Starshina

Starshina (Russian: старшина, IPA: [stərʂɨˈna] ^ⓘ or Starshyna in Russian transliteration) is a senior military rank or designation in the military forces of some Slavic states, and a historical military designation. Depending on a country, it has different meanings, which sometimes are very different. In the 19th century with the expansion of the Imperial Russia into Turkestan and the Central Asia, the word was even used to identify some Turkic leaders as a basic Russian word for aqsaqal (white-beard) as an example.

Originally in Cossack's army it identified a commissioned officer rank^[1] and was later adopted in Russian culture as a non-commissioned officer rank. During the times of Cossack Hetmanate, there were starshyna (officers) and general starshyna (general officers) the latter were part of the Hetman General Officers Council. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, most of post-Soviet countries has adopted the Soviet interpretation of the word.

Only since the 1930s in Russian or Soviet army terminology, a starshina is equivalent to "Sergeant Major"^[2] (Most senior member at the company level) or a rank equal to a NATO OR-8. In naval terminology, starshina is a general term for junior and middle-ranking non-commissioned officers, similar in usage to "Chief Petty Officer".

The word originates from Old East Slavic language «*старъ»(star)