Sotnik or sotnyk (, uk, сотник, bg, стотник) was a

military rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a ...

among the Cossack ''

starshyna ( rus, старшина, p=stərʂɨˈna, a=Ru-старшина.ogg or in Ukrainian transliteration) is a senior non-commissioned rank or designation in the military forces of some Slavic states, and a historical military designation. In arm ...

'' (military officers), Strelets Troops (17th century) in Muscovy and Imperial Cossack cavalry (since 1826), the

Ukrainian Insurgent Army The Ukrainian Insurgent Army ( uk, Українська повстанська армія, УПА, translit=Ukrayins'ka povstans'ka armiia, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist paramilitary and later partisan formation. During World ...

, the Ukrainian Galician Army, and the

Ukrainian People's Army The Ukrainian People's Army ( uk, Армія Української Народної Республіки), also known as the Ukrainian National Army (UNA) or as a derogatory term of Russian and Soviet historiography Petliurovtsy ( uk, Пет� ...

Administrative rank

Holders of the rank also served as leaders of territorial units. In the Cossacks' paramilitary society of the

Zaporozhian Host Zaporozhian Host (or Zaporizhian Sich) is a term for a military force inhabiting or originating from Zaporizhzhia, the territory beyond the rapids of the Dnieper River in what is Central Ukraine today, from the 15th to the 18th centuries. These i ...

Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate ( uk, Гетьманщина, Hetmanshchyna; or ''Cossack state''), officially the Zaporizhian Host or Army of Zaporizhia ( uk, Військо Запорозьке, Viisko Zaporozke, links=no; la, Exercitus Zaporoviensis) ...

, and

Sloboda Ukraine Sloboda Ukraine (literally: Borderland of free frontier guards; uk, Слобідська Україна, Slobidska Ukraina), or Slobozhanshchyna ( uk, Слобожанщина, Slobozhanshchyna, ), is a historical region, now located in Northeas ...

, territories were organized along the lines of military organization and commanded by officers. During the Khmelnytsky Uprising and in the

(17th-18th centuries), ''sotnyks'' were leaders of territorial administrative subdivisions called ''sotnyas''. Such sotnyks were subordinated to ''polkovnyks'' (colonel) who were in control of a polk (primary administrative division) and a regiment (military unit).

Military ranks

The word ''sotnik'' literally means '' commander of a hundred men'' in most Slavonic languages, much like how the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

term Centurion reflected a commander of a similar number of troops in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. In the Russian rank-structure the military role of a sotnik developed into that of a poruchik (russian: поручик), eventually known as "

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

" ( ru , лейтенант , translit = leytenant). Ukrainian military formations retained the rank of ''sotnyk'' ( uk , сотник) well into the 20th century as the equivalent of an army captain. The rank did not officially change, but rather fell out of use after the Soviet Army and intelligence services suppressed the

in the late 1940s and 1950s. Some translations render the word ''sotnik'' as "Captain", however the "Lieutenant" interpretation also appears in common usage, and for the sake of historical and social clarity the original rank-name is used.

Slovenia

The rank is still used by the

Slovenian Armed Forces The Slovenian Armed Forces or Slovenian Army (SAF; sl, Slovenska vojska; 'SV'' are the armed forces of Slovenia. Since 2003, it is organized as a fully professional standing army. The Commander-in-Chief of the SAF is the President of the R ...

, and is equal to the rank of captain in other armed forces.

References

External links

Bogdan Khmelnitsky
History of the Cossacks Military ranks of Ukraine Military ranks of Russia {{Ukraine-hist-stub