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(; ) is a
military rank Military ranks is a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, Intelligence agency, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military organisation , military lines, such ...
used mostly in Slavic-speaking countries which corresponds to a
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
in English-speaking states, ''coronel'' in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking states and ''
oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...
'' in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries. It was originally a rank in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
and the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. However, in
Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate (; Cossack Hetmanate#Name, see other names), officially the Zaporozhian Host (; ), was a Ukrainian Cossacks, Cossack state. Its territory was located mostly in central Ukraine, as well as in parts of Belarus and southwest ...
and
Sloboda Ukraine Sloboda Ukraine, also known locally as ''Slobozhanshchyna'' or ''Slobozhanshchina'', is a historical region in northeastern Ukraine and southwestern Russia. It developed from Belgorod Razriad and flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries on the ...
, ''polkovnyk'' was an administrative rank similar to a governor. Usually this word is translated as
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
, however the transliteration is also in common usage, for the sake of the historical and social context. began as a commander of a distinct group of troops (''polk''), arranged for battle. The exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spellings in different languages, but all descend from the Old Slavonic word ''polk'' (literally: regiment sized unit), and include the following in alphabetical order: #
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
— #
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
,
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
,
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
and
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
— () #
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
,
North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
— (, ) #
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
and
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
— #
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
— #
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
— It is also used in some non-Slavic languages: #
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
— #
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
— #
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
— #
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
— Lithuania (and likely Latvia) inherited the term from the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
. The rank of was also used in the Estonian army until 1924. Azerbaijan and Georgia inherited it from the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
.


Countries


Russia

In the 17th century, became the position of a
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
al commander of the ''
streltsy The streltsy (, ; , ) were the units of Russian firearm infantry from the 16th century to the early 18th century and also a social stratum, from which personnel for streltsy troops were traditionally recruited. They are also collectively kno ...
''; this position also made it into New Regiments of the ''streltsy'' and later into the new army of
Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
. The rank was legalized by Table of Ranks that placed it in the 6th grade as the second-top field officer, right under the
brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...
. A promotion to the rank of gave a privilege of hereditary
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
. The
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
reintroduced the rank in 1935, together with a number of other former Russian ranks, and it continued to be in used in many ex-
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
countries, including Russia.


Rank insignia

The Rank insignia to Polkovnik (OF-5) is as follows: File:1904ic-p07.png, File:1911-ir001-p15.png, File:1904ossr01-15.png, File:1904-ip100-p15.png, File:1904ir036-p15.png, File:Red Army Polkovnik-1940 & Podpolkovnik-1943v.png, File:RA AF F5-Polkovnik-1940 F4-Podpolkovnik-1943v.png, File:RA A F5-Polkovnik 1943v.png, File:RA AF F5-Polkovnik 1943v.png, File:RA-SA A-inf F5Col 1955.png, File:RAF A F5Col since 2010par.svg, File:RAF AF F5Col since 2010par.svg, File:Russia-Army-OF-5-1994-field.svg, File:Russia-AirBorne-OF-5-1994-field.svg, File:Russia-AirForce-OF-5-1994-field.svg, File:Russia-Army-OF-5-camo.svg, File:RAF A F5-Polkovnik 2010shirt.png, File:Russia-Navy-OF-5-1994-parade.svg, File:VMY Полковник ВВ.gif, File:Russia-Army-OF-5-2010.svg, File:Russia-Army-OF-5.svg, File:RAF NA F5-Polkovniken after2010.png, File:Russia-Police-OF-5-2013.svg,


= See also

= * Ranks and insignia of the Russian armed forces until 1917 *
Ranks and insignia of the Red Army 1935–1940 A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierar ...
, and ... 1940–1943 * Ranks and insignia of the Soviet Army 1943–1955, and ... 1955–1991 * Ranks and insignia of the Russian Federation's armed forces 1994–2010


Poland


As part of the Commonwealth

The rank was first introduced in the armies of the Commonwealth in the 17th century to denote a captain ('' rotmistrz'') of the core
banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Also, ...
of a regiment. By the end of the 17th century, the title of the assignment became a '' de facto'' rank as such and started to denote the
commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, 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 give ...
of the entire regiment. In
mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...
troops fighting in the ranks of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
's army, the direct equivalent of the rank of ''pułkownik'' was ''oberszter'', but in the 18th century the rank was abolished and renamed as ''pułkownik'' as well.


Interwar

During the Sanation in the period between
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, a large number of officers were promoted to the rank, often for political reasons (the rule of the Sanation was even dubbed the ''government of the colonels'' because of that).


World War II

During the
Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
in 1939, the Polish divisions were commanded by officers of many grades, from colonels to three-star generals. In fact 22 divisions out of 42 were commanded by colonels in 1939. The ''pułkownicy'' (plural of ''pułkownik'') also commanded units of all sizes, from divisions down to mere battalions.


Ukraine

In the Zaporozhian Host, the political, social, and military organization of Ukrainian cossacks, the title ''polkovnyk'' indicated a high military rank among the Ukrainian Cossack '' starshyna'' ( officers); a polkovnyk commanded one or more military detachments during land and naval military actions in the 16th to 18th centuries. In the 18th century, a ''polkovnyk'' was a leader of a ''palanka'', a territorial unit of the Zaporozhian Host. The military council elected a ''palanka polkovnyk'' to serve for a term of one year. He represented the Kosh Otaman in the ''palanka'' and had significant powers, including the right to condemn Cossacks to the death penalty. At the time of liquidation of the Zaporozhian Host by the Russian government in 1775, there were eight ''palanka polkovnyks''. As symbol of office a ''polkovnyk'' wore a '' pernach'' (a mace with a hexagonal head; see also '' bulava'') in his belt. In the Registered Cossack Army of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
in the 16th and 17th centuries, a ''polkovnyk'' commanded a
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
(, ''polk''), a Cossack military unit. After the reform of the Cossack army by hetman Mykhailo Doroshenko in the 1620s there were six Cossack regiments, each comprising one thousand Cossacks. ''Polkovnyk''s were elected by the Cossack Council (, ''rada'') subject to the approval of the Polish government. A ''polkovnyk'' obtained a salary for his service, and enjoyed considerable privileges. After the
Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
adopted the "Ordination" of 1638, only noblemen (''
szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...
'') were allowed to become ''polkovnyk''s. During
Khmelnytsky Uprising The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...
(1648–1657) and in the
Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate (; Cossack Hetmanate#Name, see other names), officially the Zaporozhian Host (; ), was a Ukrainian Cossacks, Cossack state. Its territory was located mostly in central Ukraine, as well as in parts of Belarus and southwest ...
(1649–1764; also in the Slobozhanshchyna in 1652–1765), a ''polkovnyk'' headed a territorial administrative unit, the regiment (). In terms of Nobility, Khmelnytsky's Polkovnyks were recognized as equal to Lithuania's Barons.


Colonel (Eastern Europe)'s insignia

File:15.AzAF-COL.png,
( Azerbaijani Land Forces) File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-5.svg,

( Belarusian Ground Forces) File:Bosnia&Herzegovina-Army-OF-4.svg,
( Bosnian Ground Forces) File:Rank insignia of Полковник of the Bulgarian Army.png,

( Bulgarian Land Forces) File:Army-HRV-OF-04.svg,
( Croatian Army) File:CzArmy 2011 OF5-Plukovnik shoulder.svg,
( Czech Land Forces) File:Georgia-Army-OF-5.svg,

(
Georgian Land Forces The Georgian Land Forces ( ka, საქართველოს სახმელეთო ძალები) are the land force component of the Defense Forces of Georgia. They are the largest branch of the military and constitute the bulk o ...
) File:16-RKGF-COL.svg,

(
Kazakh Ground Forces The Kazakh Ground Forces (, ; ) is the land Military branch, service branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is one of the three uniformed military services, and is the most senior branch of the Kazakh military in order of pr ...
) File:13.Kyrgyzstan Army-COL.svg,

( Kyrgyz Army) File:Latvia-Army-OF-5.svg,
( Latvian Land Forces) File:18-Lithuania Army-COL.svg, '
( Lithuanian Land Forces) File:North-Macedonia-Army-OF-4.svg,

( North Macedonian Ground Forces) File:15-Montenegro Army-COL.svg,
( Montenegrin Ground Army) File:Army-POL-OF-05.svg,
(
Polish Land Forces The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history str ...
) File:Russia-Army-OF-5-2010.svg,

( Russian Ground Forces) File:14-Serbian Army-COL.svg,

( Serbian Army) File:Army-SVK-OF-05.svg,
( Slovak Ground Forces) File:17-Slovenian Army-COL.svg,
( Slovenian Ground Force) File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-5.svg,

( Tajik National Army) File:Post-Soviet-Army-OF-5.svg,
( Turkmen Ground Forces) File:UA shoulder mark 17.svg,

( Ukrainian Ground Forces) File:Uzbekistan-army-OF-5.svg,
( Uzbek Ground Forces)


See also

* Lieutenant (Eastern Europe) * Lieutenant colonel (Eastern Europe) * Lieutenant colonel general * Comparative army officer ranks of Europe


Notes and references

* Гайдай Л. Історія України в особах, термінах, назвах і поняттях.-Луцьк: Вежа, 2000.
Довідник з історії України.За ред. І.Підкови та Р.Шуста.- К.: Генеза, 1993
.
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The International Encyclopedia of Uniform and Rank Insignia around the World
{{Military ranks by country Military ranks Military ranks of Poland Military ranks of Russia Military ranks of Ukraine Military ranks of the Soviet Union