Wearing lieutenant shoulder straps again prestigious

There was such an officer's rank in the old Russian army - lieutenant. Two small asterisks across one lumen. Who today does not recognize the difference in lieutenant shoulder straps in these marks?

Having spent half a decade at the Higher Military School, the cadets become officers. This event is solemnly celebrated, special military rituals are included , including the obligatory passage of graduates with a ceremonial step in front of the formation. After the ceremonial lieutenant shoulder straps are issued, all graduated military specialists begin a new life connected with the service to the Motherland.

The history of the appearance of this sign on which the rank of a serviceman is determined is interesting. Officers in Peter's time did without the stars on their shoulders. But the rank and file since 1696 had special little breeches, which prevented the belt from sliding down during the march.

Alexander I introduced a system of recognition, which became the prototype of the modern army hierarchy, but epaulettes meant not ranks, but belonging to the regiment. The figure, and if a military man served in the Life Guards, the letter was applied to a shoulder strap of the appropriate color (red, blue, white or green), depending on the number occupied by the division in the division.

In 1911, according to the order of the Military Department, as was then called the Ministry of Defense, insignia were established, which became the basis of the Soviet system of titles.

From 1917 to 1943 our officers did without shoulder straps. They were replaced by "sleepers", "cubes", lozenges on buttonholes. It was believed that the Red Workers 'and Peasants' Army (RKKA) fundamentally differs from the armed forces of other states (not to mention the Russian Empire) by the fact that the commanders are now not soldiers for soldiers, but friends-comrades.

After Stalingrad and Kursk shoulder straps were returned to Soviet soldiers and officers. A significant role in this was played by the fact that the enemies, by habit of all the Red Army soldiers, were called Russians regardless of nationality. In addition, patriotism is easier to propagate, relying on old traditions.

Where did the Lieutenant shoulder straps come from? Photos, yellowed from the time, depicting Russian officers of the First World War, testify to continuity. Dimensions, width of the lumen and asterisks are the same as those of the second lieutenant of the tsarist army, with the exception of figures denoting the number of the part. It is understandable: it is not always necessary to facilitate enemy reconnaissance the task of determining the deployment of military units.

"One lumen in life, and the one on epaulets," joked the young officers who had recently graduated from college. They had in mind a low official salary combined with distribution to distant garrisons, with an uncomfortable way of life and more than modest supplies. So it was in the fifties, in the sixties, in the seventies, and in the eighties. In the last decades of the Soviet Union, lieutenants' shoulder straps have lost their prestige.

Then came the nightmarish nineties. Officer families, directly dependent on the state, found themselves in such a humiliating position that the Russian army had not known since 1917. Soldiers who wore not only lieutenant shoulder straps, but also with larger stars, massively retired from service or tried to earn money by any available means.

The officer corps in any civilized country is the elite of society. Defense of the homeland is an honorable occupation. In recent years, the country's leadership has realized the importance of this part of our society. Once Napoleon I expressed the idea that a state that does not contain its army, is forced to further feed someone else's food.

Today, Russian officers, including younger ones, receive quite a decent monetary allowance. Lieutenant's shoulder straps are again worn and prestigious.