Russian Vocabulary: Military
Below is an alphabetical list of military terms found in Russian records. Each word is generally listed first in its modern nominative form, followed by relevant variants, including some with archaic spelling. If the word you are looking for is not found here, consider looking at our other word lists or the FamilySearch Wiki Russian Genealogical Word List. If you're still struggling to find the right word, it may be a person's or place name. Follow the guidelines listed under Practical Suggestions and use other resources on our site such as those found on the Names page.
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Abbreviation | Meaning | Abbreviation | Meaning |
| nom. | nominative case | masc. | masculine |
| acc. | accusative case | fem. | feminine |
| gen. | genitive case | neut. | neuter |
| prep. | prepositional case | plu. | plural |
| dat. | dative case | past | past |
| instr. | instrumental case | pres. | present |
| arch. | archaic | s.f. | short form (for adjectives) |
Russian | English | Examples |
| адъютант | adjutant | 
(gen. адъютанта) |
| армия | army | 
|
| артиллерист | artilleryman | 
|
| батальон | battalion | 
(gen. баталіона) |
| бомбардир | bombardier | 
(arch. бомбардиръ) |
| военный | military, soldier | 
|
| воинский | military | 
(gen. воинской) |
| война | war | 
|
| запасной | reserve | 
|
| инвалидный | injured, disabled | 
(fem. gen. інвалидной) |
| капитан | captain | 
(arch. капитанъ) |
| команда | team, unit | 
(gen. команды) |
| отставный | retired | 
(masc. gen. отставнаго) |
| офицер | officer | 
(arch. офицеръ) |
| полковник | colonel | 
|
| поручик | lieutenant | 
(arch. поручик) |
| рядовой | soldier, private (military rank) | 
|
| солдат | soldier | 
|
| солдатский | of a soldier | 
(fem. nom. солдатская) |
| унтер-офицер | under officer (category of military rank) | 
(arch. ундеръ офицеръ) |
| фельдфебель | feldwebel (rank) | 
|
To view translations of specific words and phrases you may encounter in a certain document type, visit the corresponding Document Types page of this tutorial.
- Fyodor Alekseyev, Вид города Николаева, 1799, Oil on canvas. Wikimedia Commons.(https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Алексеев_—_Вид_города_Николаева.jpg : accessed 27 August 2024). This image is in the public domain.