Starshy praporshchik

Starshy praporshchik in the Russian Army
Rank insignia	Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
Introduction	1981 to the Soviet Army
Rank group	Praposhchiks
Army / Air Force	Starshy praporshchik
Navy	Starshy michman
NATO equivalent	OR-9a

Starshy praporshchik (Russian: Cтарший прапорщик; en: senior – or chief praporshchik is the highest rank of the praporshchik career group in modern days Russian Federations’ armed forces. It may still be used in other uniformed services of the Russian government such as the Police. It was introduced to the Soviet Army, January 12, 1981, parallel to Starshy michman of the Soviet Navy.

Praporshchik ranks of the Russian armed forces from 1994

Sequence of ranks in Russian Federation´s army

junior rank: Praporshchik

Starshy praporshchik

senior rank: Mladshy leytenant

1994-2010	Ground Forces (Army)		Air Force		Airborne Troops		Field uniform
	Starshy praporshchik	Praporshchik	Starshy praporshchik	Praporshchik	Starshy praporshchik	Praporshchik	Starshy praporshchik	Praporshchik
from 2010	Ground forces (Army)		Air Force		Airborne troops		Fields uniform
	Starshy praporshchik	Praporshchik	Starshy praporshchik	Praporshchik	Starshy praporshchik	Praporshchik	Starshy praporshchik	Praporshchik

Soviet Army and Militia

In the Soviet Army, the reintroduction of the praporshchik rank in 1972, and starshy praporshchik in 1981, along with the michman and styarshiz michmanranks in the Soviet Navy, marked the attempt to recreate a corps of contract non-commissioned officers similar to master sergeants and chief petty officers, the role that was previously reserved for senior drafted personnel. Contrary to Western practice of assigning the senior sergeant ranks to veteran soldiers, the Soviet ranks of starshina and sergeant were routinely assigned to 20-year-old soldiers at the end of their 2-year draft. The praporshchiks were aged volunteers and were expected to have more authority over draftsmen than similarly aged sergeants; they are placed in a separate category of "master non-commissioned officers" (praporshchik and michman).

Shoulder boards USSR and Russian Federation (1971 − 1994):

	Mechanized infantry, shoulder board army (general) land forces (general)		Теchnical troops, engineers, armour, artillery, missile troops (including: MT grund forces SMT, Air defence MT), Vehicle transport troops, construction troops		Air Force Naval aviation Airborne forces		FSIN MES Russia Militia (until 2011) Police (from 2011)
	Everyday uniform	Everyday uniform
from 1971 from 1991
	Praposhchik (1971-1994)	Strashy praporshchik (1981-1994)	Praposhchik (1971-1994)	Strashy praporshchik (1981-1994)	Praposhchik (1971-1994)	Strashy praporshchik (1981-1994)	Praposhchik	Strashy praporshchik

See also

• Ranks and rank insignia of the Soviet Army 1955–1991,
• Ranks and rank insignia of the Russian Federation´s armed forces 1994–2010

In other countries

The starshina as an enlisted rank is still used in the military ranks of the Russian Federation, Bulgaria and Ukraine.

• ⇒ Azerbaijani: Baş Gizir
• ⇒ Belarusian: Старшы прапаршчык; starshy praporshchyk
• ⇒ Lithuanian: Vyresnysis praporščikas
• ⇒ Polish: Starszy chorąży
• ⇒ Slovene: Nadpráporčík
• ⇒ Slovene: Višji praporščak
• ⇒ Ukrainian: Старший прапорщик; starshy praporshchik