“Kombrig” is an abbreviated name (from “komandir brigady”) for the post of brigade commander, which entered the Russian language after the 1917 October Revolution. Between 1935 and 1940, the brigade commander was a personal military rank of the level of the highest command of the Red Army. It corresponded to a brigadier or brigadier general in the armed forces of other countries.
The famous pilot Valery Pavlovich Chkalov received the rank in 1938 after his legendary flight to America via the North Pole. At about the same time, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star, was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and his native village of Vasilyovo was renamed Chkalovsk — in honor of the hero.
In the last year of his life, the pilot could be invariably seen in the uniform of a brigade commander. He was wearing this uniform when he attended various events as a guest of honor, acted as a referee at sports competitions, visited the voters of his constituency, and even flew to the village where he was from to see his friends and relatives and go hunting and fishing.
The uniform of a brigade commander differed from those of other ranks of the Red Army with sleeve insignia in the form of gold stripes — “corners”. Besides, brigade commanders and their equals in rank wore one rhombus on their collar patches. A division commander wore two rhombuses, a corps commander — three; as for army commanders, they had four rhombuses plus an extra star added, depending on the rank.
The highest rank in this hierarchy was the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. It was awarded strictly personally and for special distinctions and merits. The first marshals were Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky, Vasily Konstantinovich Blucher, Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov, Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny, and Alexander Ilyich Yegorov.
In general, the uniform of the command staff did not have significant differences from that of rank-and-file Red Army fighters.
According to the type of troops (except for infantry and cavalry), the highest command staff was supposed to wear an appropriate emblem. Valery Pavlovich Chkalov, as an air brigade commander, wore a uniform decorated with a propeller with wings on a blue background — the symbols of the Red Army Air Force.
The famous pilot Valery Pavlovich Chkalov received the rank in 1938 after his legendary flight to America via the North Pole. At about the same time, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star, was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and his native village of Vasilyovo was renamed Chkalovsk — in honor of the hero.
In the last year of his life, the pilot could be invariably seen in the uniform of a brigade commander. He was wearing this uniform when he attended various events as a guest of honor, acted as a referee at sports competitions, visited the voters of his constituency, and even flew to the village where he was from to see his friends and relatives and go hunting and fishing.
The uniform of a brigade commander differed from those of other ranks of the Red Army with sleeve insignia in the form of gold stripes — “corners”. Besides, brigade commanders and their equals in rank wore one rhombus on their collar patches. A division commander wore two rhombuses, a corps commander — three; as for army commanders, they had four rhombuses plus an extra star added, depending on the rank.
The highest rank in this hierarchy was the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. It was awarded strictly personally and for special distinctions and merits. The first marshals were Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky, Vasily Konstantinovich Blucher, Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov, Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny, and Alexander Ilyich Yegorov.
In general, the uniform of the command staff did not have significant differences from that of rank-and-file Red Army fighters.
According to the type of troops (except for infantry and cavalry), the highest command staff was supposed to wear an appropriate emblem. Valery Pavlovich Chkalov, as an air brigade commander, wore a uniform decorated with a propeller with wings on a blue background — the symbols of the Red Army Air Force.
