In the 20th century in our history, only Stalin had the shoulder straps of the Generalissimo. The workers of one of the Soviet factories “asked” for the conferment of such a title after the victory over Germany in 1945. Of course, all the inhabitants of the Union learned about this "petition" of the proletariat.
Few people remember, but Stalin was awarded the highest military rank of the imperial empire. This was the final turning point in the minds of the Bolsheviks, since before that, ideology rejected all attempts at succession of generations. Stalin realized that at a difficult time for the country, the continuity and traditions of the triumphant spirit of the Russian Empire, which the Communists hated so much, should save the country. Shoulder straps are introduced - a distinctive symbol of "imperial punishers", the status of an officer who had only an abusive meaning before that, some new ranks.
These reforms in a difficult hour for the country should have rallied all the forces scattered by the civil war. The Germans understood that the weakness of the USSR was a generation gap. They skillfully used this, recruiting numerous battalions from the Red Army. Stalin understood this with a military environment.
It is in the crucial years for the country that the establishment of continuity of generations takes place. Speaking about these events, we will recall how many generalissimos were in our history. And also we will tell you some interesting facts about Stalin related to this title.
Generalissimo in world history
The term "generalissimo" comes to us from Latin. Translated, it means "the most important." This is the highest rank that has ever been introduced in the army of any state. The uniform of the Generalissimo gave not only military status, but also civil, political. This title was awarded only to truly special people.
This title was carried by Chiang Kai-shek (pictured above), an adversary of the Chinese Communists. But to date, there are no active generalissimo in the world. This title is also missing in the system of our army. The last person in the world to have such a high rank was Kim Jong Il, the leader of the DPRK, who was only posthumously assigned him in 2011. For North Koreans, this is not just a person, it is God, a symbol of the nation. This country maintains a calendar that is directly related to this politician. It is unlikely that anyone else with such a high rank could appear in the DPRK.
History knows little of the generalissimo. In France for 400 years, only two dozen figures have been awarded this title. In Russia, to count them over the past three hundred years, fingers of one hand are enough.
Who was the first generalissimo? Version one: “funny commanders”
The first to be awarded this title in Russian history were the associates of Peter the Great - Ivan Buturlin and Fedor Romodanovsky. However, in the same way, it can be appropriated by every boy playing in the yard with friends. In 1864, the twelve-year-old Peter awarded them the title of "generalissimo of amusement troops" during the game. They stood at the head of two newly formed "amusing" regiments. There were no matches with the real titles of that time.
Second version: Alexey Shein
Officially, the high ranks of “amusing commanders” were not supported by written acts and orders. Therefore, historians call the governor Aleksei Shein as the main contender for the role of the first generalissimo. During the Azov campaign, he commanded the Preobrazhensky and Semenov regiments. Peter the Great appreciated Shein’s competent leadership, tactics and military skill, for which he was awarded this high rank on June 28, 1696.
Version Three: Mikhail Cherkassky
Peter I liked to give high government titles and awards “from the shoulder of the master”. Often these were chaotic and sometimes rash decisions that violated the usual and logical course of things. Therefore, it was during the time of Peter I that the first generalissimo of the Russian state appeared.
According to historians, one of these was the boyar Mikhail Cherkassky. He was in charge of administrative affairs, was popular in society. With his money he built a warship for the Azov campaign.
Peter I praised his contribution to the country. Other, less significant, but useful things for society did not go unnoticed. For all this, Peter awarded the boyar Cherkassky the highest military rank. According to the calculations of historians, this happened on December 14, 1695, i.e., six months before Shein.
Fateful title
In the future, those who wore uniforms of the Generalissimo were not lucky. There were three of them: Prince Menshikov, Duke Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig and Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov, who will have more than one title and regalia.
Prince Menshikov, a loyal friend and associate of Peter the Great, was endowed with this title by the youngest Peter the Great. The young emperor was supposed to marry the daughter of the prince, however, palace intrigues tipped the scales in the other direction. In fairness, let’s say that young Peter did not have time to get married. At the last moment, he died of smallpox, after which Prince Menshikov was stripped of all titles and awards and exiled to his possessions in Berezniki, away from the capital.
The second holder of the highest military rank is the husband of Anna Leopoldovna, Duke Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig. However, he was not for long. A year later, he was also deprived of this title after the overthrow of his wife from the throne.
The third who was awarded a high rank in the empire was A.V. Suvorov. Legends all over the world circulated about his victories. This title was never called into question. But the tragedy is that he stayed with Generalissimo for less than six months, after which he died.
After Suvorov, no one received this high rank in the Russian Empire. Thus, it is possible to calculate how many generalissimuses were in Russian history before the USSR. We will talk about the title of Stalin a little later.
Instead of titles - posts
After the revolution, the Bolsheviks reacted negatively to any reminders of the tsarist regime. The term "officer" was abusive. As a rule, the holder of this status, who did not manage to immigrate on time, fell under the prosecution of the authorities. Often this ended in execution.
Instead of titles in the country there was a certain system of posts. For example, the famous Chapaev was a divisional commander, i.e., a division commander. The official appeal to such a position is “Comrade Commander”. The highest rank was the marshal. And the statutory appeal to him is “Comrade Marshal,” or by last name: “Comrade Zhukov,” “Comrade Stalin,” etc. That is, the title of Stalin throughout the war was precisely the Marshal, and not the Generalissimo.
It is noteworthy that the ranks of General and Admiral appeared later, only in 1940.
System sequencing
In the difficult days of the war, the Soviet leadership began serious military reforms in the army system. Old posts were abolished. “Tsarist” military distinctions and ranks were introduced in their place, and the army itself became not “red workers and peasants”, but “Soviet”, the prestige of the status of officers was introduced.
Many people, especially those of mature and old age, negatively perceived this reform. You can understand them: the officer for them was a synonym for “oppressor”, “imperialist”, “bandit”, etc. However, on the whole, this reform strengthened the morale in the army and made the command and control system logical and complete.
All the military leadership of the country and Stalin personally understood that these measures would help achieve victory, streamline the structure and hierarchy. Many people think that it was at this time that the highest rank of generalissimo was introduced. However, this is also a fallacy. Stalin throughout the war, until the victory, was a marshal.
Victory reward
So, until 1945, the highest rank in the USSR was the Marshal. And only after the Victory, June 26, 1945, the rank of Generalissimo of the Soviet Union was introduced. And the next day, on the basis of the "request" of the workers, it was appropriated to JV Stalin.
They spoke about the introduction of a separate title for Joseph Vissarionovich for a long time, but the leader himself constantly rejected all these proposals. And only after the war, yielding to the persuasion of Rokossovsky, agreed. It is worth noting that until the end of his days, Stalin wore the marshal’s uniform, although slightly deviated from the charter. The appeal "Comrade Stalin" was considered a violation of the charter, since this appeal was just to the Marshal, but the leader himself did not mind. After June 1945, “Comrade Generalissimo” should have contacted him.
After Stalin, there were proposals to give the highest rank to two other leaders of the USSR - Khrushchev and Brezhnev, but this did not happen. After 1993, this title was not included in the new army hierarchy of the Russian Federation.
Generalissimo epaulettes
The development of uniforms for the new rank began immediately after assigning it to Stalin. This work was carried out by the rear service of the Red Army. For a long time, all materials were classified as “secret”, and only in 1996 the data was released.
When creating the form, they tried to take into account the current uniforms of the chief marshal of the military branch, but at the same time create something special, unlike all the others. After all the work, the shoulder straps of the Generalissimo resembled the uniform of Count Suvorov. Perhaps the developers tried to please Stalin, who had a weakness for the style of uniforms of the Russian Empire with epaulettes, accelerants and other paraphernalia.
Stalin subsequently said more than once that he regretted his consent to confer on him this highest military rank. He will never put on a new uniform of the Generalissimo, and all developments will fall under the heading "secret." Stalin will continue to wear a marshal's uniform - a white tunic with a stand-up collar or a gray pre-war cut - with a laid-back collar and four pockets.
Possible reason for rejecting the new form
However, what is the reason Stalin refused to wear a special uniform? It is believed that the leader had a number of complexes regarding his appearance and believed that on a short, unpretentious elderly man, such a magnificent form would look ridiculous, ridiculous.
According to this version, according to some, Stalin refused to head the magnificent Victory Parade and sign the act of surrender of Germany. However, this is only a theory. So it was or not, we, the descendants, can only speculate.