Insignia of the General Staff of the Russian Federation
Armed Forces.
By Oleg Kuznetsov.
Tseikhgauz, No. 10
(1/2000)
In 1993 a Section for Military Heraldry and Insignia was created within
the structure of the Historical-Archival and Military Memorial Center of
the Russian Federation's Armed Forces General Staff. At the beginning of
the following year, on the initiative of Major A. B. Stepanov, deputy to
the section chief, the first design was worked out for an emblem for the
General Staff and its main directorates. A drawing of the emblem was drafted
by the section artist, Senior Ensign Yu. V. Abaturov, based on the Russian
coat-of-arms of the first quarter of the 19th century: a silver two-headed
eagle clutching a sword in its right talon and a laurel wreath in its left,
with a Russian helmet on the top of a breast shield. However, in view of
the absence of an applicable regulation basis this project remained on
paper.
Ukase No. 46 of the president of the Russian Federation, dated 27
January 1997, confirmed an heraldic military insignia--the emblem of the
Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Subsequently, in accordance with
Ministry of Defense Orders Nos. 210 and 15, dated 28 March 1997 and 19 January
1998, officers and generals of the general staff, as well as all military
personnel of the Ministry of Defense's central offices, began to wear a round
shoulder-sleeve insignia that depicted this emblem on a gray
background.
The functions of the general staff and Ministry of Defense were delineated
by Ukase No. 1357 of the president of the Russian Federation, dated 11 November
1998. After this the question once again arose as to the need to create emblems
for these two main organs of military command. The creation of insignia for
the general staff was complicated by the fact that applicable regulatory
documentation only foresaw a flag and emblem for the Russian Federation Ministry
of Defense. Under these circumstances, the general staff insignia was the
previously mentioned heraldic emblem of the Russian Federation Armed Forces
with the addition of elements traditional to the general staff: a black circle
edged with orange and an eagle in the center, framed by a silver wreath that
was a stylized version of the embroidery worn on general-staff officers'
uniforms in the 19th and early 20th centuries (see illustration at the head
of this article).
The new insignia was approved on 2 June 1999 by the chief of the general
staff, Army General A. V. Kvashnin, in agreement with the State Master of
Heraldry, G. V. Vilinbakhov, and was introduced by Order No. 344 of the Ministry
of Defense, dated 6 August 1999. At this time samples of the insignia were
prepared and submitted for review by the heraldry experts. These were made
by the Signum firm using silk-thread embroidery with gold and silver and
by the Barakuda firm in polyester. The samples embroidered with gold and
silver thread were approved for wear, and a lot of 2000 was manufactured.
The chief of the general staff presented the first shoulder-sleeve insignia
to 37 generals who were commanders of major units (the first insignia was
given to Colonel-General V. L. Manilov). As an exception, these shoulder-sleeve
patches were also given to and allowed to be worn by the chief of the Armed
Forces' Military Memorial Center, Major General A. V. Kirilin, and the chief
of the center's Section for Military Heraldry and Insignia, Colonel O. V.
Kuznetsov.
The heraldric elements used in the shoulder-sleeve insignia were the
basis for a uniform style for general staff symbols. In making a standard
for the chief of the general staff, there was used the crossways division
of the field traditional to Russia in the first half of the 19th century.
The corners of the standard repeated the colors of the Military Order of
St. George. The standard was confirmed by Ministry of Defense Order No. 348,
dated 10 August 1999, and made by the Ministry's Central Experimental
Manufacturing Center No. 43. The
set of flag appurtences (point, shaft, butt) was made by the Signum
firm.
Ministry of Defense Order No. 346, 6 August 1999, established a chief
of the general staff's commemorative pin for presentation to military personnel
and civilians who made significant contributions to the development and
improvement of the Russian Federation's armed forces. The insignia is in
the form of a miniature copy of the chief of the general staff's standard,
but without the central medallion. Instead, in the center is the emblem of
the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The commemorative insignia is
20mm wide, 24mm high; the eagle's wingspread is 16mm, and the eagle's height
is 12mm. In October 1999, 600 unnumbered examples of the insignia were made
from tompak and enamel by the Kazakovskoe artisan shop. In accordance with
Order No. 496 of the chief of the general staff, dated 3 November 1999, the
first commerative pins were received by 30 participants of the 1st Military
Heraldry Conference. The very first insignia was presented to Colonel V.
N. Medvedev, who created the Section for Military Heraldry and Insignia and
was its chief until 1997. Afterwards, several presentations were made under
the insignia's regulation charter. The greatest single group award was on
22 February 2000 to 378 military personnel of the general staff and Ministry
of Defense's central directorates. Up to the present time, 526 awards have
been made.
On the initiative of Major General A. V. Kirilin, supported by the
chief of the general staff, A. V. Kvashin, specialists of the Military Memorial
Center's Section for Military Heraldry and Insignia designed an award badge
for officers of the general staff, which was confirmed by Ministry of Defense
Order No. 175 of 30 April 1999. This badge is intended for officers serving
on the general staff for not less than one year. Nominations are made by
chiefs of the general staff's main directorates. The badge is presented by
the chief of the general staff or another official named by him, on Russian
army "days of military glory." Military personnel who took part in combat
operations wear the badge with swords. All examples are numbered in a single
series. A note of the badge being issued is made on the officer's identity
card.
The badge is in the pattern of the Russian Federation's Armed Forces,
framed by a wreath of stylized embroidery. The wreath is silvered, with two
stylized rosettes below. Between the rosettes are crossed swords are placed
between the rosettes. The wreath is 38mm wide and 45mm high; the eagle's
wingspread is 40mm and its height is 30mm. The badge is made of tompak and
enamel in two production runs: 500
examples by UPP-2 (Nos. 1 through
500), and a further 200 (Nos. 501 through 700) by the Kazakovskoe artisan
works.
The first award of this badge was on 23 June 1999 at a meeting of
high commanders, where Chief of the General Staff A. V. Kvashnin presented
the insignia to 37 chiefs in the general staff's directorates. Medal No.
1 with swords was given to Army General A. V. Kvashnin, and medal No. 2 —to
Colonel-General V. L. Malinov. These medals were also presented to the designers:
Major General A. V. Kirilin and Colonel O. V. Kuznetsov.
Subsequently, on the initiative of the chief of the general staff,
Major General A. V. Kirilin perfected the badge and 2000 examples were made
by the firm Orel and Co.: 800 with swords and 1200 without. The badge acquired
a wreath that was more round and higher in relief. In the lower part was
a small shield of red enamel with the gold letters "G Sh." The badges issued
earlier (made by UPP-2) were replaced with ones of the new pattern while
maintaining the previous numbering. At the present time more than 1000 officers
of the general staff wear the badge.
In the immediate future a chief of the general staff's award insignia
is planned that will be a higher class of the established award badge.
ILLUSTRATIONS:
Inside front cover: Symbols of the General Staff of the Russian Federation
Armed Forces; 1-2. General staff award badges for wear on the breast (1st
variant) with swords and without; 3-4. General staff award badges for wear
on the breast (2nd variant) with swords and without; 5. Chief of the general
staff's commerative pin; 6. Shoulder-sleeve insignia of the Russian Federations'
Ministry of Defense's central offices and Russian Federation's Armed Forces
General Staff, 1998 pattern; 7. Shoulder-sleeve insignia of the Russian
Federation's Armed Forces General Staff, 1999 pattern.
Page 50. First Deputy to the Chief of the General Staff, Colonel-General
V. L. Manilov wearing the 1999-pattern shoulder-sleeve insignia of the general
staff.
Page 51. Standard of the Russian Federation's Armed Forces Chief
of the General
Staff. Photo by Yurii
Yukhimchuk.
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Translated by Mark Conrad, 2001.