home Diagnosis and diseases Combat ensign. Ensigns of the Russian Army: in the area of special attention

Combat ensign. Ensigns of the Russian Army: in the area of special attention

Ensign

The rank of ensign in the Russian army

Chin ensign in the Russian army was introduced in 1630 as the primary equipment officer rank for regiments of a foreign system, and then was enshrined in the Charter of 1647 By rank ensign was taller than a corporal and shorter. Since 1680, by decree of the then Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, the rank ensign was extended to all regiments, including the Streltsy, where before that an equal rank did not exist. By status rank ensign got higher and lower. In 1722, with the introduction of the Table of Ranks, Peter I tried to replace the rank ensign the title of Fendrik, but it did not stick. Rank ensign disappeared only in the artillery and pioneer troops, where the rank of bayonet cadet was introduced, listed a grade higher. Ensigns all other types of troops belonged to the XIV class of the Table, warrant officers Guards - to the XII class, were titled “Your Honor”. Until 1845 rank ensign gave hereditary nobility, then until 1856 - only personal, and from 1884 - only hereditary honorary citizenship. In the cavalry in 1731 rank ensign was replaced by the rank of cornet, but was restored again in 1765 and finally abolished in 1798. In the life campaign that existed in 1741-1762 ensign belonged to class VI of the Table, his status was higher than sergeant and lower than adjutant. In other troops ensign in status was higher than sergeant major (sergeant in the cavalry) and lower Second Lieutenant . In 1765, the artillery bayonet-cadets were recertified as warrant officers from artillery, in 1798 this rank was abolished, in 1811 the rank ensign returned for artillery and pioneer troops, and assigned to the XIV class of the Table, although previously all other chief officer ranks of special troops were listed a class higher. With the formation of units of the “Young Guard” in 1813 warrant officers they were assigned to the XIII class of the Table. In the company of palace grenadiers, formed in 1827, warrant officers belonged to the XI class of the Table and in status were higher than sergeant majors and lower second lieutenants , as in the entire guard. In army units since 1826 warrant officers were higher in status warrant officers(conductors in artillery) and below second lieutenants.

Rank insignia ensign from January 1, 1827, one star served on the chief officer's epaulette, and from April 28, 1854, an ensign's shoulder strap appeared. The shoulder strap had one gap, and the rank ensign indicated by one asterisk in this gap.

After the reform of 1884, the rank ensign becomes an optional wartime rank for the army and guard, where it is restored in all units except the company of palace grenadiers. To assign a rank ensign At least a four-year education was required.

Since 1886 everything warrant officers at the end of hostilities should have either been carried out in second lieutenants or midshipmen, or retire to the reserve. Mass production in warrant officers took place with the beginning of the First World War to cover the loss of personnel officers in front-line units, and how they were trained in special schools (schools warrant officers), and they were produced in an accelerated manner from volunteers and non-commissioned officers; for the latter, for production it was enough to have two military awards and four classes of a parish school.

Since 1907, and in connection with the introduction of the rank, by status warrant officers become higher than ordinary warrant officers and below second lieutenants.

Usually warrant officers were appointed platoon commanders and to positions equal to them. Ensign, awarded for military distinction with an order or award weapon, was subject to production in second lieutenants (ensign in the Admiralty naval personnel - to midshipman), but during the First World War this rule was occasionally violated, as a rule - in relation to warrant officers who had risen from non-commissioned officers and had no

education (even elementary at the level of a two-year college or parochial school).

In the white armies since 1919, the rank ensign was cancelled, Ensigns were subject to recertification as cornets and second lieutenants, but volunteers newly admitted into the army - warrant officers remained in this rank for some time.

In the Red Army, the rank of ensign corresponded to the rank of junior lieutenant, introduced in 1937 on August 5, 1937 as an addition to the resolution of the Central Executive Committee and Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of September 22, 1935 on the introduction of military ranks.

In 1917-1972 in the Red Army, then the Soviet Army until 1972, the rank called ensign, did not exist. It was introduced on January 1, 1972. At the same time, the rank was equated to him, which previously corresponded to a land sergeant major and had the corresponding shoulder strap. The former midshipman began to be called the chief ship's foreman. According to his official position, duties and rights warrant officers occupied a position close to junior officers, being their closest assistants and superiors for soldiers (sailors) and sergeants (foremen) of the same unit. By status ensign During this period he was higher than a sergeant major and lower than a junior lieutenant. If we compare with pre-revolutionary ranks, then the Soviet ensign was equal to the pre-revolutionary ensign(Cm.:). Since 1981, a higher rank was introduced Senior Warrant Officer , corresponding to the pre-revolutionary one. Military rank ensign assigned, as a rule, upon completion of ensign schools.
Since the beginning of 2009, the gradual elimination of the staff category began warrant officers And in the armed forces of the Russian Federation. It was assumed that warrant officers and will be replaced by professional contract sergeants. At that time, 140 thousand were serving in the army and navy. warrant officers and. By the end of 2009, all of them were transferred to other positions, laid off or transferred to the reserve. However, at the end of February 2013, news appeared that the Russian Ministry of Defense was going to return about 55 thousand to their positions in the Russian army warrant officers and.

In the Russian army

In the Russian army, the rank of ensign was introduced in the year as the primary chief officer rank for regiments of a foreign system, and then was enshrined in the Charter of the year; in terms of status, the ensign was higher than a corporal and lower than a lieutenant (lieutenant). Since then, by Decree of Fyodor Alekseevich, it was extended to all regiments, including Streltsy (where before that there was no equivalent rank), the status of the rank became higher than lieutenant ensign and lower than lieutenant. In the year when the Table of Ranks was introduced, Peter I tried to replace the rank ensign the rank of fendrik, but it did not catch on; the rank of ensign disappeared only in the artillery and pioneer troops, where the rank of bayonet-cadet was introduced, listed a grade higher. Ensigns of all other branches of the military belonged to the XIV class of the Table, ensigns of the guard - to the XII class, and were titled “your honor.” Up to a year, the rank of ensign was given by hereditary nobility, then up to a year - only personal, then only hereditary honorary citizenship. In the cavalry, the rank of ensign was replaced by the rank of cornet, but again restored in the year and finally abolished in the year. In the life campaign that existed in 1741-1762, an ensign belonged to the VI class of the Table, his status was higher than a sergeant and lower than an adjutant. In other troops, the ensign was higher in status than the sergeant major (sergeant in the cavalry) and lower than the second lieutenant. In 1765, the artillery bayonet-cadets were recertified as artillery warrant officers, in the year this rank was abolished, in the year the rank of ensign was returned for the artillery and pioneer troops, and assigned to class XIII of the Table, since all other chief officer ranks of special troops were listed a class higher. With the formation of the “young guard” units in the year, the warrant officers in them were assigned to class XIII of the Table. In the company of palace grenadiers, formed in the year, warrant officers belonged to class XI of the Table and in status were higher than sergeant majors and lower than second lieutenants, as in the entire guard. In army units, from the year on, warrant officers were higher in status than sub-ensigns (conductors in artillery) and lower than second lieutenants.

The appearance of the rank of ensign was a direct consequence of the Khrushchev reform of military educational institutions, when secondary military officers graduating lieutenants educational establishments(the so-called “bull’s eye”) overnight turned into “superior”. Since the rank of lieutenant was then awarded only to persons with higher education, a vacuum naturally arose in the rank system - to assign the rank of long-term sergeants to specialists with a secondary specialized education (and the army required quite a few of them) was absurd, and specifically for the purpose of attracting persons to serve in the army who had the necessary qualifications in the first place, but had not received higher education, and a separate full-time category of warrant officers was created. However, in practice, very soon the requirements for the level of education were “forgotten”, and simply junior specialists and long-term servicemen with long periods of service began to be appointed to the vacancies of warrant officers, then the positions of foremen and platoon commanders of auxiliary units were assigned to warrant officer positions. One of side effects This practice resulted in the fact that the rank of sergeant major in the army became extremely rare - conscripts, with the rarest exceptions, were not awarded it, and the sergeants who remained on extra conscription were immediately promoted to warrant officers.

Abolition of rank

“The institution of warrant officers, which amounted to 142 thousand people, has been liquidated in the army,” - Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Army General Nikolai Makarov.

Makarov: “We had 142 thousand warrant officers. As of December 1, 2009, there were none left.” Approximately 20 thousand warrant officers who held command positions were appointed, the rest were dismissed or transferred to sergeant positions.

In the armies of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia

In the army of Czechoslovakia, the rank was introduced in the year, and initially corresponded to the rank of ensign in the Russian imperial army, this was the primary chief officer rank, in status below second lieutenant and above worthy intercessor(ordinary officer, sword belt-ensign). Between them there was an intermediate status rank of cadet-postgraduate, awarded only to students of military educational institutions. In the year, the rank of warrant officer was transferred to the category of non-commissioned officers, maintaining the previous status, becoming the highest rank for this category (at the same time, the exotic rank of Czech appeared between it and chief officers. gážista mimo hodnostní třídu- “an officer not entitled to rank”), and was liquidated in the year. It was reintroduced in 2009 and became the highest for the new regular category of captains, approximately corresponding to warrant officers; the ensign was higher in status

Who is an ensign, who were the most famous ensigns in Russian literature and why in the 20th century the ensign turned into the hero of jokes

Prapor of the 17th century
1841-1862

Chronology

1630

The first mention of ensign as a permanent military rank dates back to 1630. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered that the standard bearers in the regiments of the “foreign system” be called this way (the word “prapor” is translated from Church Slavonic as “banner”).

1722

Under Peter, all military ranks began to be called in the German manner - and ensigns turned into fendriks (from German: Fähnrich). It was under this name that they were included in the Table of Ranks of 1722. In addition to the usual ones, it also mentions “engineer fendricks,” that is, standard bearers at artillery batteries.

1730

In the 1730 edition of the Table of Ranks, the option “ensigns” returned. Now this is the name given to the most junior officer rank, corresponding to the rank of midshipman in the navy or collegiate registrar in civil service. There was a wall between the ensign and the private or non-commissioned officer: the first, as a rule, was a nobleman or, in the 19th century, a commoner, the second was a peasant or tradesman who had almost no chance of crossing the social border that separated him from the officers. Ensigns did not differ from the rest of the officer corps either in origin, education, or reputation. For example, Mikhail Bakunin, the future ideologist of anarchism, retired with the rank of ensign.

Captain and ensign of musketeer companies infantry regiment from 1763 to 1786 From the work of A. Viskovatov “ Historical description clothing and weapons of Russian troops",
1841-1862

1884

In 1884, warrant officers were actually abolished during the next military reform and replaced by second lieutenants. However, the reform was half-hearted, so in fact warrant officers remained: this rank began to be given to non-commissioned officers without education for military merits, which after the end of hostilities had to be confirmed by passing a mandatory exam for the officer rank.

1914

First world war warrant officers are experiencing a real revival: due to the huge losses of the officer corps, it was necessary to replenish the army with people who had completed a short course of military training, and en masse to promote privates with at least some combat experience to junior officers. It was then that the ensign from the jokes was born - a poorly educated, incompetent, cunning and stupid junior officer, who is either too arrogant or too familiar in relation to the soldiers.

Ensign. 1916 Literary and Memorial Museum of A.P. Gaidar, Arzamas

1972

After the revolution, warrant officers again fade into oblivion, only to reappear in 1972 after another military reform. It was from this moment that the era of army folklore about ensigns began to flourish, in which they appear as stupid, thieving and useless scoundrels. Probably, these stories have a basis in reality, since the Soviet ensign turned out to be even lower in rank than the pre-revolutionary one and, accordingly, had even lower qualifications, representing a middle link between privates and officers and not really relating to either one.

2009

In 2009, it was decided to replace all warrant officers with professional contract sergeants.

2013

Ensigns, having already survived two military reforms, seem to be heading for a third: in 2013, it was announced that this rank would be restored.

Literary ensigns of the 19th century

1. Peter Grinev, main character"The Captain's Daughter" by Pushkin. The son of a poor provincial nobleman, a retired military man. He proves himself to be an honest, brave and devoted officer.

2. Lapshin, the main character of Alexander Kuprin’s story “Army Ensign.” Typologically similar to Grinev: a young, honest, courageous man from a poor noble family who has not lost his illusions.

3. Alanin, the hero of Leo Tolstoy’s story “The Raid” - the first of the Caucasian cycle. A very young officer, looking forward to his first battle, in which he will die, rushing to attack the Highlanders at the head of his platoon.

Officers of the Dukhovshchinsky regiment. On the left is an ensign. 1916 Multimedia art museum

Folklore ensigns of the 20th century

The era of folklore about ensigns flourished in last decade existence of the USSR. This is probably connected with the war in Afghanistan - in any case, many stories about ensigns relate specifically to it.

Ensigns are credited with the following qualities, which become the butt of jokes:

1. Pointlessness.

“An Afghan dushman sniper is lying in a trench. He looks - a military man appears, and there is a stripe in pursuit. He looks into the directory: “Corporal, bonus - 5 Afghanis.” Just as he was about to shoot, he saw another military man with two stripes. He looks into the directory: “Junior sergeant, bonus - 10 Afghanis.” He raised his rifle and the sergeant disappeared somewhere. He looks and another military man appears, with two stars on his shoulder straps. Without hesitation, he shoots. He looks in the directory: “Warrant officer, fine - 50 Afghanis.”

2. Love for useless drills and drills.

“A private and an ensign on the beach.
- Over there, on the left, good legs. Isn't that right, Comrade Warrant Officer?
“I don’t know, I haven’t seen her march yet.”

3. Stupidity and tyranny.

“The ensign assigned two cadets the task of whitewashing the change house. Accepts work:
- What is it?
- Your shadow, comrade ensign.
“White it anyway!”

4. Thieving.

“The warrant officer is walking through the checkpoint and carrying a wheelbarrow full of garbage. The duty officer asks him:
- What did you steal?
- Yes, I didn’t steal anything, I’m going to throw out the trash.
- It can not be! Admit what you stole?
- Yes, I take out the trash! I didn't steal anything!
- Let's show you the trash.
Prapor dumps a bunch of garbage in front of him. The duty officer looked and looked - indeed, it was just rubbish. Prapor shoved everything back, drove the wheelbarrow further and muttered: “What did you steal, what did you steal... He stole the wheelbarrow!”

5. An inferiority complex associated with the fact that the rank and file did not consider warrant officers to be real officers.

“An ensign is walking through the desert, and a donkey meets him.
Donkey:
- Who are you?
The ensign looked around and said quietly:
- I am an officer, and who are you?
The donkey looked around and quietly said:
“And I’m a horse!”

Replace warrant officers who are in Russian army in 2009, they were “liquidated as a class”; junior officers and contract sergeants did not work out. Then, under the previous Minister of Defense, 142 thousand military positions in this category were gradually reduced in the Armed Forces. They were asked to either change their shoulder straps with longitudinally spaced stars for sergeant's "badges" or resign. But already on February 27, 2013, Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu returned warrant officers to the army - with the only caveat that “no warehouses, no bases.” Only combat and technical positions in the troops.

Story question

In the Russian army, standard bearers began to be called ensigns (from the Church Slavonic “prapor” - banner) in 1649. The most experienced and physically strong warriors were selected into their ranks. As the first junior officer rank, the rank of ensign in the regular army was introduced by Peter I in 1712. In one form or another, this rank existed until 1917, but by this time, due to accelerated graduation from military schools, the promotion to officers of lower ranks from the reserve during the First World War (about 220 thousand people then received shoulder straps) was given the rank of “ensign” lost its shine and meaning. In most cases, real officers did not emerge from warrant officers.

IN Soviet army the rank of "ensign" (in the navy - "midshipman") was revived in 1972. In 1981, for personnel growth and incentives in military service, they introduced the rank of “senior warrant officer” (in the Navy - “senior midshipman”): a third was added to two stars plus an increase in official salary. However, warrant officers and midshipmen immediately received offensive nicknames in the military environment. In the army it is a “piece”, and in the navy it is a “chest”. This was due to the fact that in many cases these servicemen occupied the “sweet” positions of warehouse managers, managers of canteens and other rear military infrastructure facilities.

This movie

Proximity to material wealth, coupled with a certain weakness of human nature, explains why warrant officers soon became the main characters in army jokes, and then in soldiers’ “creativity”: “Here they sat in warehouses, glorious parasites of Russia... Soon all this smoothly flowed into the folk folklore, and from it - into cinema. The most “famous” were Shmatko and Danilyuk from the series “Soldiers”, Zadov from the humorous television series “Beware, Zadov!”, Kazakov from the film “DMB”.

However, if we continue the topic of “ensign in art,” then we can also recall positive, even heroic images of military personnel in this rank. The “Chief Warrant Officer of the Airborne Forces” is still considered the Moldovan actor Mihai Volontir, who brilliantly played in the cult Soviet films “In the Zone” special attention" and "Retaliation". It was truly the image of a seasoned campaigner, combining everything positive traits military man: a father to soldiers, a mentor to a young officer, and a real fighter who was able to fight back against real criminals.

The positive image of the ensign, albeit with a tragic connotation, was realized in the films “Checkpost” (Ilyich - Andrei Krasko), “9th Company” (Dygalo - Fyodor Bondarchuk), the TV series “Special Forces” (Khrustalev - Igor Lifanov, Shakhmametyev - Andrei Zibrov, Kobrin - Alexander Nosik). By the way, in the same “Soldiers,” actress Svetlana Permyakova embodies the image of the honest and kind warrant officer Zhanna Topalova, who went through “hot spots” and became the soul of the team of the military unit.

Backlog for perspective

Of course, all these assessments of the activities of the former institution of warrant officers in our army are “lyrics”. Fortunately, now the status military rank The “ensign” has changed radically and is now considered honorable and revered by the troops.

In the modern Russian army, the training system for this category of military personnel has also changed. Now they are undergoing a training system almost at the level of cadets at higher military schools. And some graduates of warrant officer schools will even receive, after nearly four years of study (to be precise: 3 years and 10 months), higher education diplomas and a bachelor’s degree.

In this case, we are talking only about aviation “technicians” who are trained at the 183rd training center of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) in Rostov-on-Don. It trains highly qualified specialists in servicing on-board radio-electronic systems, communication and control systems of the latest aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. Each of them must have higher education and, in the future, may subsequently receive an officer rank. This is subject to additional education and service experience in the position held.

Perspective career growth, you see, for a military man this is important. Napoleon's words that every soldier carries a marshal's baton in his knapsack have not lost their meaning even now. Today in the Russian Army, every warrant officer has the right to improve the level of his military education, become an officer and rise to high ranks and titles.

Trust the banner

In system military training There are currently 13 warrant officer schools for mid-level military specialists in the Russian Armed Forces. They are stationed in various cities of Russia, mostly “tied” to training centers or to military schools. At the end of last year, the mentioned “training” for warrant officers in Rostov-on-Don, which will graduate bachelors, was added to this list at the end of last year. It is likely that in the near future other schools that train specialists in technical specialties may move to a similar level of training for warrant officers.

The most famous of the currently existing educational systems for training warrant officers can be called the school based on the Ryazan Higher Military Airborne Command School named after Army General V.F. Margelov (RVVDKU).

Initially, during the reforms of the Russian Army, courses for professional sergeants were launched here. Then, instead of contract soldiers, they began to train warrant officers for the Airborne Forces, who are trained for 2 years and 10 months. Moreover, of the 17 specialties, most of the technical profile is radio communications, telecommunications, operation and repair of automotive equipment. The RVVDKU trains junior commanders, as well as reconnaissance officers, who are also graduated with the rank of warrant officer. In 2014, the first graduation took place, sending 140 people into the troops, whose level of training was practically not inferior to that of an officer.

Now in the RVVDKU the so-called “sergeant school”, the graduates of which receive the rank of “warrant officer”, is even slightly larger in number than the “lieutenant school”. And the competition for admission to both streams of study is almost the same - both are high.

To summarize: the rank of “warrant officer” in the Russian army has been completely “rehabilitated.” Moreover, he was returned to combat status and technical application. Without that middle management that gets things done high level, there is no way around it.

An ensign is again, as under Peter the Great, an exemplary military man who can be trusted to carry the banner.

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Combat ensign. Ensigns of the Russian Army: in the area of ​​special attention

Ensign