Individual rank insignia to the (Army) ground forces and (Navy) naval forces (1935–1940) were established by orders 2590 and 2591, effective from September 22, 1935.[1]
This was mainly directed to supreme commanders, commanding officers, and personnel in charge to exert command and control in the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, published by order number 176 of the USSR People's Commissariat of Defense, dated from December 3, 1935.[2]
Situation in 1935
According to these new orders, new insignia of command personnel should indicate:
Branch of service (e.g. Army, Air Force, or Navy), or special troops
Qualification, professional responsibility, specific knowledge
Rank insignia, operational/ tactical responsibility, e.g. level of military command, formation, unit, or sub-unit.
The top military rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created by order of the USSR Central Executive Committee and the “Council of People's Commissars” from September 22, 1935, onward, before the new ranks were issued.
Military ranks
The military ranks created as a result of the joint decision of the “USSR Central Executive Committee” and the “Council of People's Commissars” from November 21, 1935, are contained in the table below. These replaced the ranks used from 1924.
The same orders mentioned above provided for separate ranks for the Political commissars and military specialists, as in the table below.
Military-political staff all service branches
Military-technician staff
Military-administration and support all service branches
Military-medical service all service branches
Military-veterinarian all service branches
Military-legal service all service branches
Land forces & Air Force
Naval forces
No rank established
Military technician 2nd rank
Technical intendant 2nd rank
Army-surgeon
Veterinarian army-surgeon
Junior military jurist
Political leader
Military technician 1st rank
Technical-intendant 1st rank
Senior army-surgeon
Senior veterinarian army-surgeon
Military jurist
Senior political leader
Military engineer 3rd rank
Intendant 3rd rank
Military physician 3rd rank
Military veterinarian 3rd rank
Military jurist 3rd rank
Bataillon commissar
Military engineer 2nd rank
Intendant 2nd rank
Mil-physician 2nd rank
Mil-vet-physician 2nd rank
Military jurist 2nd rank
Regimental commissar
Mililitary engineer 1st rank
Intendant 1st rank
Military physician 1st rank
Mil-vet-physician 1st rank
Military jurist 1st rank
Brigade commissar
Brigade engineer
Engineer Flag officer 3rd rank
Brig-intendant
Brig-physician
Brig-vet-physician
Brig-mil-jurist
Division commissar
Division engineer
Engineer Flag officer 2nd rank
Div-intendant
Div-physician
Div-vet-physician
Div-mil-jurist
Corps commissar
Corps engineer
Engineer Flag officer 1st rank
Corps intendant
Corps physician
Corps vet-physician
Corps military-jurist
Army commissar 2nd rank
Army engineer
Fleet Engineer Flag officer
Army intendant
Army physician
Army veterinarian
Army military-jurist
Army commissar 1st rank
No equivalent ranks created
1937
More regulations were established in 1937, following general instructions of the Red Army. According to paragraph 10 of this instruction, the following subdivision of personnel was made:
Leading staff: Military officers and heads of departments, military administration and commissariat, medical service, veterinarian service, military legal service
Commanding staff: Personnel with the ranks commander in chief and commander
Junior commanding staff
Enlisted men/ratings
Paragraph 14 of this instruction contained the individual ranks and rank designations according to the order of September 22, 1935, and thus officially sanctioned the additional established OF-1c ranks (Junior lieutenant and Junior military technician), taking effect on August 5, 1937.
1939
By decision of the extraordinary session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (end of August until early September 1939) the law on universal compulsory service took effect, and the new OF4-ranks of Podpolkovnik and Battalion commissar were introduced as a result of the amendments to the rank regulations of 1935. An equivalent OF4-rank for the Soviet navy was not established, however.
In addition to individual ranks the establishment of defined rank insignia was made in December 1935 as well. From this time military staff, including political commissars, military administration, commissariat, medical service, veterinarian service, and military legal service of the Red Army wore rank insignia as follows:
Rank insigniachevron: on both sleeves (short above the cuff)
Rank insigniabig: on both collar-edges of the uniform coat
Rank insigniasmall: on both collar-edges of the battle jacket (Gymnastjorka)
However, naval military staff wore sleeve insignia (stripes and stars) on both sleeves of the uniform.
Commander in chief, higher commanding officers and top appointments OF10 to OF6
Rank insignia, big (overcoat): on a rhombic padding, gold coloured border, one to four rhombic red enameled badges, gold coloured Soviet star small/ big
Rank insignia, small (Gymnastjorka): on rectangle padding, gold coloured border, one to four rhombic red enameled badges
Sleeve insignia (overcoat): one to four gold colored chevrons, Soviet star small/ big, one red coloured extra chevron OF10
Commanding officers and unit leaders OF5, OF3 and OF2
Rank insignia big (over coat): on rhombic padding, gold coloured border, one to three red enameled rectangle badges
Rank insignia small (Gymnastjorka): on rectangle padding, gold coloured border, one to four red enameled rectangle badges
Subunit leader OF1
Rank insignia big (over coat): on rhombic padding, gold coloured border, one to four red enameled square badges
Rank insignia small (Gymnastjorka): on rectangle padding, gold coloured border, one to four red enameled square badges
^Rank insignia and sequence of ranks of the “Workers' and Peasants' Red Army” as to order number 2590 of the “USSR Central Executive Committee” and “Council of People's Commissars” from September 22, 1935. Other solutions to ground forces and navy of the “Workers' and Peasants' Red Army” were disposed by order 2591.
^Order number 176 of the „People's Commissar of Defence of the USSR” from December 3, 1935 pertaining individual military ranks of the land forces and the Navy of the “Workers' and Peasants' Red Army”.