For the past several years, on August 21, Russia has celebrated the Officer's Day. So far, this is an unofficial professional holiday, although in all fairness it should be solemnly celebrated throughout the country with congratulations from the highest officials of Russia, concerts, festivals and other colorful events. After all, officers are the backbone of any army. It is they who are responsible for its general condition, adherence to strict discipline, and the level of combat training. The defense of the state is impossible without officers.
The first foreign officers appeared in Russia back in the 30s of the 17th century under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the grandfather of Peter the Great. They served in the so-called regiments of the new order, which were to gradually replace the rifle regiments. After the unsuccessful start of the Northern War (1700-1721), Peter I began recruiting new regiments, appointing Russian nobles to officer positions. To make this service prestigious, Peter bestowed great privileges on the officers. For example, even the owner of the lowest officer rank (lieutenant) had the right to hereditary nobility. A civilian official, in order to receive the same privilege, had to rise to a much higher rank.
The Russian officer corps covered itself with unfading glory in the battles of the Northern War, in the campaigns of the famous commander Suvorov, in the Patriotic War of 1812, during the defense of Sevastopol in 1854-55. and in many other companies. A fatal role in his fate was played by the First World War, when the personnel of the officer corps suffered huge losses. To make up for them, officer ranks began to be massively assigned to civilians who had an education in the volume of a classical gymnasium or a real school. Of course, not all of them were fit for military service, knew how to maintain discipline and order among their subordinates. This was one of the reasons for the February Revolution of 1917, and subsequently the October Revolution.
Even the word "officer" itself was abolished, replaced by the word "commander". Shoulder straps were replaced with buttonholes with insignia in the form of triangles, squares or rectangles. Top commanders (brigades, divisions, corps, armies) had insignia on their collar tabs in the form of rhombuses. The types of troops differed in the color of their buttonholes.
This continued until the middle of the Great Patriotic War, during which Soviet servicemen showed massive heroism and resilience. The command corps of the Red Army played a huge role in repelling the invasion of Nazi Germany. In order to celebrate his merits and raise his prestige, at the beginning of 1943 a decree was issued, according to which the commanders again began to be called officers. The pre-revolutionary insignia, including shoulder straps, were also restored.
There are no cultural and entertainment events on this holiday. However, some military garrisons organize various events on the territory of the military unit on Officer's Day. For example, the air force organizes flights for the inhabitants of the garrison on this day, the commanders of the units attract flying clubs for this. Also in the House of Officers, concert programs are held, where young dancers, actors and the officers themselves perform.
