The rank of colonel general () was first established in the
Red Army on 7 May 1940, as a replacement for the previously existing
Komandarm 2nd rank (Comandarm|, "army commander of the second rank"). During
World War II, about 199 officers were promoted to colonel general. Before 1943, Soviet colonel generals wore four stars on their collar patches (). Since 1943, they have worn three stars on their shoulder straps—in most armed forces
three stars usually identify the second- or third-highest general or flag officer, as for a
United States lieutenant general. Unlike the German (which it most probably
calqued), the Soviet and Russian colonel general rank is not exceptional or rare, but a normal step in the progression from two-star
lieutenant general to four-star
army general. Other than that, the Soviet and Russian rank systems sometimes cause confusion in regard to equivalence of ranks, because the normal Western title for
brigadier or
brigadier general ceased to exist for the Russian Army in 1798. The
kombrig rank that corresponded to one-star general only existed in the Soviet Union from 1935– to 1940. Positions typically reserved for these ranks, such as
brigade commanders, have always been occupied by
colonels () or, very rarely,
major generals (see
History of Russian military ranks). The rank has usually been given to district, front and army commanders, and also to deputy ministers of defense, deputy heads of the general staff and so on. In some post-Soviet
Commonwealth of Independent States armies (for example in
Belarus), there are no generals of the army or
marshals; colonel general is the highest rank, usually held by the minister of defense. The corresponding naval rank is
admiral, which is also
denoted by three stars. ==Sweden==