Sotnik or sotnyk (; ; ) was a

military rank Military ranks is a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, Intelligence agency, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military organisation , military lines, such ...

among the Cossack starshyna (military officers), the Russian ''

streltsy The streltsy (, ; , ) were the units of Russian firearm infantry from the 16th century to the early 18th century and also a social stratum, from which personnel for streltsy troops were traditionally recruited. They are also collectively kno ...

'' and Cossack cavalry, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, the Ukrainian Galician Army, and the

Ukrainian People's Army The Ukrainian People's Army (), also known as the Ukrainian National Army (UNA) or by the derogatory term Petliurivtsi (, ), was the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1921). They were often quickly reorganized units of the former I ...

Administrative rank

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

Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate (; Cossack Hetmanate#Name, see other names), officially the Zaporozhian Host (; ), was a Ukrainian Cossacks, Cossack state. Its territory was located mostly in central Ukraine, as well as in parts of Belarus and southwest ...

, and

Sloboda Ukraine Sloboda Ukraine, also known locally as ''Slobozhanshchyna'' or ''Slobozhanshchina'', is a historical region in northeastern Ukraine and southwestern Russia. It developed from Belgorod Razriad and flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries on the ...

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

Khmelnytsky Uprising The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...

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 Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of a hundred men'' in most Slavonic languages, much like how the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

term

Centurion In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...

reflected a commander of a similar number of troops in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

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

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

" (). Ukrainian military formations retained the rank of ''sotnyk'' () well into the 20th century as the equivalent of an army

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. The rank did not officially change, but rather fell out of use after the Soviet Army and intelligence services suppressed the Ukrainian Insurgent Army 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, and is equal to the rank of

in other armed forces.

Legacy

The name of "Sotnik" has been adopted as a surname. * Olena Sotnyk

References

External links

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