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Apolkovnik (Polish:pułkownik;Macedonian,Russian andUkrainian:полковник,lit. 'regimentary') is amilitary rank used mostly inSlavic-speaking countries which corresponds to acolonel in English-speaking states,coronel in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking states andoberst in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries. It was originally a rank in thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and theRussian Empire. However, inCossack Hetmanate andSloboda Ukraine,polkovnyk was an administrative rank similar to a governor. Usually this word is translated ascolonel, however the transliteration is also in common usage, for the sake of the historical and social context.Polkovnik began as a commander of a distinct group of troops (polk), arranged for battle.[1]
The exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spellings in different languages, but all descend from the Old Slavonic wordpolk (fromOld East Slavic:пълъкъ,lit. 'regiment sized unit'), and include the following in alphabetical order:
It is also used in some non-Slavic languages:
Lithuania (and likely Latvia) inherited the term from thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The rank ofpolkovnik was also used in the Estonian army until 1924. Azerbaijan and Georgia inherited it from theRussian Empire.
| Colonel Полко́вник (Polkovnik) | |
|---|---|
  Army and air force insignia | |
| Country |  Russian Empire (17th century) Soviet Union (1935–1991)Russia |
| Service branch |  Russian Ground Forces Russian Air Force |
| Rank | Stab-ofizer |
| Formation | 17th century |
| Next higher rank | Generál-mayór |
| Next lower rank | Podpolkovnik |
| Equivalent ranks | Kapitan 1st rank (Navy) |
In the 17th century,polkovnik became the position of aregimental commander of thestreltsy; this position also made it intoNew Regiments of thestreltsy and later into the new army ofPeter the Great. The rank was legalized byTable of Ranks that placed it in the 6th grade as the second-top field officer, right under thebrigadier. A promotion to the rank ofpolkovnik gave a privilege of hereditarynobility.
TheRed Army reintroduced thepolkovnik rank in 1935, together with a number of other former Russian ranks, and it continued to be in used in many ex-USSR countries, including Russia.
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TheRank insignia to Polkovnik (OF-5) is as follows:
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The rank was first introduced in thearmies of the Commonwealth in the 17th century to denote a captain (rotmistrz) of the corebanner of a regiment. By the end of the 17th century, the title of the assignment became ade facto rank as such and started to denote thecommanding officer of the entire regiment. Inmercenary troops fighting in the ranks of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's army, the direct equivalent of the rank ofpułkownik wasoberszter, but in the 18th century the rank was abolished and renamed aspułkownik as well.
During theSanation in the period betweenWorld War I andWorld War II, a large number of officers were promoted to the rank, often for political reasons (the rule of the Sanation was even dubbed thegovernment of the colonels because of that).
During theInvasion of Poland 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. Thepułkownicy (plural ofpułkownik) also commanded units of all sizes, from divisions down to mere battalions.
In theZaporozhian Host, the political, social, and military organization of Ukrainian cossacks, the titlepolkovnyk indicated a high military rank among theUkrainian Cossackstarshyna (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, apolkovnyk was a leader of apalanka, a territorial unit of theZaporozhian Host. The military council elected apalanka polkovnyk to serve for a term of one year. He represented theKosh Otaman in thepalanka and had significant powers, including the right to condemn Cossacks to the death penalty. At the time of liquidation of the Zaporozhian Host by theRussian government in 1775, there were eightpalanka polkovnyks. As symbol of office apolkovnyk wore apernach (a mace with a hexagonal head; see alsobulava) in his belt.
In theRegistered Cossack Army of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th and 17th centuries, apolkovnyk commanded aregiment (полк,polk), a Cossack military unit. After the reform of the Cossack army byhetmanMykhailo Doroshenko in the 1620s there were six Cossack regiments, each comprising one thousand Cossacks.Polkovnyks were elected by the Cossack Council (рада,rada) subject to the approval of the Polish government. Apolkovnyk obtained a salary for his service, and enjoyed considerable privileges. After theSejm of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth adopted the "Ordination" of 1638, onlynoblemen (szlachta) were allowed to becomepolkovnyks.
DuringKhmelnytsky Uprising (1648–1657) and in theCossack Hetmanate (1649–1764; also in theSlobozhanshchyna in 1652–1765), apolkovnyk headed aterritorial administrative unit, the regiment (полк). In terms of Nobility, Khmelnytsky's Polkovnyks were recognized as equal to Lithuania's Barons.[2]
![Polkovnik[3] (Azerbaijani Land Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a15.AzAF-COL.png)
![Палкоўнік Palkoŭnik[4] (Belarusian Ground Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aPost-Soviet-Army-OF-5.svg)
![Pukovnik[5] (Bosnian Ground Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBosnia%2526Herzegovina-Army-OF-4.svg)
![Полковник Polkovnik[6] (Bulgarian Land Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRank_insignia_of_%25D0%259F%25D0%25BE%25D0%25BB%25D0%25BA%25D0%25BE%25D0%25B2%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B8%25D0%25BA_of_the_Bulgarian_Army.png)
![Pukovnik[7] (Croatian Army)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aArmy-HRV-OF-04.svg)
![Plukovník[8] (Czech Land Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCzArmy_2011_OF5-Plukovnik_shoulder.svg)
![პოლკოვნიკი P’olk’ovnik’i[9] (Georgian Land Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aGeorgia-Army-OF-5.svg)
![Полковник Polkovnïk[10] (Kazakh Ground Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a16-RKGF-COL.svg)
![Полковник Polkovnik[11] (Kyrgyz Army)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a13.Kyrgyzstan_Army-COL.svg)
![Pulkvedis[12] (Latvian Land Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aLatvia-Army-OF-5.svg)
![Pulkininkas'[13] (Lithuanian Land Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a18-Lithuania_Army-COL.svg)
![Полковник Polkovnik[14] (North Macedonian Ground Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNorth-Macedonia-Army-OF-4.svg)
![Pukovnik (Montenegrin Ground Army)[15]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a15-Montenegro_Army-COL.svg)
![Pułkownik[16] (Polish Land Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aArmy-POL-OF-05.svg)
![Пуковник Pukovnik[18] (Serbian Army)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a14-Serbian_Army-COL.svg)
![Plukovník[19] (Slovak Ground Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aArmy-SVK-OF-05.svg)
![Polkovnik[20] (Slovenian Ground Force)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a17-Slovenian_Army-COL.svg)
![Полковник Polkovnyk[23] (Ukrainian Ground Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aUA_shoulder_mark_17.svg)
![Polkovnik[24] (Uzbek Ground Forces)](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aUzbekistan-army-OF-5.svg)
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