In the early days of February 1943, during the beginning of a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War, People's Commissariat Internal Affairs filed a petition before the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the introduction of new insignia instead of the existing ones - epaulettes for NKVD personnel, including the police.
This was preceded by the introduction of new special ranks, the establishment of complete unity of command, the assignment of special ranks to the commanding staff of political workers.
Simultaneously with the introduction of shoulder straps, the cut of the uniform was changed, and new parade uniforms were introduced for all NKVD personnel.
The introduction of new insignia was one of the government's measures aimed at further strengthening discipline, unity of command, increasing the role and authority of the NKVD command staff.
When establishing a sample of these new insignia, the insignia of the Russian army that existed before 1917 were used.
V post-war years a number of changes were made to the uniform, significantly improving appearance and police uniforms.
All changes in uniforms were caused by the desire to improve its quality and the need to replace uniforms that turned out to be impractical or did not meet the new conditions of service.
The decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the introduction of new insignia for the bodies and troops of the NKVD was announced by order of the NKVD of the USSR No. 103 of 02/11/1943.
Order of the NKVD of the USSR No. 104 dated February 11, 1943 new special ranks were established for militia personnel: militia commissar of the 1st rank, militia commissar of the 2nd rank and militia commissar of the 3rd rank. For senior command staff: police colonel, police lieutenant colonel, police major. For the middle command staff: police captain, police senior lieutenant, police lieutenant, police junior lieutenant. For the junior commanding staff - police foreman, police senior sergeant, police sergeant, police junior sergeant and senior policeman.
Order of the NKVD of the USSR No. 126 dated February 18, 1943 for militia personnel, a new uniform and insignia were introduced. The insignia - shoulder straps - served to determine a special rank. The field of epaulettes for police commissars is made of a special zigzag braid of silver color, the piping is turquoise. Zigzag shoulder straps have turquoise gaps. Stars on the shoulder straps of police commissars, embroidered with gold, the number corresponded to a special rank: police commissioners of the 1st rank have 3 stars located in a row in the middle of the shoulder strap, police commissioners of the 2nd rank have 2 stars, and police commissioners of the 3rd rank have 1 star. The buttons on the shoulder straps are golden with the coat of arms. Shoulder strap dimensions: length - 14-16 cm, width - 6.5 cm.

For the senior and middle commanding officers of the militia, the field of epaulettes is made of galloon or silver silk. On the shoulder straps of the middle command staff there is one clearance and gilded metal stars 13 mm in size. The number of stars depending on the special rank. On the shoulder straps of the senior command staff there are two gaps and gilded metal stars 16 mm in size. The number of stars on the chase corresponded to the rank. On the shoulder straps of the middle and senior command personnel there are uniform gilded buttons with the image of a sickle and a hammer. The color of the edges and gaps is turquoise. Shoulder strap dimensions: length - 14-16 cm, width - 4 cm.

Ensign militia	Police lieutenant	Senior Lieutenant militia	Militia Captain
Police major	Police Lieutenant Colonel	Police Colonel

For junior commanding officers and privates of the militia and cadets of militia schools, the field of epaulettes is made of dark blue cloth, the edging is turquoise. The field of shoulder straps of cadets is sheathed with a silver galloon. The epaulettes of the junior commanding staff had silver galloon stripes corresponding to a special rank. On shoulder straps, yellow paint through a stencil indicates the name of the police department or service. The height of large numbers and letters of the stencil is 3.2 cm, small numbers and letters - 2 cm. The width of the stripes: narrow - 10 mm, wide - 30 mm, the width of the galloon on the cadets' shoulder straps - 13 mm. Buttons on shoulder straps - silver, 18 mm in diameter with the image of a hammer and sickle. One transverse wide and one longitudinal narrow stripes were sewn on the shoulder straps of police officers; on the shoulder straps of a senior sergeant - one transverse wide; on the shoulder straps of a sergeant, junior sergeant and senior policeman - three, two and one transverse narrow stripes, respectively. The distance from the lower edge of the shoulder strap to the lower edge of the stripes is 1 cm. The dimensions of the shoulder straps are: length - 14-16 cm, width - 4 cm.

Policeman	senior policeman	Lance Sergeant militia
Police sergeant	Staff Sergeant militia	militia foreman

(Designation of encryption: 16o - 16 police department; Vm - departmental police; Ko - Kustanai region; Ke - cavalry squadron; Km - escort police).

Police cadet	Senior cadet policeman	Junior cadet militia sergeant
Sergeant cadet militia	Senior cadet militia sergeant	Cadet foreman militia

Buttonholes for overcoats were made of instrument cloth. The buttonhole field is turquoise, the edging for the highest command staff is silver, for the senior and middle staff it is dark blue, for the junior command staff and policemen it is crimson. Large uniform buttons were placed on the buttonholes at the upper end: for the higher command staff - with a coat of arms, gilded; for senior and middle command personnel - with the image of a hammer and sickle, gilded; for junior officers and policemen - with the image of a hammer and sickle, silver. On the cuffs, having the shape of a cape, parallel to the colored piping, a single piping embroidered with silver. Parallel to the edging in the protrusion of the cape, there is silver embroidery in the form of three divergent laurel branches, framed along the cone with a silver single edging. On the collar of the uniform, indented from the front ends by 0.5 cm, there are longitudinal buttonholes of turquoise color without edging. On the buttonholes of the senior commanding staff there are two columns embroidered with silver and cantle, intertwined with gold thread, with a colored gap in the middle of the column - 0.2 mm. For the middle commanding staff - one column. Buttons for the command staff are large gilded, with the image of a sickle and a hammer.
Uniforms of junior commanding staff and policemen in cut and color, as well as the color of the field of buttonholes, they correspond to the uniforms of the command staff (Table 64). Along the length of the buttonholes of the junior commanding staff there is one longitudinal strip of silver galloon, 6 mm wide. On the uniforms of policemen, the buttonholes are clean. The gymnasts of the junior command staff and police officers according to the samples established in the Red Army, dark blue, with admission to war time khaki, steel and gray (Table 67). Overcoat of senior and middle command personnel - from dark blue cloth or drape, gilded buttons with the image of a hammer and sickle; buttonholes - turquoise with dark blue edging (Table 63).
Overcoat of junior command staff and policemen from semi-coarse dark blue cloth, white metal buttons with the image of a hammer and sickle. Turquoise buttonholes with crimson edging (Table 63).
Trousers for militia commissars according to the color of the uniform and tunic. Trousers - breeches of dark blue color. Edges and stripes - turquoise.
Loose trousers and breeches for senior and middle command personnel - dark blue with turquoise piping. Bloomers of junior commanding staff and policemen are dark blue.
Caps. Ceremonial cap of militia commissars made of dark blue cloth, turquoise band, red piping. On the front of the band - sewing in the form of silver laurel branches and a filigree silver chin strap. Everyday cap without sewing, with silver filigree (Table 73). Papakha for police commissars was made of gray astrakhan with a turquoise cloth top. A silver galloon is sewn crosswise on the top of the hat. Cockade of the sample established for police commissars (Table 73). For the rest of the police personnel, as a winter headdress, a brown Kubanka hat with a dark blue cloth top was installed (Table 73).
The same order declared statements of uniforms for police personnel (Appendix 13).
Order of the NKVD of the USSR No. 225 dated March 29, 1943 for the commanding staff of the state traffic inspectorate, it was established that the emblems of the engineering staff - "key and hammer" should be worn on shoulder straps. Patch insignias have been introduced for the private and junior commanding staff of the RUD units. The sleeve insignia was a rhombus, located horizontally, consisted of a semi-rigid base covered with turquoise cloth and edged with crimson cloth. Three letters "RUD" from raspberry-colored cloth are placed on the cloth. Sign dimensions: height - 65 mm, length - 103 mm and side length - 62 mm. Letter sizes: height - 25 mm, width - 12 mm, thickness - 4 mm, height middle letter- 35 mm, the distance between the letters - 3 mm (Table 77). The sleeve badge was sewn in the middle of the outer side of the left sleeve, above the line of the elbow fold, at a distance of 37-40 cm from the lower end of the sleeve. Order of the NKVD of the USSR No. 305 dated April 28, 1943 the size of shoulder straps for police personnel was changed. According to this order, the width of shoulder straps for senior, middle, junior commanding staff and policemen was set at 5 cm.
V clarification of the OBSP GUM NKVD of the USSR No. 29 / p1672 of 06/29/1943 clarifications were given on the imposition of stencils on ciphers on the shoulder straps of junior command personnel and policemen. The cipher for stenciling on shoulder straps was established only for ordinary and junior command personnel of combat units, railway and water departments, and city police departments. On the shoulder straps of the railway police, a cipher was installed - a metal key with a hammer, and an anchor for the water police white color. The private and junior commanders of the district police departments wore shoulder straps without a stencil. Shoulder straps made of silver galloon with a special weave, red edging, removable. Asterisks on shoulder straps of golden color, sewn. The buttonholes on the overcoat are longitudinal, red, edged with silver embroidery from the gimp, with large brass buttons at the end. On the collar, parallel to the colored piping, there is a silver double piping. At the front end of the collar there is sewing in the form of a narrow silver laurel branch. Closed wool tunic, blue, with two chest welt pockets, with a single-button flap without a fastener. Jacket clasp with five brass buttons, stand-up collar. A sleeve sewn in with a cuff. There is a red piping along the collar and top of the cuff. Shoulder straps of the established sample. In summer, it was allowed to wear a white tunic in a cut similar to a blue tunic, but without edging (Table 83). Cap from woolen fabric of blue color, band and piping from instrumental cloth of red color. The visor is black, lacquered. On the front, above the visor, there is a filigree strap made of silver truncal. Cockade of the established sample. In summer, the cap was allowed to be worn with a white cover. blue, piping and red stripes.
For the senior and middle commanding staff of the militia, the following uniform was established:
overcoat made of blue cloth, double-breasted, clasp with six large brass buttons arranged in two rows with the image of a five-pointed star with a hammer and sickle in the center. A sleeve sewn in with a cuff. Along the edge of the collar, along the side, cuffs, pocket flaps, posts, strap and slot - red cloth edging. (Table 78). On the collar there are red rectangular buttonholes with a dark blue edging, with large buttons sewn on. Shoulder straps of white silver galloon with red trim, with one or two red gaps. Shoulder straps are removable hard. Brass sprockets 13 and 20 mm, respectively, to a special rank. Shoulder strap width - 6 cm. dress uniform, in cut and color similar to the uniform of police commissars. There is a red edging along the collar, left side, upper edge of the cuff and leaves. On the collar of the uniform, metal silver bars were attached horizontally along the rack on a red cloth, rectangular in shape. On the outer side of the cuff, metal silver columns on red cloth were vertically attached, in the form of columns on the collar. Shoulder straps of the established sample. Jacket closed made of blue woolen fabric, similar in cut to the tunic of police commissars. On the top of the collar and cuffs there is a red cloth edging (Table 83). Shoulder straps of the established sample. In the summer, wearing a white tunic was allowed.
Loose trousers and breeches blue, with red edging in the side seams.
Cap from woolen fabric of blue color, a band and edgings - red color. The visor and chin strap are black lacquered. Cockade of the established sample. Equipment brown leather with a shoulder strap, brass two-pin buckle. In dress uniform, the shoulder harness was not worn.
In winter, a collar made of natural black zigeyka, edged with red cloth, was fastened to the overcoat of the command staff. For ordinary and sergeants of the police, the following uniform is established:
overcoat in cut and color it is similar to the overcoat of the senior and middle command personnel. In winter, a fur collar made of natural black zigey fur with a red edging was fastened to the overcoat. WITH reverse side buttonholes of the established color and pattern were sewn on the collar. Peaked cap, Kubanka hat and breeches are also similar to the specified items of uniforms for senior and middle command personnel. Shoulder straps. The field of shoulder straps is red with a dark blue edging. The field of epaulettes of cadets of militia schools was sheathed with silver-colored silk galloon. For the junior command staff, cross stripes of silver silk galloon were sewn on shoulder straps. The established dimensions of epaulettes are: length - 14-16 cm, width - 6.0 cm, edging width - 0.25 cm, galloon width on cadets' shoulder straps - 13 mm, width of narrow stripes - 10 mm, wide - 30 mm, distance from the bottom the edges of the shoulder strap to the lower edge of the patch - 2 cm. Two stripes were sewn on the shoulder straps of the police foreman: one wide transverse and one narrow longitudinal, on the shoulder straps of senior sergeants - one wide transverse stripe, on the shoulder straps of sergeants, junior sergeants and senior policemen - respectively three, two and one transverse narrow stripe. A metal encryption was superimposed on shoulder straps according to the number of the police department or service.

Policeman	senior policeman	Lance Sergeant militia
Police sergeant	Staff Sergeant militia	militia foreman

(Designation of ciphers: 1st, 3rd, 11th, 31st - police departments; KP - escort police regiment; OP - operational police regiment).

Police cadet	Senior cadet	Junior cadet militia sergeant
Sergeant cadet militia	Senior cadet militia sergeant	Cadet foreman militia

buttonholes red with dark blue edging on three sides, large brass buttons are attached to the upper end of the buttonholes. The holster for the revolver "revolver" or the pistol "TT" was fastened to the equipment on the right side with two belts; a leather bag of a sample approved for the police was also fastened with two apiaries, on the left side. Revolver cord made of red garus, with a moving bartack and a carabiner for attaching to a weapon. The whistle was worn on the left shoulder strap of the equipment.
In the summer, the rank and file were allowed to wear a tunic and a summer officer's tunic.

Order of the Ministry of State Security of the USSR No. 0155 dated October 30, 1950 A unified uniform for officers and rank and file of the militia of the entire Soviet Union was announced.

Order of the Ministry of State Security of the USSR No. 15 of 17.01. 1953 was withdrawn from the supply revolver cord of red garus for ordinary and junior commanding officers of the militia.

Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR No. 193 the red edging on the overcoats of the commanding and ordinary police officers was canceled, except for the police commissars.
Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR No. 193 of March 27. 1956 in order to improve the supply of police officers, establish uniformity of uniforms, and strengthen the responsibility of employees for careful and accurate attitude to their uniforms, transport police, traffic control departments, and traffic security services, a uniform was established that was common to all police.

Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR No. 437 dated 12.06. 1957 sleeve insignia were installed for the personnel of the ORUD, OBD and transport police.
The sleeve insignia was a rhombus measuring between opposite corners: vertically - 50 mm, horizontally - 90 mm. In the center of the rhombus, a yellow metal letter 23 mm high is attached: for the personnel of the ORUD (traffic regulation department) and OBD (traffic safety department) - "P", transport police - "T". The rhombus was made of dark blue fabric with a red edging. The sleeve badge was sewn on the outer side of the left sleeve of the overcoat and tunic in the middle between the upper point of the sleeve and the elbow bend.

Part 2.
Organs and internal troops of the NKVD 1935-1937.

Let me remind you that the Internal Troops have undergone numerous reorganizations, renamings, etc. over the years of their existence.

With the creation immediately after the October Revolution of 1917 of the Soviet People's Commissars(SNK) was immediately created as one of the thirteen People's Commissariats of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the Russian Republic (NKVD).

Then it became known as the NKVD of the RSFSR.

Then, as the union republics were formed, the NKVD of the union republics were added in parallel.

It was not until 1934 that a single allied People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR was formed.

So, 06/10/1934. The People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR (NKVD) was formed, which included former troops VChK-GPU-OGPU.

The uniform of the employees of the NKVD, the military personnel of the border and internal guards remained the same (adopted back in 1924): a khaki shirt or French shirt, blue trousers, colored caps, a cavalry overcoat.

Insignia by position (red enamel rhombuses, rectangles, squares and triangles) were placed on buttonholes: maroon with raspberry piping - for the bodies and troops of the NKVD and green - for the border guard.

A similar uniform was also worn by employees of other structures that were part of the NKVD system:
- Main Directorate of Correctional Labor Camps, Labor Settlements and Places of Detention (GULAG),
- Main Directorate of Fire Protection (GUPO),
- Administrative and Economic Department (AHU) and its divisions.

From the author. During that period of the life of the Soviet state, a peculiar fashion for wearing military or paramilitary uniforms developed. All senior officials, starting with Stalin, wore a paramilitary jacket, a Stalinist cap, and boots. Remember, for example, the film "Volga-Volga".
In addition, many departments acquired their own uniforms and insignia - the police, firefighters, OSOAVIAKHIM (the predecessor of DOSAAF), in particular, the merchant marine and river fleet, civil aviation, and even employees of urban electric transport. All these uniforms, to one degree or another, were based on the uniform of the Red Army.

This introduced a certain confusion and confusion, and therefore, by the Decree of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks No. ПЗЗ / 95 dated September 10, 1935, all organizations, institutions and individuals were Absolutely forbidden wearing uniforms and insignia similar to the Red Army (with the exception of military personnel of the border and internal guards of the NKVD, recruited by conscription).

Let me remind you that at this time a very peculiar period in the life of the Soviet state begins and the role of the NKVD in the life of the country increases significantly.

Note by Veremeev Yu.G. The catchphrase is "the revolution always devours its children." A common stage in the process of revolutionary change of power of any kind (be it a bourgeois, democratic, socialist or Nazi revolution) in any country - those who together stood at the head of the revolutionary forces in the initial period, now begin to share power And each of them believes that in he should now be the head of the country. An acute political struggle begins, in which any means of ousting, isolating, eliminating or destroying (including physical) rivals in power are used. In addition, in the country in such a period there are quite a lot of those who considered themselves offended by positions, and their revolutionary merits were not appreciated. It is from them that the head of the opposition draws personnel, while those who are at the helm of power use the apparatus of law and order to suppress the opposition (police, police, gendarmerie, state security agencies, SS, etc.). Naturally, this apparatus is endowed with special powers during such a period.

And if not Stalin, but Kirov, Trotsky, Bukharin, or someone else were in power, nothing would have happened otherwise. This is the dialectic of any revolution. So it was in bourgeois revolution the middle of the 17th century in England, so it was during the revolutions of the late 18th century in France, and so it was after the Nazis came to power in 1933. In today's Russia, this stage is still ahead.

Most of those who scold the VChK-GPU-NKVD consider and try to convince everyone that the actions of the employees of these bodies in the thirties were a manifestation of personal malice, personal negative qualities, or even worse - the desire of the "organs" to generally stand at the head of the state, crushing the party under them (as N.S. Khrushchev claimed).
However, in reality, the "organs" were just an instrument of internecine struggle among the tops of the party and state leadership. For example, an ax can be in the hands of a carpenter and in the hands of a murderer. But an ax - it is an ax, in all cases it remains just a tool.

People's Commissar G.G. Yagoda felt the "taste of power" and, apparently, decided to distinguish his employees with new uniforms and insignia. The leadership of the NKVD immediately developed a vigorous activity regarding the introduction of new uniforms. The People's Commissar in letters to I.V. Stalin put forward many projects of uniforms and insignia.

On October 4, 1935, the Politburo approved the drafts of new uniforms. It was decided to make the uniform for the bodies and troops of the NKVD uniform, and not as diverse as Yagoda suggested.

On November 27, 1935, by order No. 399 for the NKVD troops, a new uniform and insignia of the personnel of the Internal Guard were announced.

Due to the low capabilities of the country's clothing industry, it was impossible to quickly change into new uniforms for all employees of subdivisions, bodies and units of the NKVD troops. Therefore, the commanding staff of the internal guard (decision of the Politburo of 11/29/1935) was allowed until 10/1/1937 to wear old-style uniforms with new insignia and buttonholes before the expiration of the period: - a shirt with piping, according to the assigned rank; - cloak without fringing; - overcoat without edging.

The timing of the transition to wearing new insignia and buttonholes was determined: for the command staff of organs and troops - as they were awarded special and military ranks, and for ordinary and junior command personnel of the NKVD troops - from 1.III.1936.

Outfit by order No. 399 dated 11/27/1935.

1. Hats:
a) The main headgear of the organs and troops of the NKVD was the cap of the Red Army of the sample of 1935. The cap was sewn from woolen fabric of traditional colors for the NKVD: - cornflower blue crown and maroon band - for internal troops; Crimson piping was sewn on top of the band and crown on all types of caps. The cap had a slightly expanded black lacquered fiber visor, above which a lacquered black sliding chin strap was attached to two small uniform buttons. The higher, senior and middle command personnel wore a cap all year round, and the private and junior command personnel - only in the summer. In the summer, out of order, with a white uniform, the commanding officers could wear a white cap with a white fabric visor and chin strap.
b) For wearing in the field, the command staff of the ground units of the NKVD troops was equipped with a khaki woolen cap. The pilots of the NKVD troops were assigned a dark blue woolen cap, which was worn on a par with a cap with a dark blue jacket or shirt. The rank and file of all branches of the armed forces wore a khaki cotton cap with a marching uniform. Raspberry piping was sewn into the seams of the cap and sides of all caps of the command staff, and a cloth five-pointed star made of instrument cloth with a diameter of 3 cm was sewn onto the front seam.
c) For servicemen of the NKVD troops serving in areas with a hot climate, a khaki cotton helmet with a five-pointed star made of instrument cloth with a diameter of 7.5 cm was introduced.
d) As a winter headdress were introduced-
* to command personnel: a hat made of gray or brown fur, with a top (cap) made of dark gray woolen fabric - worn only with a coat with a fastened fur collar.
* to the rank and file: a winter helmet - "Budyonovka" made of dark gray semi-coarse cloth with a five-pointed star made of instrument cloth with a diameter of 8 cm in the front of the cap.

Appliance cloth:
- maroon - for internal protection and air units;
- light green - for the border guard.

On the band of the caps and over the cloth stars on the helmets there was a red enamel five-pointed Red Army star of the established pattern, 3.4 cm in diameter with gilded outer edges and a hammer and sickle in its center. On caps, by order, only cloth stars were worn.

2. Outerwear.

Instead of the overcoat adopted in the Red Army for the command staff (except for the junior ones) of the organs and troops of the NKVD, a double-breasted coat-cloak "raglan" made of dark gray woolen fabric, with 4 large uniform buttons, with a turn-down collar was introduced as outerwear. In winter, a fur lining and a collar were fastened to the coat in the color of the fur of a Finn hat. The collar of the coat of the highest command staff of the NKVD troops was edged with crimson cloth.

Note: In addition to the outerwear established by orders, command personnel were allowed to wear raincoats, coats and jackets made of black or dark brown leather, with and without insignia, out of order.

In the photo: on the left, a major of the NKVD troops in a raincoat with a fur collar and a Finnish hat. The insignia are located on the sleeve. On the right is a colonel of the NKVD troops in a coat. (reconstruction).

For uniform command personnel were introduced metal buttons of a special kind without a side, with a convex image of a straight five-pointed star with a sickle and a hammer, with a diameter of: small - 17 mm and large - 28 mm; for the highest command staff - golden; for senior and middle - silver; for outerwear of the entire command staff - oxidized, dark gray. Often used and ordinary army buttons. Buttons of ordinary and junior command personnel - the existing Red Army sample, black

The rank and file, as well as the junior command and command staff, were left with the former single-breasted overcoat of the Red Army model made of semi-coarse gray overcoat cloth, with a fastener on hooks.

3. Uniform.

The uniform of the internal troops of the NKVD consisted of the following items:
a) For middle, senior and senior command staff:
- cloth tunic of dark khaki color with two chest patch pockets;
-cloth dark blue harem pants with raspberry piping;
- summer tunic made of light cotton fabric of khaki color with two chest patch pockets;
- summer harem pants made of light khaki cotton fabric, without piping;
b) For junior command staff and privates:
- gymnast made of light cotton fabric of khaki color with two chest patch pockets;
- bloomers made of light cotton fabric of a protective color, without piping;

4. Equipment.

For the command staff, army equipment of a single sample made of brown leather with white metal fittings was installed. To carry weapons, a holster was worn on the waist belt on the right side. When wearing a jacket, a hanging holster was worn, attached by trench coats to the waist belt. The rank and file and junior command staff wore a brown or natural waist belt, with a metal single-pin buckle.

In the pictures: on the left is the captain of the internal troops of the NKVD, on the right is a Red Army soldier of the internal troops of the NKVD.

Leggings with chrome boots made of black or dark brown leather, or black chrome boots were worn for commanders of departments and institutions of the NKVD troops with trousers of the breeches type; . With trousers loose (out of order), the entire command staff wore chrome boots or low shoes made of black or brown leather. The rank and file and junior command staff were assigned to wear cowhide boots with windings or black cowhide boots.

From the author. I would like to emphasize once again that this article describes the uniform and insignia only of the Internal Troops of the NKVD, which had nothing to do with the protection of places of detention (GULAG), or with state security agencies (GB), or with the police. The main tasks of the internal troops were the protection of important state facilities and military support for the internal integrity and security of the state. Of course, since the internal troops belonged to the NKVD system, their uniforms and insignia were very similar to the uniforms and insignia of other NKVD structures.
Similar, but nothing more.
In addition, the system of ranks of the internal troops practically coincided with the ranks adopted in the Red Army, while the ranks in state security, the protection of places of detention and the police differed very significantly.

Insignia of the Internal Troops of the NKVD.

On March 1, 1936, insignia of a completely new type were introduced, which differed sharply from the previously existing ones, as well as from the insignia of the Red Army. And not by positions, but by personal ranks.

They existed for a relatively short time - from 1.III.1936 to 1937, therefore they are little known.

The insignia was a combination of lavalier insignia and sleeve stars.

From the author. In the Soviet state, stars as the main insignia first appeared precisely in the NKVD (on buttonholes). The insignia of the military ranks of the Red Army at that time were geometric figures- "diamonds", "sleepers", "kubari", "triangles". We will see stars in the Red Army, and then only on the buttonholes of the highest command staff of the Red Army with the introduction of general ranks in 1940. And only in 43 they will appear on the shoulder straps of officers of the Red Army.

I would like to recall that at that time in the Internal Troops (as in the Red Army) the command and command staff was divided into:
1. command staff,
2. commanding staff:
a) military-political composition,
b) - military-economic and administrative staff
c) - military-technical staff
d) - military medical staff,
e) - military veterinary staff,
e) - military-legal structure.

Once again from the author. Within the NKVD system, several rank scales existed in parallel:
* the scale of ranks of the internal troops of the NKVD,
* scale of ranks of state security officers,
* militia rank scale,
* the scale of insignia for the positions of employees and the protection of places of detention,
* the scale of ranks of firemen.

Moreover, the insignia were often very similar, differing only in the color of the buttonholes and insignia. In black and white photographs of that time, it is sometimes impossible to determine who it is - a serviceman, an employee of the State Security or the police.

In the picture on the right (reconstruction) is a colonel of the internal troops of the NKVD. Note that three stars in the buttonholes, but without golden triangles at the bottom of the buttonholes, were also worn by the captain of state security. However, it does not follow from this that the captain of the GB is equal to the colonel of the VV. These are too different scales of ranks, even in terms of the number of ranks.

First, let's understand the difference between special and military ranks.

So, "employees" names of persons with special titles, "military personnel"- having military ranks.

Let's think about the names. What is an "employee" (a variant of the concept - an employee) and how does it differ from a military man?
Employee is a person who acts own will to work in any institution, including the NKVD, and of his own free will leave. It is subject to the provisions of the Labor Code, but not to the provisions of military law.
Serviceman, no matter how he did it military service(by conscription or voluntarily), is obliged to serve the term established by law in those positions and in those areas where he was sent. He has no right to refuse to fulfill his duties and quit at will. His service is governed exclusively by military law.

It is this fundamental difference that leaves a certain imprint on the performance of official duties.

The internal troops of the NKVD are a purely military organization (one might say just military units, only subordinate not to the People's Commissariat of Defense, but to the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs), while the NKVD bodies are a semi-civilian organization. Discipline, diligence and order in a military organization are many times higher than in a semi-civilian one. They serve in the Internal Troops, but they work in the organs.

In the NKVD system of that time (and even now in the Ministry of Internal Affairs) there were both military and special ranks.

All those who served in the Internal Troops were considered and are considered military personnel and have army military ranks. When they are discharged from service, they are registered with the district military registration and enlistment office on a par with army servicemen and their ranks are taken into account as well as the ranks of the military personnel of the Moscow Region.

But all the rest who served in the "bodies" (state security, police, firefighters, various business executives) were assigned special ranks - with the prefix "state security", "police", "internal service". For example - lieutenant of state security, police captain, major of internal service.

Special ranks are not equated to military ranks at all. And although many of them wear army uniforms, in fact they have nothing to do with the army or the troops of the NKVD (MVD). Let's say the current Minister of Internal Affairs Nurgaliyev wears a uniform army general, although he does not serve in the army or in the internal troops.

For example, a man served in the army, retired with the rank of "corporal", after which he went to work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs in administrative and economic bodies. He was given a special rank, he works for many years, gets a promotion and eventually leaves with the special rank of "colonel of the internal service."
So, upon arrival at the district military registration and enlistment office for military registration, he will be recorded as a corporal, and not as a colonel, since his military (military) rank is corporal. A special rank for the military registration and enlistment office does not matter.

Another example. The officer served under the contract, retired from the army, enters the militia (police). In the police, he is unconditionally, in the order of re-certification, assigned a special rank of militia (police) corresponding to his military rank (i.e., confirmed).
But the other way around won't work.
Suppose that a lieutenant from the VV retired from the troops, went to work in the police, rose to the rank of police major and then decided to return to the Internal Troops again. He can only be recruited as a lieutenant.

This is how military ranks dominate in the Russian state since the time of Peter I.

Military ranks for military personnel of the internal guard of the NKVD of the USSR (internal troops) were introduced by the Council of People's Commissars No. 2250 of October 7, 1935 and announced by order of the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs No. 319 of October 10, 1935.

Command structure:

	military rank
Enlisted personnel	Red Army man
Junior command and command staff	Separated Commander
	Junior platoon commander
	foreman
Candidate for the title
Average command staff	Lieutenant
	Senior Lieutenant
Senior command staff	Captain
	Major
	Colonel
Top command staff	brigade commander
	Divisional commander
	Comcor

Military-political composition:

Military economic and administrative staff:

	military rank
Average military-economic and administrative staff	Quartermaster 2nd rank
	Quartermaster 1st rank
Senior military and administrative staff	Quartermaster 3rd rank
	Quartermaster 2nd rank
	Quartermaster 1st rank
The highest military-economic and administrative staff	brigintendant
	Divintendant

Military-technical composition:

	military rank
Average military-technical composition	Military technician 2nd rank
	Military technician 1st rank
Senior military technical staff	Military engineer 3rd rank
	Military engineer 2nd rank
	Military engineer 1st rank
The highest military-technical staff	Brigadier
	Diving Engineer

Military medical staff:

Military veterinary staff:

Military legal composition:

	military rank
Average military-legal structure	Junior military officer
	Military lawyer
Senior military legal staff	Military 3rd rank
	Military 2nd rank
	Military 1st rank
Supreme military legal staff	Brigvoenyurist
	Divvoenyurist

Stars of various colors in buttonholes and sleeve insignia served as insignia for military ranks.

Let's start with the insignia.

In the picture: from left to right: sleeve insignia of the middle command staff, senior command staff, senior command staff, military-political staff.

The average command staff wore on both sleeves above the cuff (above the cuff) two or three so-called. "truncated triangles" embroidered with red silk thread, depending on the rank.

The senior command staff wore red stars on both sleeves above the cuff (above the cuff), embroidered with red silk with a silver edging, according to the rank (how many stars in buttonholes, so many on the sleeves).

The highest command staff wore red stars on both sleeves above the cuff (above the cuff), embroidered with red silk with golden edging, according to the rank (how many stars in the buttonholes, so many on the sleeves) ..

The military-political composition on both sleeves above the cuff (above the cuff) wore one star, regardless of rank. These stars were completely similar to the stars of the political composition of the Red Army, i.e. a red star with a golden hammer and sickle embroidered inside it.

The military-economic and administrative, military-technical, military-medical, military-veterinary and military-legal staff did not have sleeve insignia by rank.

The main means of distinguishing the ranks of the internal troops (internal security) of the NKVD were buttonholes.

Buttonholes arr. 1935 were cloth flaps in the shape of a parallelogram, 10 cm long and 3.3 cm wide.
The color of the buttonholes remained traditional - maroon. The buttonholes were sheathed with crimson piping 0.25 cm wide.

Along the middle part of the field on the buttonholes, a longitudinal strip (clearance) was sewn from a soutache cord 0.3-0.35 cm wide:
- golden color - for the highest command staff;
- silver color - for senior and middle command staff;
- raspberry color - for ordinary and junior command personnel.

At the front unedged edge of the buttonholes were placed:
*the command staff has equilateral triangles (side 3 cm): golden (galoon or metal)
* for the military and administrative staff dark blue (fabric or metal enameled)

On the buttonholes of the military-political, military-medical, military-veterinary, military-technical and military-legal staff of the troops of the NKVD of the USSR, the wearing of triangles was not established.

The commanding staff (military-technical, military-medical, military-veterinary, military-legal) of the specialized services of the NKVD troops at the edged edge of the buttonholes, according to their specialty, wore emblems of white or yellow metal, which were located like those of the Red Army specialists .. Moreover, before the introduction in 1936, the new emblems of the Red Army (Order of the NPO No. 33 of 03/10/1936) used the emblems of the Red Army arr. 1922 (Order of the RVSR No. 322 of January 31, 1922).

In the picture on the left:
1 Major of the Internal Troops,
2nd quartermaster 2nd rank,
3rd military engineer 2nd rank,
4-battalion commissar (a political worker's star on the sleeve),
5th military doctor 2nd rank,
6-military veterinarian of the 2nd rank.

Rank insignia:

*Private and junior command and command staff - metal red enamel squares with silver-plated sides, which had the shape of a chevron. The squares were placed on the buttonholes in one row on a longitudinal strip with the top to the unedged end of the buttonhole. The top of the inner corner of the first square was located at a distance of 4 cm from the edged end of the buttonhole, the distance between the squares was 0.3 cm. The squares had a height of 2.6 cm, the width of the side sections was 0.7 cm. enamel 0.4 cm. The Red Army wore clean buttonholes with a longitudinal strip, without insignia.

The Red Army men and junior commanders did not wear emblems or insignia of the command and military personnel in their buttonholes.

1-foreman,
2nd junior commander platoon,
3-separated commander,
4-Red Army.

"Candidate for the rank" - it was an intermediate step between the junior and middle command staff.

This title existed in the internal troops of the NKVD for a very not for long. Already in April of the 37th, by order of the NKVD of the USSR No. 169 of 04/21/1937, it was abolished as unnecessary.

In the picture on the left: the insignia of the candidate for the title.

From the author. In fact, any rank should be correlated with a certain position or a group of approximately equal positions. And it is normal practice when a soldier with a certain rank is promoted, and then, making sure that he is able to perform new duties for himself, they are assigned another title. And the title of a candidate for the title (which in itself is a tautology) means that the person is no longer a foreman, but not yet an officer (let me express myself with a modern concept for simplicity of presentation). And what to do if you decide that the candidate is not worthy of an officer's rank. It’s easy with the foreman - they returned to the foreman’s position and that’s all. And what about the candidate? His rank is higher than that of a foreman, but he cannot be an officer.
Obviously, this duality of the situation prompted the authorities to abandon this title.

*Medium command and command staff - wore metal red enamel so-called. "truncated
triangles" with silver-plated sides.

1 lieutenant,
2nd senior lieutenant,
3-political instructor (on the sleeve is the star of a political worker),
4-technician quartermaster rank 2,
5-technician quartermaster of the 1st rank,
6 military technician 2nd rank,
7th military engineer 1st rank,
8-military paramedic 2 ranks,
9th military paramedic of the 1st rank.

It should be noted that if physicians wore their emblems, which were determined by them back in 1922 and had not changed by 1935, then the emblems of veterinarians and technicians are shown here in 1936. It is not completely clear what emblems the commanding staff wore in the buttonholes of the 1935 model, and wore them in general. It should also be noted that until July 1940, the military-political staff in buttonholes did not wear any emblems at all. Both in the NKVD and in the Red Army, they distinguished themselves with commissar stars on their sleeves.

* Senior command and command personnel wore silver gaps and metal silver stars with a diameter of 13 mm in their buttonholes.

1- colonel,
2 major,
3-captain,
4th regimental commissar
5 battalion commissar,
6-senior political instructor,
7th quartermaster 1st rank,
8th quartermaster 2nd rank,
9th quartermaster 3rd rank,
10- military engineer 1st rank,
11-military engineer 2nd rank,
12-military engineer 2nd rank,
13th military doctor of the 1st rank,
14-military veterinarian of the 2nd rank,
15-military doctor of the 3rd rank.

Note. Persons with higher education and entering the military service in the Red Army or the internal troops of the NKVD in the positions of commanding (but only commanding!) Staff immediately receive the rank of senior commanding staff, bypassing all lower ranks. That is, a young man who graduated from a medical institute immediately receives the title of military doctor of the 3rd rank, a young man who graduated technical university- military engineer 3rd rank. Institute graduate National economy- Quartermaster of the 3rd rank.

* The highest command and command staff wore golden gaps and golden metal stars with a diameter of 13 mm in their buttonholes.

The highest rank in the internal troops of the NKVD was established as "commander of the 2nd rank." However, it was never assigned to anyone and remained purely nominal. In the figure on the right, the insignia of the commander of the 2nd rank.

1-comcor,
2nd division commander,
3 brigade commander,
4-corps commissioner,
5th divisional commissar,
6 brigade commissar,
7-divintendent,
8 brigintendant,
9th division engineer,
10-brigengineer,
11-divvrach
12 brig veterinarian.

I repeat that these insignia existed in the Internal Guard for a very short time - from October 1935 to July 1937. Many servicemen of the VV did not even have time to put them on, since they switched to new insignia not at once, but as they were awarded ranks. And it was not a mechanical process. For each serviceman, the issue of conferring a particular rank was decided individually in the course of certification. And the junior command staff generally switched to new insignia only in March 1936.

At the same time, I considered it necessary to describe in detail these insignia and form, so that the reader does not get confused when he sees a photograph with strange, very rare buttonholes. For the same purpose, and also so that the reader can discern the differences in signs, in the appendices I give the insignia of the personnel of the NKVD and the GULAG NKVD

Sources and literature

1. Magazine "Tseikhgauz" No. 1 - 1991
2. Materials of the Central Museum of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR
3. M.I. Shcherbak. "Yours military uniform". Main Political Directorate of VV. Moscow. 1986.
4. J. Rutkiewicz, W. N. Kulikow. Wojska NKWD 1917-1945, Barwa i Broh, Lampart, Warszawa 1998.
5. V. Voronov, A. Shishkin "NKVD of the USSR: structure, leadership, uniforms, insignia 1934-1937." - Moscow. LLC Publishing House "Russian Intelligence". 2005
6. L. Turner. The history of the Russian uniform. Soviet militia 1918-1991. Exclusive. Saint Petersburg. 1995

Information about the author of the article
Major of the Internal Troops Vlasenko Valery Timofeevich. Born in 1949. Served in the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR for 22 years, then served in the police. Total length of service 35 years. Was on business trips in Nagorno-Karabakh, Chechnya.

First you need to recall what the internal troops of the NKVD were like by 1937.

In 1937, the Main Directorate of the Border and Internal Guard (GUPVO NKVD) was renamed the Main Directorate of the Border and Internal Troops of the NKVD of the USSR.

On February 2, 1939, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a Decree "On the reorganization of the management of the border and internal troops", according to which the Main Directorate of the Border and Internal Troops of the NKVD of the USSR was divided into six main departments:
- Main Directorate of Border Troops of the NKVD of the USSR;
- Main Directorate of the troops of the NKVD of the USSR for the protection of railway facilities;
- Main Directorate of the troops of the NKVD of the USSR for the protection of especially important industrial enterprises;
- Main Directorate of the escort troops of the NKVD of the USSR;
- Main Directorate of Military Supply of the NKVD of the USSR;
- The main military construction department of the NKVD of the USSR.

November 20, 1939 By order of the NKVD of the USSR, the "Regulations on the escort troops of the NKVD of the USSR" were introduced. They carried out the tasks of escorting detainees, carried out external protection of individual prisons. This Regulation provided for wartime tasks related to the escort and protection of prisoners of war.
I should note that the escort troops carried out their functions interspersed with the paramilitary guards of the GULAG (VOHR GULAG NKVD). Some places of detention were guarded by fighters of convoy units, others by VOKhR.

Below we will talk about the uniform and insignia:
-troops of the NKVD SSR for the protection of especially important industrial enterprises,
-troops of the NKVD for the protection of railway facilities,
-convoy troops of the NKVD.

In addition, before the start and in the first weeks of the war, several rifle divisions of the internal troops of the NKVD were formed, the states of which, numbers, weapons hardly differed from the rifle divisions of the Red Army. These divisions took part in the battles at the front along with the divisions of the Red Army.

Note. The uniform and insignia of the border troops of the NKVD did not differ in any way from other troops of the NKVD, except that the field of buttonholes was not maroon with a crimson edging, but green with a crimson edging. Also, the caps had other colors. Therefore, the article will not say anything about the border troops. The reader only needs to keep in mind these differences between the border guards.

In the figure, the military personnel of the NKVD troops in the form of arr. 1937. On the left is a Red Army soldier in summer uniform, in the center is an infantry lieutenant of the NKVD troops in winter uniform, on the right is a senior political instructor of the NKVD troops in a jacket.

So, below we will talk about the uniform and insignia:
- infantry units and formations of the internal troops of the NKVD,
- parts and divisions of the NKVD SSR for the protection of especially important industrial enterprises,
-parts and divisions of the NKVD for the protection of railway facilities,
-convoy units and divisions of the NKVD.

For all these units and formations, the uniform and insignia are exactly the same, and almost completely, with the exception of some elements and colors of the buttonholes, coincide with the uniform of the Red Army.
For brevity in the text, we will refer to them as "NKVD troops".

It should be noted that if in the NKVD troops all military personnel wore ranks and insignia identical to those of the army, then NKVD employees (various kinds of departments, institutions, etc.) wore ranks with the prefix either "... internal service", or ".... state security." For example, "captain of the internal service", "sergeant of state security". This means that an employee has this title only while he works in the NKVD system and his title, so to speak, "for internal use." But a soldier of the NKVD troops retains his rank in all cases in the same way as a soldier of the Red Army. Simply put, the difference between a lieutenant of the Red Army and a lieutenant of the NKVD troops is only that one is subordinate to the NPO, and the second to the NKVD.

By a decree of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of July 10, 1937, the personnel of the NKVD troops were transferred to the system of insignia adopted in the Red Army.

In pursuance of this decree of the NKVD of the USSR, on July 15, 1937, order No. 278 was issued, according to which the following changes were introduced in the form of clothing:

A cap with a light blue crown instead of blue;
- with the former color of the tunic, the collar and cuffs of the sleeves were sheathed with crimson piping;
- instead of a jacket, a jacket made of khaki woolen fabric with chest patch pockets and six buttons-clasps was introduced, on the collar and cuffs of the sleeves - raspberry edging;
- the loose trousers were now also khaki, not dark blue.

The color of the buttonholes and the edging remained the same (maroon field and raspberry edging), only the longitudinal strip in the center disappeared.
The buttonholes of the maroon color of the military personnel of the middle, senior and senior command staff did not have a colored edging, but were sheathed along the edge with a narrow golden galloon (width 3 mm.), Similar to the Red Army
The buttonholes of the maroon color of the middle, senior and senior commanding staff (political, technical, administrative, economic, medical, veterinary staff, justice) had, like those of the junior commanding and commanding staff and privates, crimson edging.

The size of the buttonholes on the tunic and overcoat has slightly decreased compared to 1933:
buttonholes on the tunic had the shape of a parallelogram 10 cm long and 3.25 cm high;
the buttonholes for the overcoat had the shape of a rhombus with rounded concave upper sides, with a buttonhole height of 11 cm and a width of 8.5 cm.

Insignia for junior command and command staff from one to four triangles 1x1 cm in size made of copper covered with dark red enamel.
Insignia for the middle command and commanding staff: two or three squares (colloquially referred to as "cubes" or "head over heels"), 1x1 cm in size, made of copper covered with dark red enamel.
Signs of the senior command and command staff from one to three rectangles (commonly referred to as "sleepers") made of copper measuring 1.6x0.7 cm, covered with dark red enamel.
The insignia for the highest command and command staff consisted of rhombuses 1.7 cm high and 0.8 cm wide made of copper covered with dark red enamel; from one to four diamonds.

Wearing the emblems of the military branches and services in the buttonholes was mandatory for everyone, except for the political composition.

In the Red Army, things were somewhat different. The main types of troops - the infantry and cavalry had no emblems at all. Emblems differed from the main branches of the military specialists - tankers, signalmen, artillerymen, etc.

Moreover:
* the middle, senior and senior command staff of the NKVD troops on the sleeves above the cuff (cuff) wore chevrons in ranks similar to those adopted in the Red Army,
* the military-political composition of the NKVD troops wore commissar stars on their sleeves above the cuff (one star, regardless of rank),
* the rest of the middle, senior and senior commanding staff (technical, medical, veterinary, quartermaster (administrative and economic), legal) of the NKVD troops did not have any signs on their sleeves.

From the author. The color of the buttonholes and the insignia of the servicemen of the internal troops of the NKVD and the employees of the NKVD bodies (and the state security bodies that were part of the NKVD system) were completely the same. The difference was that all servicemen of the NKVD troops wore emblems, including the main units - infantry and cavalry. But the employees of the NKVD and state security agencies did not wear emblems. None. Like commissars in the army. But the state security officers wore on both sleeves above the elbow the sign of the GB model 1935.

Emblems for the branches of the NKVD troops were established as follows:

Here you should pay attention to the following points:
1. Emblems in buttonholes are worn by all ordinary, command and command personnel, except for the military-political composition.
2. The entire military-technical staff in all branches of the armed forces wears a single emblem "engineer-technical staff".
3. The emblem of doctors is golden, veterinarians is silver. All others are golden.
4. The emblem of the cavalry is not worn the way it will be worn in the Red Army cavalry when it is introduced there in 1943. In the cavalry of the NKVD troops, the emblem is with the hilts of checkers up, and in the cavalry of the Red Army, with the hilts of checkers down.
5. The famous emblem of the infantry in the NKVD troops was introduced in July 1937, and in the Red Army in July 1940.
6. The images of the emblems are taken from a secondary source and I could neither accurately date it nor refer to the document from which it was taken. Therefore, errors are not excluded here.

Note from Yu.G. Veremeev I have not been able to find a single directive document of the government or NGOs, which introduced this emblem for the infantry of the Red Army. The only document is NCO Order No. 226 dated 26.7.1940, where the infantry emblem is simply shown in the drawings of the new insignia as already existing. I tend to think that the NPO simply borrowed this emblem from the NKVD.

And I also ask you to pay attention - the commanders of the infantry of the NKVD and the commanders of the infantry of the Red Army wore almost the same buttonholes and exactly the same insignia (cubes, sleepers, rhombuses). It is usually possible to distinguish between the crimson (RKKA) and maroon (NKVD troops) color of buttonholes only if you see them at the same time. And in black and white photographs of that time it is completely impossible to distinguish. A golden galunchik along the edge of the buttonholes was worn in both departments. Thus, if there is no exact dating of the photograph, it is absolutely impossible to determine who is in the picture - the infantry commander of the NKVD troops or the infantry commander of the Red Army. Therefore, the presence in the photographs of this emblem in the buttonholes of literally everyone is misleading as to whether these emblems were in the Red Army or not.

The insignia of the ranks of private and junior command and command staff since 1937:

1. Red Army soldier. Infantry troops of the NKVD.
2. Separated commander. Cavalry troops of the NKVD.
3. Junior platoon commander. Automotive parts and subdivisions of the NKVD troops.
Note. The same emblem was worn by all car drivers in all parts of the NKVD troops.
4. Petty officer. Infantry troops of the NKVD.

From the author. Pay attention - these are military ranks of the junior commanding staff of the NKVD troops, and not positions, as many believe. The fact that these titles sound similar to positions should not mislead anyone. For example, the title of "junior platoon commander" was held by a serviceman, who usually held the positions of "assistant platoon commander" or "commander of an independent (not part of a platoon) squad", or "gun commander", "commander of the ammunition squad".
For comparison, after all, with the introduction of personal military ranks in 1935, even the highest command personnel received titles very similar to the titles of the positions - brigade commander, division commander, commander, commander.

The insignia of the ranks of the middle command and command staff since 1937:

Command structure:
1. Junior lieutenant. Infantry troops of the NKVD.
2. Lieutenant. Cavalry troops of the NKVD.
3. Senior lieutenant. Armored units of the NKVD troops.

Notes:
The rank of junior lieutenant was introduced on 08/20/1937. decision of the Council of People's Commissars
The buttonholes do not have a colored edging, but are sheathed with a narrow gold galloon (3mm.)

Below are examples of commanding ranks:
4. Junior military technician.
Note - the buttonholes have a raspberry edging, the emblem of the military-technical staff is obligatory in the buttonhole, there are no sleeve insignia.
The rank of junior military technician was introduced by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars on 08/20/1937.
Military technician of the 2nd rank had two dice, military engineer of the 1st rank had 3 dice.

5. Military assistant.
Note - the buttonholes have a raspberry edging, the emblem of the medical service is obligatory in the buttonhole (veterinarians have the emblem of the veterinary service), there are no sleeve insignia.
senior military assistant - 3 dice

6. Politician.
Note - the buttonholes have a crimson edging, there are no emblems in the buttonholes, the sleeve patch is a commissar star.
On August 20, 1937, by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars, the rank of junior political instructor was introduced (2 cubes in buttonholes).

Rank insignia for senior command and command personnel since 1937:

Senior command staff:
1.Captain. Infantry troops of the NKVD.
2. Major. Infantry troops of the NKVD.
3.Colonel. Cavalry troops of the NKVD.

Below are examples of buttonholes for senior officers:

4. Military engineer 3rd rank. Automobile parts of the NKVD troops.
Notes: Emblem is inaccurate. As a general rule, all servicemen of the military technical staff were supposed to wear the emblem of the engineering staff, but this rule was often violated,
A military engineer of the 2nd rank had 2 sleepers, and a military engineer of the 1st rank had 3 sleepers.

5. Military doctor 2nd rank.
A military doctor of the 3rd rank had 1 sleeper, and a military doctor of the 1st rank had 3 sleepers.
The same goes for veterinarians.

6. Regimental commissar.
The senior political instructor had 1 sleeper in his buttonholes, the battalion commissar had 2 sleepers.

The insignia of the ranks of the highest command and command staff since 1937:

Command structure:
1. Brigade commander,
2nd division commander,
3-Comcor.
Note. In the troops of the NKVD highest rank it was comcor.

Below are examples of buttonholes of the commanding staff:

4. Team engineer.
Note. The military-technical staff had only two ranks - briging engineer and division engineer. Accordingly - one or two rhombuses.
5. Divvoenvrach.
The military medical staff had two ranks - brigvrach and divvrach. The military veterinary staff is a brigveter and a veterinarian.
6. Corps commissioner.
Note. The highest military-political composition, unlike the rest of the commanding staff, had not two ranks, but three. In addition to the brigade commissar, divisional commissar, there was also the rank of corps commissar (this is not a mistake - it was "corps" and not "corps").
Naturally, the highest military and economic staff had the ranks of brigintendant and divintendant, and the military legal staff of brigvoenyurist and divinvoenyurist.

1940

In 1940, the scale of ranks for the highest and senior command and command staff changed somewhat.
By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 7, 1940, new military ranks are introduced for the top command staff of the Red Army to replace the ranks of divisional commander, commander, commander.

Accordingly, these changes are reflected in the troops of the NKVD.

However, ranks are not changed automatically, but by appropriate orders. As a rule, new titles were assigned to:
Komdivu - Major General,
Komkoru - lieutenant general.

Yesterday's brigade commanders, in the order of re-certification, were assigned either the rank of colonel or major general, depending on the position. However, this process dragged on and by the time the war began, there were still several brigade commanders in the NKVD troops, who still wore one rhombus in their buttonholes.

With regard to brigade commissars, the then head of the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army achieved a decision according to which the title of "brigade commissar" was no longer awarded, but the existing brigade commissars retained their rank and insignia until they were awarded the next rank (divisional commissar). Thus, some brigade commissars carried their rank until the complete abolition of the political worker rank scale in the fall of 1942.

In accordance with the changes in ranks, new insignia are introduced. For the higher command staff of the NKVD troops (as in the Red Army), the shape of the buttonholes now becomes the same on the overcoat, on the service jacket and tunic. The field of buttonholes is maroon, the stars are metallic or embroidered in golden color. Along the upper edge of the buttonholes is a commander's gold lace 3 mm wide. The generals of the NKVD troops did not have emblems in their buttonholes.
The sleeves are similar to the chevrons of the generals of the Red Army. and major generals and lieutenant generals wear the same chevrons.

For the rest of the senior commanding staff, there were no changes in the insignia in comparison with 1937. They continued to wear their rhombuses in the buttonholes of the previous form.

From the author. Please note that the brigade level in 1940 was abolished only for the command and military-political staff. The ranks of brig-engineer, brigintendant, brig-doctor, brig-veterinarian, brig-military officer and their insignia were retained.

On July 26, 1940, by order of the NCO of the USSR No. 226, the ranks of "lieutenant colonel" and "senior battalion commissar" were introduced, and in connection with this, the insignia of the senior command and command personnel were changed. now three sleepers are worn by a lieutenant colonel and a senior battalion commissar, and a colonel and a regimental commissar each wear four sleepers.
On August 5, 1940, by order of the NKVD of the USSR No. 642, the order of the NPO of the USSR No. 226 of July 26, 1940 on changing the insignia was distributed to the NKVD troops.

From Yu.G. Veremeev There is an interesting point here. The commanding staff in the ranks of a military engineer of the 1st rank, a quartermaster of the 1st rank, a military doctor of the 1st rank, a military doctor of the 1st rank, a military officer of the 1st rank, both wore three sleepers in their buttonholes until 1940, and remained with three sleepers. In fact, absolutely nothing has changed, because. they had previously been considered a step below the colonel. But if earlier they had as many sleepers on their buttonholes as the colonel, now it turned out that they were all, as it were, lowered in rank. There were a lot of grievances, to the point that many of them arbitrarily attached the fourth sleeper. The regimental commissars were pleased, because they now wore four sleepers and in this they differed from the quartermasters, engineers, military doctors of the regimental level, i.e. their higher status, equal to the commander of the regiment, was clearly emphasized. But the battalion commissars were dissatisfied (especially those who were about to be awarded the next rank) due to the fact that between their rank and the coveted rank of regimental commissar another one popped up.

Insignia of the middle and senior command staff of the NKVD troops from July 1940:
1. Junior lieutenant. Infantry.
2. Lieutenant. Cavalry.
3. Senior lieutenant. Armored units.
4.Captain. Infantry.
5. Major. Infantry.
6. Lieutenant colonel. Cavalry.
7.Colonel.Infantry.

For the middle and senior commanding staff, with the exception of the military-political staff (3 sleepers for the senior battalion commissar, and 4 sleepers for the regimental commissar), the insignia did not change in 1940.

From the author. Pay attention to the change of sleeve patches. Now these are gold galloons sewn onto a red cloth chevron. The number and width of galloons depend on the rank. Major and lieutenant colonel have the same sleeve insignia.

And yet, these signs can only be called chevrons. Chevron means "corner" in French. Hence, only a patch in the form of an angle can be called a chevron. Moreover, it does not matter where this patch is attached - on the sleeve, shoulder strap, headdress or on the chest. All other signs that do not have the shape of an angle are simply called stripes. Unfortunately, the general flagrant illiteracy in uniforms led to the fact that in post-Soviet times, any sleeve patches began to be called chevrons. Unfortunately, this illiteracy has also penetrated into normative service documents.

In November 1940, the names of the ranks of the junior command and command staff of the Red Army and, accordingly, the NKVD troops, radically change. These ranks in the Red Army were announced by order of the NPO No. 391 of November 2, 1940, and for the troops of the NKVD and by order of the NKVD of November 5, 1940.

Naturally, the insignia also change.

For the newly introduced rank "Corporal", the insignia was a horizontal red stripe on an overcoat buttonhole 1 cm wide, on a tunic 5 mm. In addition to triangles, the same strip on the buttonholes is also worn by all other junior command and command personnel.
The foreman additionally received gold 3rd trim on the buttonholes. galunchik, however, unlike the middle and senior command staff, this galunchik was placed not instead of a raspberry edging, but between it and the buttonhole field.

Insignia and ranks of private and junior command and command staff:
1. Red Army soldier. Infantry troops of the NKVD.
2. Corporal. Infantry troops of the NKVD.
3. Junior sergeant. Infantry troops of the NKVD.
4. Sgt. Cavalry troops of the NKVD.
5. Senior sergeant. Automobile divisions and units of the NKVD troops. The same emblem was worn by all car drivers in all parts of the NKVD troops,
6. Foreman. Cavalry troops of the NKVD.

From the author. It is worth focusing on the fact that the word "foreman" has always existed in our armed forces in two meanings - foreman as military rank, and foreman as a position (company foreman, squadron foreman, artillery division foreman). And the position of foreman of the unit did not have to be occupied by a soldier with the rank of foreman. He could have the rank of senior sergeant or sergeant. But a soldier with the rank of foreman necessarily holds the position of foreman of a company or an equal position (for example, head of a radio station, head of a canteen). And even higher. For example, the position of commander of a platoon of support. During the war years, with a shortage of officers, commanders of combat platoons, and even companies, were often appointed from among the sergeants. And usually they were given the rank of foreman.

Rank insignia of the 1940 model were worn by the NKVD troops until the introduction of a new uniform and insignia (epaulettes) in the winter of 1943.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in August 1941 (Order of the NKO of the USSR No. 253 of 1.8.1941), green field buttonholes without piping and without laces were introduced in the Army. Triangles, cubes, sleepers also acquired a green color. However, in parts not related to active army, pre-war insignia were retained.
Thus, in the NKVD troops, field insignia were actually switched to only in the rifle divisions of the NKVD troops, who fought at the front along with the divisions of the Red Army.

It is impossible at all to distinguish a serviceman of an NKVD rifle division from a serviceman of the Red Army when both wear the same field insignia.

Note by Veremeev Yu.G. This is where the confusion expands with the famous emblem of the infantry (crossed rifles against the background of the target). If in the infantry of the NKVD troops this emblem was introduced back in 1937 and was mandatory for everyone to wear, then in the infantry of the Red Army it appeared only in July 1940 (and in some strange way - the order of the NPO on its introduction is unknown, and in the order of the NPO No. 226 July 1940, it is only painted on the buttonholes of the Red Army infantry). The servicemen of the NKVD troops, in order to emphasize (considering service in the NKVD more honorable than in the Red Army) that they were from the NKVD system, and not from NPOs, strove to preserve their emblems even when they rifle division was withdrawn from the subordination of the NKVD and transferred to the Red Army.

Second World War: torn pages Verevkin Sergey Ivanovich

Appendix No. 1 COMPARATIVE TABLE OF APPROXIMATE CORRESPONDENCE OF RANKS IN THE WAFFEN-SS AND SS, WEHRMACHTE, RKKA, NKVD-NKGB

Application No. 1

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF APPROXIMATE CORRESPONDENCE OF RANKS IN THE WAFFEN-SS AND SS, WEHRMACHTE, RKKA, NKVD-NKGB

SS and Waffen-SS	Wehrmacht	Red Army	NKVD-NKGB
ss-mann	Schutze, Grenadier	Private	-
-	Ober Schütze, Ober Grenadier	-	-
SS navigator	corporal	-	-
SS Rottenführer	Corporal	corporal	-
Non-commissioned officer ranks
SS Unterscharführer	non-commissioned officer	-	-
SS Scharführer	Unter sergeant major	Lance Sergeant	-
SS-Standartenunker	Fenrich	-	-
SS Oberscharführer	Feldwebel	Sergeant	-
SS Hauptscharführer	Chief sergeant major	Staff Sergeant	-
SS-Standartenoberjunker	Ober Fenrich	-	-
SS Staffscharführer	Hauptfeldwebel	foreman	-
SS Sturmscharführer	Staff sergeant major	-	-
Chief officer ranks
-	-	Ensign	Sergeant GB
Untersturmführer SS	Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Senior Sergeant GB
SS Obersturmführer	Ober Lieutenant	Senior Lieutenant	Junior Lieutenant GB
SS-Hauptsturmführer	Captain	Captain	Lieutenant GB
Headquarters officer ranks
Sturmbannführer SS	Major	Major	Senior Lieutenant GB
SS Obersturmbannführer	Lieutenant colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Captain GB
SS-Standartenführer	Colonel	Colonel	Major GB
SS Oberführer	-	-	-
General ranks
SS Brigadeführer, Major General of the Waffen-SS	Major General	Major General	Senior Major GB
SS Gruppenfuehrer, Lieutenant General of the Waffen-SS	Lieutenant General	Lieutenant General	Commissioner of State Security 3rd rank
SS-Obergruppenführer, General of the Waffen-SS	General of the armed forces (infantry, artillery, etc.)	Colonel General	-
SS Oberstgruppenfuehrer, Oberst General of the Waffen-SS	Oberst General	Army General	Commissioner of State Security 1st rank
Marshal ranks
-	-	Marshal of the armed forces (aviation, artillery, etc.)	-
-	Field Marshal General	Marshal of the USSR	-
SS Reichsfuehrer	-	-	General Commissioner GB

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A leather jacket and a raincoat are the same cultural symbol of the fighters of the state security agencies of the post-revolutionary period as the revolver and mass executions. Was the leather jacket really official wear, and was it only in the NKVD that they wore it? Apparently, everything was not quite as it seems at first.

Surely, when pronouncing the words, a fighter (or better, an executioner) of the NKVD before the eyes of the majority modern people a man appears with a gangster face in a cap and a leather jacket or raincoat. It is quite obvious that the leather clothing was some kind of uniform. It is known that leather jackets were already in Tsarist Russia, where they were mainly used by drivers and pilots of the Air Force. It is known that in October 1917 the Chekists exterminated all owners of leather jackets. And then they slaughtered their families up to the seventh generation.

The uniform of the military personnel of the Russian Imperial Army without insignia

Okay, jokes aside. First, about clothes. In a nutshell, after the revolution, no one bothered much about the uniform of military personnel and fighters of state security agencies. For example, uniforms for the army began to be developed only on May 7, 1918, after order number 326. At the same time, on September 30, 1918, by order 929, it was allowed to wear the uniform of servicemen of the Russian Imperial Army without insignia.

In the years civil war there was no special uniform in the Cheka, which (among other things) is explained by the tasks and realities in which state security officers had to work. When units of the Red Army were placed at the disposal of the Cheka, they simply retained their uniforms. After its abolition and the creation of the GPU under the NKVD of the RSFSR, the uniform was very modest: a dark blue tunic without a border and a cap. The clothes were installed by order of the GPU number 280 of November 3, 1922.

At the official level, there was no talk of any leather jackets at all. Seriously engaged in the form of troops and organs of the NKVD only in 1935. And even then, in the orders (number 396 according to the GUGB, number 399 according to the GUPVO of December 27, 1935), there are no leather clothes at the official level. However, it was not prohibited, referring to the category of "non-statutory permitted."

Fashionable, stylish, revolutionary

The leather jacket in post-revolutionary Russia has gained great popularity since 1919. They wore it not only in the Cheka. Leather jackets were worn by the command staff of the Red Army, as well as employees of the party apparatus. It is obvious that in the first years post-revolutionary Russia did not have the opportunity (including industrial ones) and the time to put the production of leather jackets on stream and put all the fighters of the Cheka in them. People simply “weared on” what was left from tsarist times.

Why were they wearing jackets? This is a good question. Partly because the US used to wear coats and felt hats. It was fashionable. Much more important that leather clothing is very practical, comfortable, and most importantly, lice do not start in it. Finally, leather jackets and raincoats were rare, and therefore were of some value, moreover, they worked as a “formal uniform” allowing you to immediately determine whether a person belongs to a particular organization. But, even so, one should not forget that the state security officer was determined primarily not by clothing, but by the insignia on it.

Do you want to know even more interesting things about equipment and uniforms? Then here, there is one, they are so good.