Ober-officers in Russia: titles, titles. Who are the "children of the chief officers"?

The Ober-officer, the headquarters officer, is the division into ranks of officers in the Russian army until 1917. The last of them was higher - from the major to the colonel. And the chief officer is the junior officer, from ensign to captain. The notion of "junior" in our case should be distinguished from the term "non-commissioned officer" - a transitional rank between soldiers and officers, which gave particularly distinguished soldiers who did not have a noble title.

Analogy can be done with a modern army: for the rank of officer, there is a need for higher military education, so there are "transitional" titles - foremen and ensigns. Let us pass directly to the ranks of the chief officers.

Ensign

The ensigns - the chief officers, who carried one star on the chase (in some cases none) - this is the lowest rank on the path of an officer's career. In artillery this title did not exist - he was matched by a bayonet-junker. So, ensign is one of the main characters in the "Bela" M. Yu. Lermontov - Pechorin.

Second Lieutenant, Coronet and Cornet

Ober-officers could also have the title of lieutenants. On shoulder straps they could see two asterisks. The cornet and cornet in the cavalry were likened to the rank of second lieutenant. The first rank in this case was met only by the Cossacks, the second - from other cavalry arms. In the Navy, this title corresponded to the midshipman.

It must be understood that military reforms have been going on all the time in the army and the navy. The Ober-officers were also drawn into them. Since 1884, the rank of ensign has been abolished, and the first junior officer ranked lieutenant and cornet.

The lieutenant

The Ober-officers received the rank of lieutenant. In the Cossack troops they corresponded to the centurion. The lieutenants wore shoulder straps with three asterisks on each. By the way, this title is often found in different heroes in Russian classical literature. And there is an explanation: lieutenants are young people, but they are not young. Now they make "adult" mistakes and miscalculations. Among them there are those who lost their cards, heroes, cowards, etc. The lieutenant corresponds to the rank of a senior lieutenant in the modern Russian army.

Staff-Captain

In the cavalry, the title of captain-captain corresponded to the rank of captain-captain, the Cossacks - to the captain. They wore shoulder straps with four stars on each. Let us recall once again the work of M. Yu. Lermontov "The Hero of Our Time". There, this rank was worn by simple-minded and kind Maxim Maximovich.

Captain

The captain is the highest officer officer rank. In cavalry, he was captain of the captain, and in the Cossacks - captain. The captain commanded a company or battery, captain - squadron.

Life Grenadier Regiment

Special honor in the Russian army enjoyed an ober-officer of the Life Grenadier Regiment. Those who wore this title, always made this an accent in any conversation.

The Life Grenadier Regiment is the elite of the Russian tsarist army. He got his name from a hand grenade with a wick - grenades. The first grenadiers are soldiers who fired such grenades. To do this, it was necessary to quickly get close to the enemy. It is natural that the grenadiers bore the greatest losses in battles. For them, they always made exceptions both in the charter and in the staffing of personnel.

In 1756, in Riga, the first Grenadier Regiment was formed under the decree of Empress Elizabeth. Before that, grenadier companies were auxiliary in infantry regiments. The first Grenadier Regiment heroically displayed itself in the Battle of Kunersdorf during the Seven Years' War. It was his attack that decided the outcome of the whole battle. In 1760, the unit occupied the neighborhood of Berlin. The regiment was noted for its bravery in the Russo-Turkish wars, and in 1775 he was given the rank of Leib Grenadier Regiment. To serve in it was considered honorable, and at its acquisition the rigid selection of candidates was spent.

The nobility as a factor in the manning of officers

It should not be forgotten that officers in Russia before the revolution are not only a military post, but also a public title. Before the revolution, it was considered synonymous with the concept of "nobleman", since it was the nobility who considered duty to the Fatherland as their duty, the officers were completed. For this state and gave them privileges. Only the military officer's service was considered honorable among the privileged class.

It is no accident that during the revolution the Bolsheviks used the term "officer" in a negative light, emphasizing their class affiliation. During the reform of the Soviet army, during the Great Patriotic War, many Soviet combatants and corps commanders who fought in the Civil War for the Red Army massively wrote reports on dismissals. They said that the concept of "officer" is perceived in their minds as "enemy", "nobleman", so they can not be called "Soviet officers".

Then the motivation for introducing the innovation was the following: the Germans threatened not the Soviet regime, but the Motherland, so it was necessary to forget the ideological and political differences and defend the interests of Russia. In the course of the reform, a spirit of continuity was created with tsarist military victories. Prior to that, any mention was made of the glorious victories of Russian commanders in the pre-revolutionary period.

"Children of Ober Officers"

Peter the Great also understood that the hard caste system in Russia adversely affected the development of the state: almost the entire population was in a state of apathy, indifference. The nobility knew that in any case they would advance along the career ladder. The rest, on the contrary, understood that under no circumstances "it is impossible to" jump above the head. " The great reformer violated this centuries-old tradition: in the Table of Ranks appeared ranks, to which all estates could have advanced.

Revolutionary was the fact that upon attaining this rank a person acquired the title of nobleman. His future children also had the right to receive this title. In fact, there was a revolution that abolished the strict caste system in our country. However, those children who were born before their father was given the proper rank, were given a special status - "sons (children) of the chief officers".

So, let's analyze in more detail what kind of nobility is in this case. How could the son of the Ober-Officer get a privileged title? Only personal merit. For all the rest, a special exempt class was introduced, which was higher than their original position, but lower than the nobility. Later, in 1832, "children of the Ober-officers" will receive a special status - "honorary citizens".