1.
Marshal's Star
–
The marshals star is an additional badge of rank worn by marshals of the armed forces of the Soviet Union, and subsequently the Russian Federation. The armed forces of the former Soviet Union and the Russian Federation have two such insignia for higher ranks, both in the form of a five-pointed star of gold and platinum with diamonds. They are worn around neck when in parade uniform, there are two different sizes of star. Officially their names have changed, depending on what ranks received the right to them, and are known as the large marshals star. The marshals star corresponds with the use of the marshals baton. On the death of the recipient, the award is returned to the fund for re-use. The official name, size and number of diamonds correspond to the marshals rank, marshals stars were first awarded to the marshals of the Soviet Union and admirals of the fleet of the Soviet Union. In time, smaller stars were awarded to marshals of an arm of service and chief marshals of an arm of service, admirals of the fleet, in the center is a platinum, five-pointed star with diamonds. The diamonds in the center have a weight of 2.62 carats. Between the edges of rays are 5 diamonds weighing a total of 3.06 carats, the diameter of the gold star is 44.5 millimetres and the platinum stars are 23 millimetres in diameter. The star has a depth of 8 millimetres, the marshals star has a triangular eyelet in the upper beam which is connected to an oval eyelet measuring 14 millimetres. The marshals star is suspended by a 25 millimetres moire ribbon, the total weight of the large marshals star is 36.8 grams. Approximately 200 of this type of marshals star were produced, in the armed forces of the Russian Federation the marshal´s star – big was distinction insignia to the OF10-rank marshal of the Russian Federation until January 21,1997. However, after promotion from marshal of the branch to chief marshal of the branch the appropriate general officers continued to wear the marshal´s star – small, the decoration is a five-pointed gold star with smooth dihedral rays on the obverse. On top of the star there is a smaller five-pointed star made of platinum. In the center of the star there is a 2. 04-carat diamond. In the rays of platinum star there are twenty five 0. 91-carat diamonds, the total diameter of the gold star is 42 millimetres and it weighs 35.1 grams. It is connected to a ribbon in the same way as the large star
2.
Soviet Union
–
The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
3.
Soviet Army
–
It had 2.4 million men under its service during the Cold War. At the end of World War II the Red Army had over 500 rifle divisions and their experience of war gave the Soviets such faith in tank forces that the infantry force was cut by two-thirds. The Tank Corps of the war period were converted to tank divisions. MRDs had three motorized rifle regiments and a regiment, for a total of ten motor rifle battalions and six tank battalions. The Land Forces Chief Command was created for the first time in March 1946, four years later it was disbanded, only to be formed again in 1955. In March 1964 the Chief Command was again disbanded but recreated in November 1967, the personnel strength of the Ground Forces was reduced from 9.8 million to 2.4 million. Elsewhere, they may have assisted the NKVD in suppressing resistance in Western Ukraine. Soviet troops, including the 39th Army, remained at Port Arthur, control was then handed over to the new Chinese communist government. Soviet Army forces on USSR territory were apportioned among military districts, there were 32 of them in 1945. Sixteen districts remained from the mid-1970s to the end of the USSR, yet, the greatest Soviet Army concentration was in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, which suppressed the anti-Soviet Uprising of 1953 in East Germany. East European Groups of Forces were the Northern Group of Forces in Poland, and the Southern Group of Forces in Hungary, in 1958, Soviet troops were withdrawn from Romania. The Central Group of Forces in Czechoslovakia was established after Warsaw Pact intervention against the Prague Spring of 1968. In 1969, at the east end of the Soviet Union, the Sino-Soviet border conflict, prompted establishment of a 16th military district, in 1979, the Soviet Union entered Afghanistan, to support its Communist government, provoking a 10-year Afghan mujahideen guerrilla resistance. Throughout the Cold War, Western intelligence estimates calculated that the Soviet strength remained ca.2.8 million to ca.5.3 million men, by the middle of the 1980s the Ground Forces contained about 210 divisions. About three-quarters were motor rifle divisions and the tank divisions. There were also a number of artillery divisions, separate artillery brigades, engineer formations. However, only relatively few formations were fully war ready, three readiness categories, A, B, and V, after the first three letters of the Cyrillic alphabet, were in force. The Category A divisions were certified combat-ready and were fully equipped, B and V divisions were lower-readiness, 50–75% and 10–33% respectively
4.
NATO
–
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party, three NATO members are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and are officially nuclear-weapon states. NATOs headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons. NATO is an Alliance that consists of 28 independent member countries across North America and Europe, an additional 22 countries participate in NATOs Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the global total, Members defence spending is supposed to amount to 2% of GDP. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004. N. The Treaty of Brussels, signed on 17 March 1948 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the treaty and the Soviet Berlin Blockade led to the creation of the Western European Unions Defence Organization in September 1948. However, participation of the United States was thought necessary both to counter the power of the USSR and to prevent the revival of nationalist militarism. He got a hearing, especially considering American anxiety over Italy. In 1948 European leaders met with U. S. defense, military and diplomatic officials at the Pentagon, marshalls orders, exploring a framework for a new and unprecedented association. Talks for a new military alliance resulted in the North Atlantic Treaty and it included the five Treaty of Brussels states plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the goal was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in. Popular support for the Treaty was not unanimous, and some Icelanders participated in a pro-neutrality, the creation of NATO can be seen as the primary institutional consequence of a school of thought called Atlanticism which stressed the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation. The members agreed that an attack against any one of them in Europe or North America would be considered an attack against them all. The treaty does not require members to respond with military action against an aggressor, although obliged to respond, they maintain the freedom to choose the method by which they do so. This differs from Article IV of the Treaty of Brussels, which states that the response will be military in nature. It is nonetheless assumed that NATO members will aid the attacked member militarily, the treaty was later clarified to include both the members territory and their vessels, forces or aircraft above the Tropic of Cancer, including some Overseas departments of France. The creation of NATO brought about some standardization of allied military terminology, procedures, and technology, the roughly 1300 Standardization Agreements codified many of the common practices that NATO has achieved
5.
Generalissimus of the Soviet Union
–
Generalissimus of the Soviet Union was a proposed military rank created on 27 June 1945, following the tradition of the Imperial Russian Army. It was granted to Joseph Stalin following World War II, however and it would have been the highest military rank in the Soviet Union. This military rank was created for Joseph Stalin. The matter about Generalissimus of the Soviet Union was mentioned again after the war, the uniform was finished and presented to Stalin one week before the parade. After examining it, Stalin again expressed dissatisfaction, then he took hold of the decree about the generalissimus rank and declared, I will never sign this decree. The Soviet Red Army only has Marshal as its highest rank, thereafter, the subject of new rank was never raised again. Fabricated samples were rejected by Stalin, who considered them to be too luxurious, currently they are stored in the Central Museum of the great Patriotic war located in Moscow at Poklonnaya Gora
6.
Chief marshal of the branch
–
The ranks chief marshal of a branch and marshal of a branch were senior military ranks of the Soviet Armed Forces. Immediately above the rank marshal of a branch is the chief marshal of a branch. Both ranks are immediately above the rank colonel general and equal to Soviet general of the army, the ranks of marshal of aviation, artillery and armoured troops branches were established on February 4,1943, with a large, approximately 50mm wide, shoulder board star. Also, on October 27,1943, the ranks of marshal of the engineer troops. On the uniform tie, marshals wore the star of the 2nd level. In the branches, the rank of general was succeeded by the rank of marshal of the branch. Generals of the army were given the 40mm star shoulder board, marshals of branches were normally eligible for promotion to chief marshal of branch, however, neither was eligible for promotion to marshal of the Soviet Union. After 1984, the rank of marshal was preserved only in the air force, later, the rank of marshal stopped being conferred even in these branches. The ranks of marshal of the branches of aviation, artillery, armoured troops, engineer troops. The three former branches had already had the corresponding ranks of marshal, in the two branches the ranks of marshal and of chief marshal were established simultaneously. On the uniform tie, chief marshals wore the star of the 2nd level. During the next forty years, the ranks of chief marshal were conferred mainly on deputy defense ministers - commanders of the corresponding branch, the ranks of chief marshal of engineer troops and chief marshal of signals, abolished in 1984, were never conferred on anybody. No chief marshal promotions were conferred after 1984, the youngest chief marshal was aviator Golovanov,40 when promoted in 1944. Pavel Fedorovich Zhigarev, appointed 11.3.1955, served as Commander of the Soviet Air Force from 1949 to 1957, konstantin Andreevich Vershinin, appointed 8.05.1959, served as Commander of the Soviet Air Force from 1957 to 1969. Pavel Stepanovich Kutakhov, appointed 03.1972, served as Commander of the Soviet Air Force from 1969 to 1984, boris Pavlovich Bugaev, appointed 1977, served as Minister of Civil Aviation of the USSR from 1970 to 1987. Alexander Ivanovich Koldunov, appointed 1984, served as Commander of Soviet Air Defence Forces from 1978 to 1987
7.
Admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union
–
An admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union (Russian, адмирал флота Cоветского Cоюза / admiral flota Sovietskogo Soyuza, was the highest naval rank of the Soviet Union. It was comparable to NATO five-star rank, the rank was largely honorary and could be considered equivalent to admiral of the fleet in other nations. The holders were entitled to a marshals star, upon its creation, the only two admirals of the fleet, Nikolai Kuznetsov and Ivan Isakov, were promoted to this rank. Less than a year later Kuznetsov was demoted to vice admiral for political reasons in 1956 and his successor, Admiral Sergei Gorshkov, then became the third and final admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union. Gorshkov died in 1988 and no appointments were made before the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. From 1962 onwards, it was one higher than admiral of the fleet. 1955–1991 Marshal of the Soviet Union Soviet military ranks
8.
Five-star rank
–
A five-star rank is a very senior military rank, first established in the United States in 1944, with a five-star insignia, and corresponding ranks in other countries. The rank is that of the most senior military commanders. Not all armed forces have such a rank, and in those that do the actual insignia of the five-star ranks may not contain five stars. Typically, five-star officers hold the rank of general of the army, admiral of the fleet, field marshal, marshal of the air force, general of the air force, five-star ranks are extremely senior—usually the highest ranks. As an active rank, the position only in a minority of countries and is usually held by only a very few officers during wartime. In times of peace, it is held only as an honorary rank. Despite the rarity and seniority of officers, even more senior ranks have been adopted in the United States, namely, admiral of the navy. Other names for highly senior ranks from the century include généralissime, generalisimo. Admiral of the fleet Field marshal Marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force Only one Australian born officer has held a substantive Australian five-star rank, five-star ranks in Brazil are only used in wartime. Marshal Grand Admiral Marshal of the Air Stožerni general awarded to six men, the rank was called stožerni admiral until 1999, only Sveto Letica was awarded this rank – in March 1996, three months before his retirement. For marshals of the Indian Air Force, the patches display five stars, there are today no living marshals of Poland, since this rank is bestowed only on military commanders who have achieved victory in war. Captain general Captain general of the Spanish Navy Captain general of the Spanish Air Force These ranks have been reserved for the reigning monarch, since 1973 the three ranks have been reserved for members of the royal family. The worn insignia of British five-star commanders do not contain stars, promotion to the rank of field marshal was generally stopped in 1995 as a cost-cutting measure but is still made in some cases. In 2014 the former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Stirrup was promoted to the rank of marshal of the RAF. In 1944 the Navy and Army specified that these officers were considered senior to any officers promoted to the ranks within their services. US officers holding five-star rank never retire, they draw full active duty pay for life, the five-star ranks were retired in 1981 on the death of General of the Army Omar Bradley. Nine Americans have been promoted to rank, one of them, Henry H. Arnold. The appointment stated he was to have rank and precedence over all grades of the Army
Soviet Union
Soviet Army
.svg)
