The rank of lieutenant in Eastern Europe ( hr, poručnik, cs, poručík, pl, porucznik, russian: script=latn, poruchik, sr, script=latn, poručnik, sk, poručík) is one used in Slavophone armed forces. Depending on the country, it is either the lowest or second lowest officer rank.

Etymology

The rank designation might be derived from russian: поpученец (a person tasked by a special mission); russian: поручение (to receive an order) or russian: пору́чить (tasked to look after). Normally the received military orders in written form and was responsible to meet the particular goals and objectives anticipated.

Russian imperial armed forces

The

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

introduced this rank first in middle of the 17th century, by the

Strelets , image = 01 106 Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = , dates = 1550–1720 , disbanded = , country = Tsardom of Russia , allegiance = Streltsy D ...

so-called

New Order Regiments "New order regiments" ''(Russian: "Полки иноземного (нового) строя")'', also known in the literature as "foreign formation regiments", were professional military units formed in Russian Tsardom in the 17th century, armed ...

, reflected in the

Table of Ranks The Table of Ranks (russian: Табель о рангах, Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a s ...

. A ''poruchik'' was normally assigned to assistant

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of a

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

, later

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

. In 1798 this particular rank designation was replaced by

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

beginning with the

Russian Guards Guards (russian: гвардия) or Guards units (russian: гвардейские части, ''gvardeyskiye chasti'') were elite military units of Imperial Russia prior to 1917–18. The designation of Guards was subsequently adopted as a distin ...

, followed by other military units, and legalised by the

Lieutenant (Eastern Europe)'s insignia

Bosnia and Herzegovina 1st Lieutenant Insignia.svg,
( Bosnian Ground Forces) Army-HRV-OF-01b.svg,
(

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF). Role and deployment The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national i ...

) CzArmy 2011 OF1b-Poruchik shoulder.svg,
(

Czech Land Forces The Czech Land Forces ( cs, Pozemní síly) are the land warfare force of the Czech Republic. The Land Forces consisting of various types of arms and services complemented by air and special operations forces constitute the core of the Czech Ar ...

) 10-APM-1LT.svg,

( North Macedonian Ground Forces) 11-Montenegro Army-1LT.svg,
( Montenegrin Ground Army) Army-POL-OF-01a.svg,
(

Polish Land Forces The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...

) 10-Serbian Army-LT.svg,

(

Serbian Army The Serbian Army ( sr-cyr, Копнена војска Србије, Kopnena vojska Srbije, lit=Serbian Land Army) is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. History Originally established in 1830 as the Army of Pr ...

) Army-SVK-OF-01b.svg,
(

Slovak Ground Forces The Slovak Ground Forces, also known as the Slovak Army, is the land specialized service branch of the Slovak Armed Forces. Structure Ground Forces Command * Ground Forces Command, in Trenčín (Commander: 2 Star General) ** Command Suppo ...

) 12-Slovenian Army-2LT.svg,
(

Slovenian Ground Force The Slovenian Ground Force is the primary component of Slovenian Armed Forces. History The current Slovenian Armed Forces are descended from the Territorial Defense of the Republic of Slovenia (''Teritorialna Obramba Republike Slovenije''; ''TO ...

)

References

{{reflist Military ranks of Poland Military ranks of Russia Military ranks of the Soviet Union hr:Poručnik

Etymology

Russian imperial armed forces

Lieutenant (Eastern Europe)'s insignia

See also

References