'd only be promoted to lieutenant in four more years, and the expelled underachievers in just two.
And since all this happened before my eyes, I kindly ask you not to tell me that this didn’t happen.
Yours!

[Doctor]

Strongly disagree.
At the Military Artillery University, junior lieutenant courses produced graduations in at least 2001-2002.
I observed junior lieutenants of the medical service near the Military Medical Academy throughout the first half of the 2000s.
Well, I won't even mention how many junior lieutenants have appeared since 2022.

At the Military Medical Academy and in the junior faculties, those who had completed their compulsory military service were awarded the rank of lieutenant in their fifth year. A year later, they were promoted to lieutenant, and upon graduation, to senior lieutenant.

[Bogalex]

In practice, this title is awarded everywhere these days!

[BAI]

or a marshal of the corresponding branch of the armed forces.

Just a marshal. No more births.
The last air marshal was E.I. Shaposhnikov.
He was also the last Minister of Defense of the USSR.

[faterdom]

The last Minister of Defense of the USSR was, after all, D. T. Yazov.
Shaposhnikov was the CIS Minister of Defense, ignored by the CIS countries, including Russia, since May 1992. He only grew tired of playing the role of some "minister" of some CIS in 1994, and resigned.
Between August and December 91, the USSR was already practically incapacitated, and the CIS was already stillborn.

[Napayz]

Not a word about the title of "Generalissimo"

[Bogalex]

Are you sure you watched the video?

[Napayz]

I'm talking about the text of the article.

[Lynx2000]

Quote: ZhEK-Vodogrey

How can one not recall our plywood marshal, who viewed the Armed Forces as “something between a tenement house and a fairground entertainment booth.”

Wasn't it under him that many "generals" from the civil service appeared in the Russian Ministry of Defense?

[Grancer81]

In the Russian Empire, rear and non-combat positions were generally supposed to be occupied by military officials.
Apparently, they decided to copy something similar in the Russian army.
But it looks so-so...

[Million]

I remember Shoigu had a cap - you can't enter an open door in it.

[commbatant]

Another prefix to the rank, for example: Captain of the Medical Service or Mr. of Military Justice

[commbatant]

...the author "forgot" to mention that VVP's rank of colonel is not a military one, but a special one...
...moreover, the author did not mention the Soviet military ranks that were introduced but then "sunk into oblivion" during the Soviet era...