Praporshchik

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Praporshchik (Russian: прапорщик, meaning flag-bearer) is a rank used by the Russian Armed Forces and some former Soviet states. It is a non-commissioned officer rank, roughly equivalent to a warrant officer class 1 or sergeant major in English-speaking armies, and to the navy’s michman. NATO codes place it at OR-7 or OR-8.

Historically, praporshchik began in Imperial Russia as a junior officer and flag-bearer. By the 19th century it became a senior non-commissioned rank for long-serving soldiers. It was abolished in 1917 after the Bolshevik Revolution. In the White Army it disappeared quickly, but the rank returned later in Soviet times.

In 1940 the rank was reintroduced in the Soviet Army as a separate career group between non-commissioned officers and officers. In the Soviet system, praporshchiks and michmans formed a corps of senior NCOs with more authority than ordinary sergeants.

In modern Russia the praporshchik remains a distinct category near junior officers, acting as close assistants to officers and as supervisors of soldiers and petty officers. Starting in 2009–2010, Moscow began phasing out the position in favor of contract sergeants, and by late 2009 some said none were left. In 2013 the Defense Ministry announced the return of praporshchiks (and michmans) with a small number of new positions, mainly for combat and technical roles.