The shoulder straps of the generals of the Russian army, as well as the Soviet one, have retained the continuity of pre-revolutionary Russian insignia. The main element that distinguishes them are zigzags. During the years of the Civil War, there were cases when colonels learned about the assignment of a high rank directly at the front line, and before the attack they drew broken lines right on old shoulder straps with chalk.
There were four highest command ranks in the tsarist army. These were Field Marshal General (epaulettes with zigzags and crossed batons), a general from infantry, cavalry and other branches of the military, also called a “full general” (epaulets with zigzags without stars), a lieutenant general (three stars over zigzags) and a general major (two stars).
In February 1917, revolutionary-minded soldiers and sailors, incited by agitators, plucked the hated symbols of the “old power” from the shoulders of their former bosses.
After a long break in 1943, the traditional Russian insignia was reintroduced in the Soviet Army. The rank of major general, as before 1917, turned out to be the first and the youngest among the generals. Then, according to the increasing number of stars, there were lieutenant generaland Colonel General.
The insignia of senior officers remained almost unchanged. The only exception is the shoulder straps of the general of the army, the appearance of which has already changed several times. The rank is really intermediate, and the official duties are so close to those of a marshal that the line between these two military ranks sometimes became indistinguishable.
The epaulettes of an army general with four stars were a rank, after which it was not far to the marshal. During the Great Patriotic War, commanders in this rank, as a rule, held the position of deputy front commander.
In 1974, the insignia of the senior officers of the Soviet Army underwent some changes. There were reasons for this - the status and duties of a marshal and an army general turned out to be almost identical. In addition, unlike the war years, in these years, later called "stagnant", the next rank was awarded not for special abilities and personal qualities shown in the course of command and control, but for length of service, or even just for the anniversary. As if hinting at the prospect of career growth, one star “fell” on the new shoulder straps of the army general, but what! Marshall! Next to it is a motorized rifle emblem. Such insignia lasted in the armed forces of the USSR, and then the Russian Federation for twenty years.
In 1993, the rank of marshal in the Russian armed forces was abolished, and in 1997 the shoulder straps of the army general again became four-star,like 1943.
In 2013, the pendulum swung again towards the marshal stars. It is possible that one large star is more beautiful than four smaller ones. It is possible that in this way they are trying to mislead the intelligence of countries - potential adversaries. It can also be assumed that aesthetic ideas play a significant role in choosing the style of insignia. The fact remains that today the shoulder straps of an army general are again similar to those of a marshal. Whether they will change in the future is not yet very clear.
