Kapitan (rank)
 in the Russian Army |
|
|---|---|
 
|
|
| Rank insignia | Armed Forces of the Russian Federation |
| Introduction | 1935 to the Red Army |
| Rank group | Commanding staff |
| Army / Air Force | Kapitan |
| Navy | Kapitan-leytenant |
| NATO equivalent |
OR-2 |
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.
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 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.
In Russia, the military rank Kapitan was introduced in the XVI century to foreign officers, appointed to commander of company sized units. In the XVII – XVII 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.
...
Wikipedia