Stars on epaulets

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This sign personifies many symbols, and it can be found on coins, posters, buildings, yes, in general, anywhere. But in the Russian army he has his special status: the five-pointed star is a symbol of the officer’s rank. She personifies the spirit of the officer corps, its glorious traditions.

Stars on epaulets


As the regular army appeared in Russia, little importance was attached to the difference in ranks. The difference between the older and younger was visible only in the cut of clothes and weapons. Even after the reforms of Peter the Great, this tradition continued, but the first differences appeared. The officer was put on a thud - a special breastplate, a three-color scarf with silver and gold tassels and a sword with a gilded hilt. It had the shape of a crescent with a state emblem in the center, was put on under the collar, attached with laces to epaulets and buttons.

A radical change in the uniform of the Russian army began in 1802, when the uniform of the caftan type was replaced by the uniform of the fracking type. One of the means of distinguishing ranks was the appearance in 1803 of a new type of headgear - a cylindrical cap, and the element of distinguishing noncommissioned officers from soldiers became the so-called “repack”, which was a convex oval-shaped wooden piece. It was fastened at the top of the cap under the brush, and the soldiers' color depended on the number of the battalion in the regiment, and all the non-commissioned officers were divided into four parts and painted in white and orange (later in white and gray). Later, with the appearance of a shako who, instead of a wrist, had a sultan in 1807, the upper third of the sultan had a white (in black cavalry) with a vertical orange stripe. But the sultan put on a shako, as a rule, only on parades and parades.



Also at the beginning of the 19th century, shoulder straps came back on the form, or rather, at first they were the same and were only a decorative element. Only with the introduction of a satchel worn behind the back in 1803 did they become functional. True, the officers did not have to wear them, and in 1809, they were replaced by epaulets, which deserved their recognition, first in cavalry units. The officers' epaulettes had the color of the field the same as the shoulder straps of the soldiers of this regiment, and the color of galloon and fringe were the same color as the instrument metal assigned to the regiment. In the guard and the generals, they were entirely of gold. On the field of the epaulet, as well as on the field of the soldiers' shoulder-strap, the division number or the monogram of the regiment's chief was located. By epaulettes, it was possible to distinguish the chief officer from the head officer or from the general.

The main disadvantage of the epaulet was that the specific ranks of officers and generals could not be determined from them. This changed only in 1827, when the stars were first introduced to denote military ranks. One - ensign, cornet, cornet; Two - Second Lieutenant, Major, Major General; three — lieutenant, centurion, lieutenant colonel, military foreman, lieutenant-general; four - staff captain, staff captain, podsails. The captain, captain, captain, colonel, infantry general, cavalry, artillery, engineer-general wore epaulets without asterisks. At the same time, epaulets of ranks of different ranks differed in their design.

The next stage in the development of military ranks occurred in 1843, with the introduction of insignia for non-commissioned officers. On them appear transverse stripes denoting rank. By their appearance they resembled the sergeants of the sergeants of the Soviet army.

In the form, as we used to see them, the stars and epaulets received the function of determining the officers and generals only in the 1854 year. This is largely due to the introduction of a new marching overcoat into the troops. A uniform of a soldier’s sample was to be sewn onto it, for which the chief officers were sewn along two strips of galun of a special pattern so that between the strips there was a gap 4 – 5 mm. On the epaulettes of the staff officers, one strip of wide and two strips of narrower galun, also with gaps between them, was sewn. Lace can be silver or gold, depending on the color of the instrument metal assigned to the shelf. A strip of wide gold galloon with a zigzag pattern was sewn onto the general's uniform. The size of the stars for all officers and generals was the same.

A year later, the shoulder straps with the stars migrated to other forms of the marching form. Like epaulettes in their time, they also quickly settled down in the army. The latter remained in service for half a century and finally disappeared only after the 1917 revolution of the year. The new government has renounced everything that was taken before.



In the Red Army, the uniforms initially did not have any insignia. However, with their opponents from the White Guard, with slight changes, it looked like the one that was under the tsarist government. Stars and epaulets became the main forces of resistance. And although the colors of epaulets were the most diverse, their essence remained unchanged - to allocate the rank of officer. However, with the final victory of the Bolsheviks, the stars and epaulets disappeared for the next 20 years.

In the Red Army, a star appeared on the commander’s left sleeve in 1919 and existed there until 1924. In 1935, the stars reappear on the buttonholes and sleeve patches of 1 commanders of rank (or similar military ranks) and the Marshals of the Soviet Union as an element of the military rank insignia. Additional signs of distinction for the higher military-political composition were red cloth stars with a diameter of 55 mm, which we sew on both arms. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 7 in May 1940, general ranks were introduced in the Red Army. With their introduction, asterisks appear on the buttonholes of the generals to denote rank. Additionally, the star is sewn on the sleeves.

The sleeve star plays no role in designating a title. The commanding and commanding composition of the Navy before 1943 had insignia in the form of braids of various widths and numbers as insignia, there was a sewn golden star (for commanding staff) or silver (for commanding staff) color over these stripes, and a contour star for admirals with the image of a sickle and hammer from threads of golden or silver color. The military-political squad wore red stars on the sleeves until 1942.

January 6, 1943 the army, and then January 15, 1943 epaulettes returned to the fleet as insignia and with them stars for the entire officer corps (including the general). For officers fleet sleeve patches with stars were preserved. The system of distinctions of military ranks of 1943 with minor changes has been preserved in Russia to the present.

The stars (asterisks), introduced for wearing on epaulets in 1943, were flat, with a notch, later bulging ribbed stars appeared with corrugation. The diameter of the flat stars is 20 mm, the asterisks are 13 mm, for lawyers, physicians and quartermasters, stars with a diameter of 18 mm were provided. The bulging stars had diameters 20 and 13 mm. They made stars of brass, and then aluminum. The color of the stars was golden (for medical professionals, lawyers, and quartermasters) or silver (for all others), in 1980s all stars and stars began to make golden color. The field stars were steel and were painted in dark green color.

With minor changes in appearance compared to previous times, stars and shoulder straps are used in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, as well as other power ministries. The designation system for military ranks is similar to the 1943 system of the year. Golden stars are used; green, protective colors are also used in the army. Only now metal stars have smooth edges. Depending on the seniority, the rank or rank of a star differs in size and material of manufacture. Some changes have affected only the field form. With the advent of the new camouflage, many officers began to wear the so-called false riders, on which the stars were painted with special paint. Officially, they were banned by the Statutes and relevant directives, but were a success because of convenience. Stars on epaulets often clung to the unloading vest, backpack or anything, and were also more visible to enemy snipers.



Currently, as a result of the ongoing military reform, it has been decided to replace the shoulder straps with field uniforms. If earlier both shoulder straps were located on the shoulders, now only one shoulder strap will remain on the camouflage located in the center of the field jacket. This is explained by the same reasons as almost two hundred years ago: the convenience of wearing gear. In part, it is difficult to disagree. If he survives in his place, time will tell. We, in turn, add that we went along the same path in the armies of the United States, Great Britain and several other European countries a few years ago. However, no one is going to cancel the stars so far, and given the large reductions in officer personnel conducted over the past few years, their value has only increased.
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3 comments
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  1. +4
    April 13 2013 09: 17
    Thanks, interesting, BUT the article is old. already returned shoulder straps.
  2. AK-47
    0
    April 13 2013 11: 10
    The five-pointed star, the pentagram is a universal symbol of protection, security, one of the oldest. In ancient Greece, it could be found on coins, on the doors of houses, stables and even on cradles. Among the druids of Gaul, Britain, and Ireland, the five-pointed star (Druidic cross) was a symbol of protection from external evil forces. And still it can be seen on the window panes of medieval Gothic buildings.
    The great French revolution revived five-pointed stars as a symbol of the ancient god of war, Mars. They designated the rank of commanders of the French army - on hats, epaulettes, scarves, on the uniforms of their uniforms.
  3. 0
    April 14 2015 14: 28
    Cool article, the Russian Imperial Army had the most beautiful shoulder straps!

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