New procedure for assigning the next military rank: about some legal features. Ranks in the Russian army Officer ranks in the army

In the Armed Forces of our country, other troops, military formations and departmental bodies, military personnel are awarded well-deserved military ranks. These same ranks determine the status of a serviceman in the existing military hierarchy, plus they have a strong impact on the position of a citizen in society. Also, the military rank directly determines the salary of military personnel and future pension provision after dismissal from service.

In most situations, military rank is assigned on time and in accordance with relevant legislation. But at the same time, it also happens that individual military personnel and citizens who are in the reserves are victims of accidental mistakes or the direct arbitrariness of officials who grossly violate the regulations for assigning required ranks.

The next ranks are awarded separately to each military man in relation to their service status, military or professional training, belonging to the branch of the military, plus taking into account their personal merits. Military ranks provide seniority in relations between military personnel.

In our army there are military categories and military ranks . The military itself is divided into typical categories:

soldiers, sailors, sergeants and foremen;

warrant officers and midshipmen;

junior officer level;

senior officers;

senior officer level.

Usually, at the beginning of the military rank of a military man serving in a guards military formation, or on a guards ship, there is prefix - “guards”.

To the rank of a military man or those who are in the reserve, having a military registration category of a legal or medical profile, are added prefixes "justice" or, respectively, “medical service”. The prefixes “reserve” or “retired” are added to the military rank of those who are in the reserve or retired citizens. For those who are not military, our legislation does not allow the introduction of any ranks or class ranks, by analogy with military ones.

The assignment of the next military rank occurs in the following order:

Higher officer rank - appointed by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief;

Up to colonel or captain 1st rank, respectively - by officials in accordance with the Regulations on the procedure for military service. The terms of required military service for the existing rank, as well as the procedure for assigning them, are regulated by the above-mentioned Regulations.

A new military rank is awarded to a serviceman on the day of the end of his military service in the current military rank, if he occupies the corresponding position for which the schedule provides for a military rank.

A military man who holds the rank of officer and successfully completes full-time training at a departmental educational institution of higher specialized education, as well as in postgraduate or departmental doctoral studies, the next military rank up to lieutenant colonel or captain of the 2nd rank, respectively, is awarded on the day of the end of the period of service in the current military rank, regardless of the position in which he held before entering such an educational institution.

Following military rank may be awarded to a military person earlier than the deadline , for significant personal merit, but not higher than the rank provided for in the schedule for the official position he currently holds.

A military man whose term of service in his current rank has expired, for significant personal merit, may well be awarded the next rank one category higher than that provided for in the schedule for the official position currently held, however, but not higher than major or captain of the 3rd rank, and those who has an academic degree or an academic rank holding an official teaching position in a departmental educational institution of specialized education - no higher than the rank of colonel or captain 1st rank.

Upon entry into military service of a person who is serving or has already served in the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Border Service, organizations of the penal system, and other law enforcement agencies and who has a specialized rank, a military rank is awarded to him in the manner established by the specified Regulations.

Military personnel, as well as those who are in the reserve or retired, may be susceptible to deprivation of existing rank only by a court verdict for committing (involvement in) a grave or especially grave offense.

Those who have been deprived of their military rank, if they have served the prescribed sentence and have fully expunged their criminal record, can be reinstated to their former rank, by decision of officials who have the right to make such decisions, in accordance with the norms of the Regulations.

Soldiers, sailors, sergeants, foremen, and citizens called up for military training in the listed ranks may be demoted in rank, or restored to that rank, in accordance with the Federal Law “On the Status of Military Personnel” and the Disciplinary Charter of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Citizens, in stock, The first or subsequent ranks can also be awarded, but, as a rule, not higher than the ranks of colonel or captain 1st rank.

Those who are in the reserves can also be awarded the next rank, if such citizens are currently assigned or can be assigned to a military unit, for conscription for mobilization service for a position for which the wartime schedule has established a military rank equivalent or higher than the military rank awarded to citizens in the reserve, and the next military rank, in addition to this, at the end of the mandatory period of stay in the current military rank. At the same time, citizens in the reserves can be awarded the next (first) rank as a result of their passing military training and mandatory passing of the relevant exams or in a strict certification procedure.

For those who are in the reserve, the terms of stay in the current ranks, the rights of authorized persons to award the next ranks and the procedure for awarding the next ranks are also regulated by the Regulations.

The commander (chief), in the interests of observing the existing procedure for military service by subordinates, undertakes to promptly and without delay assign the next (first) military ranks to the military.

Early awarding of the next military rank to the military , plus the assignment of a military rank to a category higher than the military rank provided for in the schedule for a given military position, are nothing more than mandatory forms of encouragement.

When a military man is awarded the military rank of warrant officer, midshipman, primary officer rank, as well as the first rank of senior officer or senior officer, a new service card is drawn up for him, in which disciplinary sanctions previously applied to the military man are not entered, but only incentives are entered, with the exception of incentives for withdrawal previously applied penalty. The old service card must be destroyed.

Military ranks

1. Article 46 of the Federal Law establishes the following composition of military personnel and military ranks:

2. Before the military rank of a serviceman serving in a guards military unit, on a guards ship, the word “guards” is added.

The words “justice” or “medical service” are added to the military rank of a serviceman or a citizen in the reserve who has a military registration specialty of a legal or medical profile, respectively.

To the military rank of a citizen who is in the reserve or retired, the words “reserve” or “retired” are added, respectively.

3. The seniority of military ranks and composition of military personnel is determined by the sequence of their listing in Article 46 of the Federal Law: from the military rank of “private” (“sailor”) to a higher one and from the composition of “soldiers, sailors, sergeants, foremen” to a higher one.

Military and naval military ranks corresponding to each other are considered equal.

4. Military ranks are assigned to military personnel personally.

Military rank can be first or second.

5. The form and content of submissions, forms of other documents and orders for the conferment of military ranks, as well as the procedure for their execution and submission (with the exception of senior officers) are established by the head of the federal executive body or the federal state body in which military service is provided.

Military ranks are assigned to military personnel:

• senior officers - the President of the Russian Federation;
• up to colonel or captain 1st rank inclusive - by officials in accordance with the Regulations on the procedure for military service.

The terms of military service in military ranks and the procedure for their assignment are determined by the Regulations on the procedure for military service.

The next military rank is assigned to a serviceman on the day of expiration of his military service in the previous military rank, if he occupies a military position for which the state provides for a military rank equal to or higher than the military rank assigned to the serviceman, unless otherwise provided by this article.

The next military rank is not assigned to a serviceman:

If, in accordance with the procedure established by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, the right to rehabilitation is recognized for a military serviceman, or if the disciplinary sanction applied to a military man, specified in subparagraph "e" of paragraph 2.1 of this article, was canceled (except if after the commander (chief) canceled the specified disciplinary sanction, he applied another disciplinary sanction from those specified in subparagraph “e” of paragraph 2.1 of this article), or if, after the investigation or inspection specified in subparagraph “c” or “d” of paragraph 2.1 of this article, the serviceman was not brought to justice, the military rank is assigned to the serviceman from the date of expiration of his military service in the previous military rank.

If the disciplinary sanction specified in subparagraph "e" of paragraph 2.1 of this article is withdrawn or the criminal record is cleared or expunged, the military rank is assigned to the serviceman from the day the disciplinary sanction is lifted or the criminal record is cleared or expunged.

The period of military service in the assigned military rank does not count the time of serving a criminal sentence in the form of a restriction on military service or arrest, as well as time (periods) that, in accordance with this Federal Law, is not counted in the period of military service (in the period of probation upon admission to military service under contract).

A serviceman who has the military rank of officer and successfully masters an educational program of higher education or is preparing a dissertation for the academic degree of Candidate of Sciences or a dissertation for the academic degree of Doctor of Science in a military educational organization of higher education, the next military rank up to and including lieutenant colonel or captain of the 2nd rank is awarded in the day of expiration of his military service in the previous military rank, regardless of the military position he held before entering the specified educational organization.

A serviceman may be awarded the next military rank ahead of schedule for special personal merits, but not higher than the military rank provided by the state for the military position he occupies.

A soldier whose period of military service in the assigned military rank has expired, for special personal merits, may be awarded a military rank one step higher than the military rank provided by the state for the military position he occupies, but not higher than the military rank of major or captain of the 3rd rank, and to a military man, having an academic degree and (or) academic rank, holding a military position as a teacher in a military professional educational organization or a military educational organization of higher education or a researcher in a military professional educational organization, a military educational organization of higher education or a scientific organization - not higher than the military rank of colonel or captain 1st rank.

When entering military service a citizen who is or has served in the internal affairs bodies, the prosecutor's office of the Russian Federation, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation, the State Fire Service, institutions and bodies of the penal system or other law enforcement agencies and who has a special rank (class rank of a prosecutor), military rank is assigned to him in the manner determined by the Regulations on the procedure for military service.

The Federal Law “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Military Duty and Military Service” and Article 28.5 of the Federal Law “On the Status of Military Personnel” dated February 15, 2016 N 20-FZ (hereinafter referred to as the Federal Law of February 15) was adopted and entered into force 2016 N 20-FZ) supplements the requirements that apply to military personnel when submitting for assignment to the next military rank.

Until now, the basis for assigning a serviceman the next military rank was the expiration of the period of military service in the previous military rank, and the condition - the state had to provide for a military rank for the military position held higher than that which the serviceman has. Federal Law No. 20-FZ of February 15, 2016 provides exceptions to this general rule. Here are the cases when the assignment of the next military rank to a military personnel must be delayed:
a) when the serviceman is at the disposal of the commander (chief);
b) when a serviceman is brought in as an accused in a criminal case or a criminal case is initiated against him - until the termination of the criminal prosecution;

c) during the period of investigation into the fact that a serviceman has committed a gross disciplinary offense - before a disciplinary sanction is applied to him;
d) during the period of verification of the reliability and completeness of information on income, expenses, property and property-related obligations in relation to a military serviceman, compliance with the requirements for official conduct - before applying a penalty to him;
e) when a serviceman is nominated for early dismissal from military service on the following grounds:
- in connection with the deprivation of his military rank;
- due to loss of confidence in the serviceman;
- in connection with the entry into force of a court verdict imposing a sentence of imprisonment on a military serviceman;
- in connection with the entry into force of a court verdict imposing a suspended sentence on a serviceman performing military service under a contract;
- in connection with expulsion from a military professional educational organization;
- in connection with the entry into force of a court verdict depriving a serviceman of the right to hold military positions for a certain period;
- in connection with the termination of the citizenship of the Russian Federation of a serviceman;
- in connection with the acquisition of citizenship (nationality) of a foreign state by a military personnel;
- due to his failure to comply with the terms of the contract;
- in connection with the refusal of access to state secrets or deprivation of the said access;
- as having failed the test;
- in connection with violation of prohibitions, restrictions and obligations associated with military service;
- in connection with non-compliance with requirements, failure to fulfill duties, violation of prohibitions, non-compliance with restrictions established by the legislation of the Russian Federation and related to military service in the federal security service, state security agencies;
- due to failure to undergo mandatory chemical and toxicological studies of the presence of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their metabolites in the human body;
- in connection with the commission of an administrative offense related to the consumption of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances without a doctor’s prescription or new potentially dangerous psychoactive substances;
f) during the period when a serviceman is considered to have:
- disciplinary action in the form of a warning about incomplete service compliance, reduction in military position, reduction in military rank by one step, reduction in military rank by one step with a reduction in military position;
- disciplinary sanction applied for committing a gross disciplinary offense;
g) during the period when a serviceman is serving a criminal sentence in the form of a restriction on military service or arrest;
h) until the serviceman’s criminal record is expunged or removed;
i) before the end of the probationary period when a serviceman enters military service under a contract;
j) during the period of suspension of military service.
A distinctive feature of the old and new procedure for assigning regular military ranks is shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Assignment of military ranks to military personnel

In addition, Federal Law No. 20-FZ of February 15, 2016 expands the list of gross disciplinary offenses, namely, the following cases of unlawful behavior are considered gross at the moment, in addition to those previously established:
- intentional damage or loss due to negligence of an identification document of a military serviceman of the Russian Federation;
- violation of the rules and requirements establishing the procedure for conducting secret office work;
- violation of the procedure for leaving the Russian Federation;
- violation of the requirements of legislative and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation in the field of intelligence, counterintelligence and operational investigative activities, which created conditions for harming the security of the individual, society and the state or the own security of the bodies carrying out such activities;
- deliberately illegal bringing of a military personnel to disciplinary or financial liability;
- violation by the commander (chief) of the safety requirements of military service, which led to the death or disability, including temporary, of a serviceman and (or) a citizen called up for military training *(1).
In connection with the entry into force of the above changes, the Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation clarified that in accordance with the Federal Law of February 15, 2016 N 20-FZ with military personnel who have the right to be awarded the next military rank and in respect of whom grounds preventing its assignment, it is necessary to conduct personal conversations, with the basis for refusal to assign the next title being communicated against signature. In this case, it is necessary to attach the conversation sheet to the serviceman’s personal file * (2), which was once provided for in the Soviet Army.
For law enforcement practice, of particular interest is the assignment of successive military ranks depending on the expiration of the period for lifting the corresponding disciplinary sanction specified in Federal Law No. 20-FZ of February 15, 2016. Compliance with the time frame by officials will contribute to the reasonable submission of military personnel for assignment to the next military ranks.
To clarify the period of time during which military ranks are not assigned to military personnel, one should be guided by the provisions of Art. 34-36, 96, 103 of the Disciplinary Charter of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the DU of the RF Armed Forces), which determine the conditions for the removal of previously applied penalties.
According to Art. 36 of the DU of the RF Armed Forces, the removal of a disciplinary sanction - reduction in military rank (position) - from soldiers, sailors, sergeants and foremen is carried out no earlier than six months from the date of its application. Soldiers, sailors, sergeants and foremen are restored to their previous military rank only when they are appointed to the appropriate military position.
The removal of a disciplinary sanction - reduction in military position - from warrant officers, midshipmen and is carried out no earlier than one year from the date of its application. A disciplinary sanction - reduction in military position - can be removed from a serviceman without simultaneously reinstating him to his previous position.
The removal of a disciplinary sanction - a warning about incomplete official compliance - is carried out no earlier than a year from the date of its application, after which the commander (chief), within up to 30 days, makes a decision (petition) to remove this disciplinary sanction or, if the serviceman has not corrected his behavior exemplary performance of military duty and the penalty did not play its educational role - about the reduction of this serviceman in a military position or his early dismissal from military service in the prescribed manner (Article 96 of the DU of the RF Armed Forces).
As for the timing of the removal of previously applied other types of penalties for committing gross disciplinary offenses, here one should rely on the basic conditions formulated in Art. 34, 35 DU of the RF Armed Forces, i.e. the commander has the right to lift a disciplinary sanction only after it has played an educational role and the serviceman has corrected his behavior by exemplary performance of military duty. When determining the type of incentive (including when applying an incentive in the form of the removal of a previously applied disciplinary sanction), the nature of the merits, diligence and distinction of the serviceman, as well as his previous attitude towards military service are taken into account (Article 34). If a disciplinary sanction applied to a serviceman (with the exception of disciplinary sanctions provided for in Article 36 of the RF Armed Forces Regulations) is not lifted after a year and during this period he does not commit another disciplinary offense, then the disciplinary sanction is lifted upon expiration of the period (Article 103 of the RF Armed Forces Regulations). RF).
Consequently, the specificity of the incentive measure - the removal of a disciplinary sanction - lies in the fact that, along with the general basis for its application - the presence of personal merit, reasonable initiative, diligence and distinction in service, additional grounds are required: firstly, the previously applied disciplinary sanction must be fulfilled his educational role and, secondly, the serviceman must correct his behavior by exemplary performance of military duty. Only in this case, a serviceman who has previously been disciplinaryly punished for a gross violation of military discipline, has the right, upon fulfilling the remaining mandatory conditions (being in the appropriate military position and the expiration of the period of military service in the previous military rank), to apply for nomination for the assignment of the next military rank.
In connection with the above, the procedure for assigning a military rank, introduced by Federal Law No. 20-FZ of February 15, 2016, becomes one of the stimulating legal means for the conscientious (proper) performance by military personnel of the duties of military service. The assignment of successive military ranks to servicemen is the right of the commander (chief), which he exercises exclusively in the absence of violations of military discipline on the part of the serviceman. Thus, at the moment, the procedure for assigning the next military rank, which has been discussed for a long time in the scientific legal literature*(3), has been implemented, which encourages military personnel to conscientiously fulfill the duties assigned to them and not violate military discipline.
It should be noted that this system of assigning ranks has long been used in other types of public service, in particular in customs authorities, internal affairs agencies, and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (see Table 2).

table 2

Comparative characteristics of the features of assigning regular special ranks used in various types of public service, in the presence of disciplinary sanctions

Moreover, when assigning a special rank in the customs authorities, internal affairs bodies and the Investigative Committee, the emphasis is on the absence of any outstanding disciplinary sanctions, which, in our opinion, is a more reasonable approach and accordingly increases the value (prestige) of the received military rank precisely for merit military man. In this case, military personnel are in a more privileged position and, in our opinion, it would be advisable to introduce this rule into military-service relations.
It seems that the additions made by Federal Law No. 20-FZ of February 15, 2016 to the procedure for assigning military ranks will help stimulate military personnel to improve the results of their official activities. Violators of military discipline who were brought to disciplinary responsibility for committing gross disciplinary offenses, as well as having the above disciplinary sanctions, who previously undeservedly enjoyed the loyalty of military legislation, will not be able to receive another military rank until the disciplinary sanction is lifted from them.

Bibliography

1. Gavryushenko P.I., Okunev A.I. The procedure for assigning military ranks and ways to improve it in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. [Text] / P.I. Gavryushenko, A.I. Okunev // Russian military legal collection. - 2005. - N 5.
2. Zakirov R.A. Calendar and preferential length of service for the assignment of the next military rank. [Text] / R.A. Zakirov // Law in the Armed Forces Military Legal Review. - 2010. - N 5.
3. Islamova E.R., Golovko I.I. Current issues of the participation of the prosecutor in the consideration by courts of civil cases on the reinstatement of military personnel dismissed for corruption-related disciplinary offenses. [Text] / E.R. Islamova, I.I. Golovko // Law in the Armed Forces Military Legal Review. - 2016. - N 3.
4. Titov A.V. Assignment of a military rank: obligation or right of the commander (chief)? [Text] / A.V. Titov // Law in the Armed Forces Military Legal Review. - 2007. - N 7.
5. Tyurin A.I. Assignment of successive military ranks as a legal incentive to perform the duties of military service. [Text] / A.I. Tyurin // Law in the Armed Forces Military Legal Review. - 2005. - N 7.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
*(1) Theoretically, when committing a gross disciplinary offense, commanders (superiors) can limit themselves to severe punishment in relation to a serviceman who violates military discipline. However, as law enforcement practice shows, recently commanders prefer to dismiss military personnel for failure to comply with the terms of the contract when committing these offenses (see, for example: Islamova E.R., Golovko I.I. Topical issues of the participation of the prosecutor in the consideration of civil cases by courts on the reinstatement of military personnel dismissed for corruption disciplinary offenses // Law in the Armed Forces 2016. No. 3).

*(3) Zakirov R.A. Calendar and preferential length of service for the assignment of the next military rank // Law in the Armed Forces. 2010. N 5; Tyurin A.I. Assignment of regular military ranks as a legal incentive to perform the duties of military service // Ibid. 2005. N 7; Titov A.V. Assignment of a military rank: obligation or right of the commander (chief)? // Ibid. 2007. N 7; Gavryushenko P.I., Okunev A.I. The procedure for assigning military ranks and ways to improve it in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation // Ros. military legal collection 2005. N 5.

O.L. Zorin,
lieutenant colonel, candidate of legal sciences, associate professor,

M.N. Bakovich,
Candidate of Legal Sciences, Associate Professor,
VUNTS Air Force "VVA named after Professor
NOT. Zhukovsky and Yu.A. Gagarin" (Voronezh);

R.V. Belyaev,
Lieutenant Colonel, VUNTS Air Force "VVA named after Professor
NOT. Zhukovsky and Yu.A. Gagarin" (Voronezh)