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Kapitan (rank)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kapitein, mil. engineering, Netherlands ca. 1900.

Kapitan (derived from French: capitaine; before Latin: capitaneus – (military) leader, count, or chairman of a parish council; or from Latin: caput – head, main, chief, primary, principal, general, central, leading, etc.) is used manifold as rank, grade, or rank designation in the Army, Air Force or Navy of numerous countries and armed forces. In member countries of NATO-alliance Kapitan is a commissioned officer rank, rated OF-2 in line to the NATO officers rank system. The almost equivalent OF-2 officer, e.g. in the US Army, is the Captain rank.

Historical roots

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Kapitan (appointment, later rank) was used first in the middle age in France in order to designate leaders of the military districts or regions. In the second half of the 16th century, it came in use to specify commanding officers of company-sized units. In the 19th century it became gradually a military rank, and was used in combination with other noun, e.g. Stabs-kapitan (ru: штабс-капитан Russian Imperial Army) Kapitan-leytenant (naval forces). The rank designation Kapitan contains a common syllable and historical roots in a number of European countries at the one hand. Slight national variations of spelling are for the sake of the historical and heraldic tradition, at the other hand.

Different countries

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Russia

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Kapitan
Kапита́н
Army and air force insignia
Country Russia
Service branch Russian Ground Forces
 Russian Air Force
Non-NATO rankOF-2
Formation16th century
Next higher rankMajór
Next lower rankStárshiy leytenánt
Equivalent ranksKapitan-leytenant

In Russia, the military rank Kapitan was introduced in the 16th century to foreign officers, appointed to commander of company-sized units. In the 17th – 18th century this rank became open to all company commanders, serving in the regular army. In the cavalierly (in dragoon regiments and Special Corps of Gendarmes) the equivalent to Kapitan was Rotmister (derived from the German Rittmeister), and in the Cossacks corps it was Yesaul.

In the Russian Army (1855–1917) and in the so-called White Army braid shoulder boards with one central stripe have been worn (see picture 1, below). As the Major-rank was abolished in May 1884, the Kapitan-rank was upgraded to level VIII in the rank table. However, the Guards kapitan became equivalent to generic Podpolkovnik in the Army.

In the civil administration Kapitan of the infantry was equivalent to the Council assessor (ru: коллежский асессор; kollezhsky asessor) from 1884, and Titular adviser (ru: титулярный советник, tituljarny sovetnik) until 1884.

Sequence of ranks RIA 1917
lower rank:
Shtabs-kapitan

(en: Staff captain)



Kapitan
(en: Captain)
higher rank:
Major
(en: Major)

Some examples of rank insignia (epaulette, shoulder board), used by RIA IRA, are shown below:

Soviet Union and Russian Federation

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In the armed forces of the Soviet Union (later Russian Federation) the Kapitan´s rank (to Army, Air Force, and Navy land services) was introduced by disposal of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union and the Council of People's Commissars, from September 22, 1935.[1] It was equivalent to the rank kapitan-leytenant (ru: капитан-лейтенант) of the Navy.

If military personnel serves in a guards formation, or on a guards war ship, to the rank designation will be placed in front the noun guards (e.g. "Gurds kapitan"). Civil – or military personnel with a specific defined level of expertise or knowledge in medical or judicial professions, to the military rank will be added the noun "legal or the wording "medical service". Further adding to the military rank designation might be "retired" or "on retirement".

Personnel serving in the executive of the Russian Federation might be specified by rank designation as follows.

  • Kapitan of the Police (until March 1, 2011 Kapitan of the Militsiya)
  • Kapitan of the Internal Troops
  • Kapitan investigation of tax offence
Sequence of ranks ascending
lower rank:
Starshy leytenant

(en: 1st lieutenant)



Kapitan
(en: Captain)
higher rank:
Major

(en: Major)

Rank insignia

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Some examples of rank insignia (shoulder, collar, and sleeve), used by Russia and the USSR, are shown below:

Kapitan ranks by country

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Army ranks

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Decree of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union and the Council of People's Commissars, from September 22, 1935, on introduction of individual military rank designation to commanding personnel of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.
  2. ^ "GRADAT, FORCA TOKËSORE" (PDF). aaf.mil.al (in Albanian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Указ Президента Республики Беларусь от 21.07.2009 N 388 "О военной форме одежды, знаках различия по воинским званиям и внесении дополнений в Указ Президента Республики Беларусь от 9 июня 2006 г. N 383"". pravo.levonevsky.org/ (in Russian). Government of Belarus. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  4. ^ "OBILJEŽJA I ČINOVI OS BIH". os.mod.gov.ba (in Bosnian). Oružane snage Bosne i Hercegovine. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  5. ^ "ЗАКОН ЗА ОТБРАНАТА И ВЪОРЪЖЕНИТЕ СИЛИ НА РЕПУБЛИКА БЪЛГАРИЯ". lex.bg (in Bulgarian). Глава седма. ВОЕННА СЛУЖБА. 12 May 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Ranks". army.cz. Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic. 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  7. ^ "სამხედრო წოდებები და ინსიგნიები" [Military Ranks and Insignia]. mod.gov.ge (in Georgian). Ministry of Defense of Georgia. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Emblems and Ranks". mod.rks-gov.net. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Karių laipsnių ženklai". kariuomene.kam.lt (in Lithuanian). Ministry of National Defence (Lithuania). Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  10. ^ "УРЕДБА ЗА ОЗНАКИТЕ ЗА УНИФОРМИТЕ НА АРМИЈАТА НА РЕПУБЛИКА СЕВЕРНА МАКЕДОНИЈА" [Regulation on the Markings for the Uniforms of the Army of the Republic Northern of Macedonia]. dejure.mk (in Macedonian). 12 November 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Epoleţi". army.md (in Romanian). Ministry of Defense. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  12. ^ "IV. Izgled Činova u Vojsci". Official Gazette of Montenegro (in Montenegrin). 50/10: 22–28. 16 August 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Sposób noszenia odznak stopni wojskowych na umundurowaniu wojsk Lądowych i sił Powietrznych" (PDF). wojsko-polskie.pl (in Polish). Armed Forces Support Inspectorate. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Grade militare (Military ranks)". defense.ro (in Romanian). Romanian Defence Staff. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 11 марта 2010 года № 293 "О военной форме одежды, знаках различия военнослужащих и ведомственных знаках отличия"". rg.ru (in Russian). Российской газеты. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  16. ^ "ЧИНОВИ У ВОЈСЦИ СРБИЈЕ". vs.rs (in Serbian). Serbian Armed Forces. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Označenie vojenských hodností príslušníkov Ozbrojených síl Slovenskej republiky od 1.1.2016" [Designation of military ranks of members of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic from 1.1.2016]. vhu.sk (in Slovak). Military History Institute. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  18. ^ "НАКАЗ 20.11.2017 № 606". zakon.rada.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2021.