1918–1935 The early
Red Army abandoned the institution of a professional
officer corps as a "heritage of
tsarism" in the course of the Revolution. In particular, the
Bolsheviks condemned the use of the word "officer" and used the word "
commander" instead. The Red Army abandoned
epaulettes and
ranks, using purely functional
titles such as "Division Commander", "Corps Commander", and similar titles. In 1924 it supplemented this system with "service categories", from K-1 (lowest) to K-14 (highest). The service categories essentially operated as ranks in disguise: they indicated the experience and qualifications of a commander. The insignia now denoted the category, not the position of a commander. However, one still had to use functional titles to address commanders, which could become as awkward as "comrade deputy head-of-staff of corps". If one did not know a commander's position, one used one of the possible positions - for example: "Regiment Commander" for K-9. This rank system stayed on for a decade.
1935–1940 On September 22, 1935, the
Red Army abandoned service categories and introduced personal ranks. These ranks, however, used a unique mix of functional titles and traditional ranks. For example, the ranks included "
Lieutenant" and "
Comdiv" (Комдив, Division Commander). Further complications ensued from the functional and categorical ranks for political officers (e.g., "Brigade Commissar", "Army Commissar 2nd Rank"), for technical corps (e.g., "Engineer 3rd Rank", "Division Engineer"), for administrative, medical and other non-combatant branches. Rank insignia then used both upside-down chevrons on the sleeve and collar marks. The rank of
Marshal of the Soviet Union was also introduced.
1940–1943 On May 7, 1940, further modifications to the system took place. The ranks of "
General" or "
Admiral" replaced the senior functional ranks of
Combrig,
Comdiv,
Comcor,
Comandarm; the other senior functional ranks ("Division Commissar", "Division Engineer", etc.) remained unaffected. The Arm or Service distinctions remained (e.g.
General of Cavalry,
Marshal of Armoured Troops). On November 2, 1940, the system underwent further modification with the abolition of functional ranks for
NCOs and the reintroduction of the
Podpolkovnik (sub-colonel) rank. For the most part the new system restored that used by the
Imperial Russian Army after its participation in
World War I. In early 1942 all the functional ranks in technical and administrative corps became regularized ranks (e.g., "Engineer Major", "Engineer Colonel", "Captain Intendant Service", etc.). On October 9, 1942, the authorities abolished the system of military commissars, together with the commissar ranks, and they were completely integrated into the regular officer corps. The functional ranks remained only in the medical, veterinary, and legislative corps, and Private became the basic rank for the enlisted and NCOs.
1943–1955 In early 1943 a unification of the system saw the abolition of all the remaining functional ranks. The word "officer" became officially endorsed, together with the
epaulettes that superseded the previous rank insignia, styled like the
Imperial Russian Army before, and Marshal and Chief Marshal ranks created for the various arms and branch commands of the Red Army and the Red Army Air Forces save for the infantry (even through the Artillery branch was the first to have one in 1942) with Marshal ranks being equal to General of the Army and Chief Marshal ranks being equal to Marshal of the Soviet Union. The ranks and insignia of 1943 did not change much until the last days of the USSR; the contemporary
Russian Ground Forces uses largely the same system. The old functional ranks of
Combat (Battalion or Battery Commander),
Combrig (Brigade Commander) and
Comdiv (Division Commander) continue in informal use. After the war, the rank of
Generalissimo of the Soviet Union was proposed to
Joseph Stalin in his role as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, however, he refused the proposal of the rank several times. The rank insignia featured the USSR arms above a large Marshal's Star surrounded by a wreath.
1955–1991 1963 saw all Starshina insignia in the Army and Air Force change to their final design. In 1970 all Starshinas became full-time senior non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel and the new NCO rank of Praporshchik became a Warrant Officer rank, with a new rank of Senior Praporshchik created for senior rank holders later in 1981. And in 1974, Generals of the Army had one star on their shoulder epaulets rather than four with surrounding wreaths. The final rank structure from these reforms stayed well until the Union's dissolution and is the basis for the current ranks of the Russian Ground Forces. These ranks also became the basic ranks for the
Soviet Air Forces in 1918 and the
Soviet Air Defense Forces (from 1932 to 1949 part of the Soviet Air Force and the Red Army, 1949 independent branch, and from 1954 a full-service arm of the
Soviet Armed Forces), and from 1991 onward became the basis for the present ranks of the
Russian Air Force (including the Air Defense Forces from 1998 onward) and from 2001, the
Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (Formerly the Space Forces). The only exceptions were the use of the ranks of Marshal of Aviation and Chief Marshal of Aviation, which replaced the rank of General of the Army and the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union until the latter became the highest officer rank in 1993.
Naval ranks and rates In 1918, the
Soviet Navy was raised from the pro-
Bolshevik sailors and officers of the
Imperial Russian Navy as the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet by a decree by the Soviet Council of People's Commissars. The ranks and rates were, just like in their counterparts in the Army, personal positions for officers, Petty Officers, and seaman rates. The former officers of the IRN who joined the ranks of this new navy retained their ranks with the abbreviation "b." meaning "former" while the new officers were addressed by their positional ranks. They stayed that way until 1925 when new ranks and rates were created. The rank insignia for the 1918–25 ranks were on the sleeve and cuff. Most of the officer ranks were revived in 1935, save for the high-ranking officers, and the new PO rank of Squad Commander. The PO rank of Starshina was retained, however. In 1939 all flag officer ranks were reinstated and Midshipman became the highest enlisted rating in the Navy, and in the course of the
Great Patriotic War, all Redfleetmen became Seamen in another rank change. In 1943 all naval rank insignia became uniform in the fleet and ground forces. Uniquely, the ranks of the Soviet Naval Infantry, Soviet Naval Aviation, and the other ground services remained army-styled similar to their Red Army counterparts but the rank insignia became uniform. The Admiral of the Fleet rank was also created by then. The rank insignia was now also seen on epaulettes: black on-duty dresses and dark blue and gold on all full and ceremonial dresses for the fleet forces, with air force blue borders for the aviation branch and red borders for the coastal defense and naval infantry branch. In 1952 the senior enlisted rating's insignia (until 1972, Midshipman and from then on, Chief Ship Petty Officer) changed to its final design. 1955 saw the renaming of the Admiral of the Fleet rank into that of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union and was now equivalent to that of a Marshal of the Soviet Union. The shoulder insignia for fleet admirals and all officers' sleeve insignia changed in the following decade as the Admiral of the Fleet rank was revived, now between Admirals and Admirals of the Fleet of the Soviet Union. 1972 saw Midshipmen's status raised to warrant officers with Chief Ship Petty Officers replacing their former roles as the highest enlisted ratings. ==Rank comparisons==