The ranks and rank insignia of the Soviet Armed Forces between 1955 and 1991 were distinguished by the reorganisation of the Soviet armed forces after the death of Stalin, resulting in changes to ranks, insignia, and uniforms.

Army and air forces Shoulder straps to field utilization In December 1956 the coloured border piping on officers' shoulder straps was changed. A cinnamon-brown color was used instead of the burgundy red previously worn by commanders and commanding officers. All other officers and other ranks wore corps colours as follows: Motorised & mechanised rifles – raspberry Artillery & armored troops – black, red Air Force & aviation – blue Technical troops of any kind and the navy – black

The regimental numberings of the 1943 system were removed altogether.

Non-commissioned officers and enlisted men

Rank group Warrant officers Non-commissioned officers Enlisted men Shoulder boards(motorized infantry troops) Shoulder boards(artillery, rocket, tank, engineering, construction,automobile, railway troops, signal-corps,troops of radiation, chemical and biological protection) Shoulder boards(air force & aviation) US equivalent Chief warrant officer Warrant officer Command sergeant major Sergeant major Master sergeant Sergeant Private first class Private

Colors by type of troops: motorized infantry troops – red (scarlet); artillery, rocket, tank, engineering, construction, automobile, railway troops, signal-corps, troops of radiation, chemical and biological protection – black; air force and airborne troops – sky blue; state security troops (KGB troops) – dark blue, instead of the letters "СА" () the letters "" ( – State Security); internal troops (Interior Ministry troops) – crimson (dark red), instead of the letters "СА" () the letters "" (); border troops – green, instead of the letters "" () the letters "" ().

Officers Marshals of the branch The rank of Army general was only awarded to officers of the army from the infantry branch directly, all other branches and services were promoted to the ranks of marshal and chief marshal of the branch (equivalents, respectively, to the ranks of Army general and Marshal of the Soviet Union). Rank Chief marshal of the branch Insignia Rank designation Translation Chief marshal of artillery Chief marshal of aviation Chief marshal of the armoured troops Chief marshal of the signal troops Chief marshal of the engineer troops Rank Marshal of the branch Insignia Rank designation Translation Marshal of artillery Marshal of aviation Marshal of the armoured troops Marshal of the signal troops Marshal of the engineer troops

Army officers and generals (all services) Shoulder boards(Ground forces) Shoulder boards(Technical forces) Shoulder boards(Air force) US equivalent General of the Army General Lieutenant general Major general Brigadier general Colonel Lieutenant colonel Major Captain First lieutenant Second lieutenant

Student officers Parade uniform Army Air force Translation Cadet sergeant major Cadet senior sergeant Cadet sergeant Cadet junior sergeant Cadet first class Cadet

Navy Ratings of the Navy, coastal services and other shore commands Rank group Warrant officers Boatswain/petty officers Enlisted men Shoulder boards US equivalent Chief warrant officer Warrant officer Fleet/force master chief petty officer Senior chief petty officer Chief petty officer Petty officer second class Seaman Seaman recruit

Letter codes from 1972 onward The letter imprint "" on army shoulder boards stood for () and was the symbol of adherence to the Soviet Army. The letter imprint on Soviet navy shoulder boards symbolised the adherence to the appropriate fleet or naval major command.Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 10th edition 1982, order number: 576 973 7, licence number: 433 130/182/82, volume IV, page 128-129 "Rank insignia of the Soviet Navy" – Fleet (), general personnel of the Navy – Baltic Fleet () – Black Sea Fleet () – Northern Fleet () – Pacific Fleet () Other letter symbols – () – Internal Troops – () – students of military musician schools or cadets of military bands – () – armed forces (Soviet Army, later USSR armed forces, also Armed forces of the USSR) – () – Committee for State Security (KGB) – () – higher military college student – () – cadet in the Nakhimov Naval School – () – border troops – () – special school – () – cadet at a Suvorov Military School

Naval officers and flag officers (all services) Rank group Flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Shoulder board Sleeve insignia US equivalent Fleet admiral Admiral Vice admiral Rear admiral(upper half) Rear admiral(lower half) Captain Commander Lieutenant commander Lieutenant Lieutenant(junior grade) Ensign Midshipman

See also History of Russian military ranks Ranks and insignia of the Imperial Russian Armed Forces Military ranks of the Soviet Union (1918–1935) Military ranks of the Soviet Union (1935–1940) Military ranks of the Soviet Union (1940–1943) Military ranks of the Soviet Union (1943–1955) Ranks and rank insignia of the Russian Federation´s armed forces 1994–2010

References

Bibliography