Starshina (Russian:Старшина,IPA:[stərʂɨˈna]ⓘ orUkrainian:Старшина,romanized: Starshyna) is a senior military rank or designation in the military forces of someSlavic states, and a historical military designation. Depending on a country, it had different meanings. In the 19th century with the expansion of theImperial Russia intoTurkestan and theCentral Asia, the word was even used to identify some Turkic leaders as a basic Russian word foraqsaqal (white-beard).
InCossack armies the term initially identified a commissioned officer.[1] During the times ofCossack Hetmanate, starshyna was acollective noun, and people described with this word were divided intostarshyna (officers) and general starshyna (general officers) the latter being part of theHetman's GeneralCossack Rada. InRussia the term was later adopted to describe a non-commissioned officer rank. Following thedissolution of the Soviet Union, most of post-Soviet countries have adopted the Russian interpretation of the word.
Since the 1930s in the Soviet and later Russian army terminology, a starshina has been equivalent to "Sergeant Major"[2] (Most senior member at the company level) or a rank equal to aNATO OR-8. In naval terminology,starshina is a general term for junior and middle-ranking non-commissioned officers, similar in usage to "Chief Petty Officer".
The word originates fromOld East Slavic language «*старъ»(old)
Later, in theTsardom of Russia andImperial Russia, avolostnoy starshina was the chief of avolost (a rural administrative unit), in charge of the distribution of taxes, resolving conflicts withinobshchina (communes), distributing community lands and military conscription. The rank ofVoiskovoi starshina (Войсковой старшина – Starshina of theArmy (Host)) was introduced into the ranks of the Imperial military in 1826, as the equivalent of a "Lieutenant Colonel" in theCossackcavalry.
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| Starshina Старшина | |
|---|---|
  Army and air force insignia | |
| Country |  Russia |
| Service branch |  Russian Ground Forces Russian Air Force |
| Rank group | Non-commissioned officer |
| Formation | 1935 |
| Next higher rank | Praporshchik |
| Next lower rank | Stárshy serzhánt |
| Equivalent ranks | Glavny starshina of the ship |
The wordstarshina gained its modern meaning in the Red Army, and is a hangover from the functional titles (like "Brigade Commander" or "Assistant Platoon Leader") that were initially used by that force – the word literally means "senior". Most functional titles in the Red Army were abolished in 1942, butstarshina remained.Starshina was the highestnon-commissioned rank in the Soviet Army until the reintroduction of the imperial rank ofPraporshchik in 1972.
In theSoviet Navy, the termstarshina was introduced between 1940 and 1943 as term equivalent to "Petty Officer" for every enlistedseaman above "Matros, 1st class." There was also created a rank equal tostarshina in the Army, but termedGlavnyy korabel'nyy starshina (transl. Chief Petty Officer of the Ship) – this is the naval rank depicted in the tables below.
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 | ||||||||||
| (1919–1924) | collar insignia (1924–1935) | collar insignia (1935–1940) | collar insignia (1941–1943) | Technical troops (1943–1946) | Ground combat troops (1943–1955) | Ground forces (1955–1963) | Air force, airborne forces, air defence forces (1955–1963) | Navy (1924–1940) | Navy (1955–1963) | Air force, airborne forces (1963–1994) |
| Russian Federation | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |  | | .png) |  |  |
| Strategic Missile Troops, Airborne Forces(service dress) | Ground Forces (service dress) (1994–2010) | Navy (dress uniform) | Air Force and Airborne Forces kursant ("cadet") with rank of Starshina | Field dress (1994–2010) | Air force, airborne forces (2011–2015) | Internal troops (1995–2016) Ministry of Emergency Situations (firefighters) (1995–2001) | Militsiya, police, some internal troops | Navy (dress uniform) (after 2010) |
![Старшина Starshyna (Bulgarian Land Forces)[4]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBulgaria-Army-OR-8.svg)
![Старшина Starşina (Kyrgyz Army)[5]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a06.Kyrgyzstan_Army-MSG.svg)
![Старшина Starshyna (Tajik Ground Forces)[7]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTajikistan-Army-OR-8.png)
![Starşina (Turkmen Ground Forces)[8]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTurkmenistan_army_OR-8.svg)
In someformer communist state, the rank of "older" is used with the local language variants.
![ԱՎԱԳ Avag (Armenian Ground Forces)[9]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aArmenia-Army-OR-8.svg)
![Aхлагч Akhlagch (Mongolian Ground Force)[10]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMongolian_Army-SGT-service.svg)