Polkovnik , universally treated as
ColonelColonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
, began as a commander of a distinct group of troops, Old Slavonic
polk (полк), arranged for a particular battle. In late 1600s, it became a position of a
regimentA regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. A regiment can be broken into two distinct categories, one being an administrative unit which is responsible for non-operational management of battalions , while the other being a deployable combat...
al commander of the
StreltsyStreltsy or stretelets were the units of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms...
; this position also made it into New Regiments of the Streltsy and later into the
new army of
Peter the GreatPeter I the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov ruled Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V....
. The rank was legalized by Table of Ranks that placed it in the 6th grade as the second-top field officer, right under the
BrigadierBrigadier is a military rank, the meaning of which has a considerable variation.-Officer rank:In many countries, especially those formerly part of the former British Empire, a Brigadier is either the highest field rank or most junior General appointment, nominally commanding a brigade...
.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Polkovnik' Start a new discussion about 'Polkovnik' Answer questions from other users |
Polkovnik , universally treated as
ColonelColonel is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country in the world. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
, began as a commander of a distinct group of troops, Old Slavonic
polk (полк), arranged for a particular battle. In late 1600s, it became a position of a
regimentA regiment is a military unit, composed of variable numbers of battalions, commanded by a Colonel. A regiment can be broken into two distinct categories, one being an administrative unit which is responsible for non-operational management of battalions , while the other being a deployable combat...
al commander of the
StreltsyStreltsy or stretelets were the units of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms...
; this position also made it into New Regiments of the Streltsy and later into the
new army of
Peter the GreatPeter I the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov ruled Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V....
. The rank was legalized by Table of Ranks that placed it in the 6th grade as the second-top field officer, right under the
BrigadierBrigadier is a military rank, the meaning of which has a considerable variation.-Officer rank:In many countries, especially those formerly part of the former British Empire, a Brigadier is either the highest field rank or most junior General appointment, nominally commanding a brigade...
. A promotion to the rank of Polkovnik gave a privilege of hereditary
nobilityThe Russian nobility arose in the 14th century and essentially governed Russia until the October Revolution of 1917.The Russian word for nobility, Dvoryanstvo , derives from the Russian word dvor , meaning the Court of a prince or duke and later, of the tsar. A noble was called dvoryanin...
.
Podpolkovnik ('Sub-Polkovnik') is equivalent to
Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
.
The
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
reintroduced the Polkovnik rank in 1935, together with a number of other former Russian ranks, and it has been used in many ex-USSR countries, including
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, to the present day.
It is also used in the Slovenian Armed Forces, the Army of the Republic of Macedonia, as well as the
Military of BulgariaThe Bulgarian Army represents the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria. The Commander-in-Chief is the President of Bulgaria Georgi Parvanov. The Ministry of Defense is in charge of political leadership while military command remains in the hands of the General Staff, headed by the Chief of Staff...
.
See also
- Polkovnyk
Polkovnyk , was a high military rank among the Ukrainian Cossack starshyna . Polkovnyk was a leader of a military unit , as well as a leader of a territorial unit of the Cossack Hetmanate, Sloboda Ukraine or Zaporozhian Host...
, a rank in the army of UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
and in the Cossack military organization.
- Pułkownik, a rank in Polish military