In the hierarchy of military ranks, the rank of generalissimo stands apart. Historically, he was assigned only to those military leaders who had occasion to command several armies at once during the war. In Russian military history, the number of such military leaders was very small - to count them, fingers of one hand would be enough.
In Russia, the rank of generalissimo first appeared completely formally at the end of the 17th century, when the young Tsar Peter conceived the amusement “amusing troops”. To his two close associates, Fyodor Romodanovsky and Ivan Buturlin, who were his comrades in war games, Peter the Great awarded the title of “Generalissimo”, and even then only for the duration of the amusements. Therefore, to consider these dignitaries as genuine military leaders of the highest rank would be ridiculous.
Over time, Peter abandoned the war games and seriously engaged in politics. The first real generalissimo of Russia was voivode Alexei Shein. The king awarded Shein this title in 1696, when he was still at a relatively young age - he was 34 years old. Military glory came to Shein during the famous Azov military campaigns of Peter the Great.
The next generalissimo, Alexander Menshikov, appeared in Russia after the death of Peter the Great, in 1727. Formally, all the requirements for the applicant for the highest military rank were met, Menshikov had quite successful experience in commanding the armies. However, to a large extent, the decision of Peter II to award Menshikov with the highest military title was dictated by intrigues at court. Very soon, the new generalissimo fell into disgrace, after which he was stripped of absolutely all the titles and ranks that he had been generously endowed with earlier.
In 1740, the Prince of Braunschweig became the Russian generalissimo. But he was not destined for long to be proud of his highest military rank, obtained not at all for military merits. After ascending the throne of Elizabeth, the prince was deprived of ranks and exiled to the north. The third generalissimo held out for exactly a year.
Perhaps the most eminent of the Russian military commanders of the highest rank was Alexander Suvorov. Suvorov's merits in military affairs are difficult to exaggerate. The commander received the rank of generalissimo in October 1799 for the successful implementation of the Swiss and Italian campaigns.
After long oblivion, the rank of generalissimo returned to the Russian army after the victory of the USSR over fascist Germany. In June 1945, Joseph Stalin became the Generalissimo of the Soviet Union. The leader himself was rather cool about various ranks and titles, and the proposal of his comrades-in-arms to assign him the highest military rank repeatedly rejected. An interesting fact is that, becoming a generalissimo, Stalin continued to wear the former tunic without exchanging the insignia of the Marshal of the Soviet Union for the brilliant uniform of the Generalissimo. Stalin was the last of the Russian generalissimo. This title in the Russian army was abolished in 1993. What will be the case with the highest military rank next - history will show.
