Generalissimus of the Soviet Union (russian: Генералиссимус Советского Союза, Generalissimus Sovetskogo Soyuza) was a

military rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a ...

proposed for

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was styled after a similar Imperial Russian Army rank held by

Aleksei Shein Aleksei Semyonovich Shein (Алексей Семенович Шеин in Russian, 1662 – February 12, 1700) was a Russian commander and statesman, the first Russian Generalissimo (1696), boyar, great-grandson of Mikhail Shein. Shein origina ...

, Prince

Alexander Danilovich Menshikov Prince Aleksander Danilovich Menshikov (russian: Алекса́ндр Дани́лович Ме́ншиков, tr. ; – ) was a Russian statesman, whose official titles included Generalissimo, Prince of the Russian Empire and Duke of Izho ...

, (reportedly)

Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick Anthony Ulrich (; 28 August 1714, Bevern – 4 May 1774 (O.S.), Kholmogory), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was Generalissimo of the Army of Russia, and the husband of Anna Leopoldovna, who reigned as regent of Russia for one year. Biograph ...

, and Count

Alexander Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Rymnik, Count of the Holy ...

. However, Stalin eventually rejected the rank, deeming it too ostentatious. It would have been the highest military rank in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Overview

The rank was first proposed on 26 June 1945. According to Stalin biographer Robert Service, Stalin regretted allowing himself the ostentatious military title and asked

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

to continue to refer to him as a

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

instead.Service, Robert (2005). ''Stalin: A Biography''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p. 548. . Stalin rejected any kind of distinctions between his military rank and the other Soviet marshals and kept using the original

Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...

insignia and uniform. The possibility of the Generalissimus of the Soviet Union rank was mentioned again in 1947 when a draft of a decree about Soviet military ranks was presented to Stalin. General

Andrey Khrulyov General Andrei Vasilyevich Khrulyov (russian: Андрей Васильевич Хрулёв) (, village of Bolshaya Alexandrovka, Saint Petersburg Governorate - June 9, 1962, Moscow) was a Soviet military commander and politician. Early life ...

, director of the General Department of Logistics, was tasked with designing a Soviet Generalissimus uniform for Stalin to use in the

victory parade A victory parade is a parade held to celebrate a victory. Numerous military and sport victory parades have been held. Military victory parades Among the most famous parades are the victory parades celebrating the end of the First World War a ...

on May 9, 1947. The uniform was finished and presented to Stalin one week before the parade. After examining it, Stalin again expressed dissatisfaction. He declared: "I will never sign this decree. The Soviet Red Army only has Marshal as its highest rank." The subject of new rank was not raised again. Fabricated samples were rejected by Stalin, who considered them to be too luxurious and old-fashioned. Currently they are stored in the Museum of the Great Patriotic War located in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Poklonnaya Gora Poklonnaya Gora (russian: Покло́нная гора́, literally "bow-down hill"; metaphorically "Worshipful Submission Hill"') is, at 171.5 meters, one of the highest natural spots in Moscow. Its two summits used to be separated by the Setun ...

. Stalin taking this rank might have invited a comparison between him and the Spanish fascist dictator Francisco Franco, who did hold the rank of

Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

and was widely known as such.

Proposed shoulder insignia

Below are proposed designs of the shoulder insignia of Generalissimus of the Soviet Union. File:Generalissimus 1.svg File:Generalissimus 2.svg File:Project of the Generalissimo of the USSR's rank insignia - Variant 5.png File:Project of the Generalissimo of the USSR's rank insignia - Variant 4.png File:Project of the Generalissimo of the USSR's rank insignia - Variant 1.png File:Rank insignia of генералиссимус Советского Союза.svg, This insignia was a part of the uniform which was presented to, but rejected by, Stalin.

References

Bibliography

External links

Generalissimus of the Soviet Union
{{Highest Military Ranks Military ranks of the Soviet Union Titles held only by one person

Overview

Proposed shoulder insignia

See also

References

Bibliography

External links