Polkovnik (; ) is a military rank used mostly in Slavic-speaking countries which corresponds to a colonel in English-speaking states and oberst in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries. The term originates from an ancient Slavic word for a group of soldiers and folk. However, in Cossack Hetmanate and Sloboda Ukraine, polkovnyk was an administrative rank similar to a governor. Usually this word is translated as colonel, however the transliteration is also in common usage, for the sake of the historical and social context. Polkovnik began as a commander of a distinct group of troops (polk), arranged for battle. The exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spellings in different languages, but all descend from the Old Slavonic word polk (literally: regiment sized unit), and include the following in alphabetical order: Belarus — Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia — () Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Russia and Ukraine — (, ) Czech Republic and Slovakia — Georgia — () Latvia — Lithuania — Poland — () Slovenia — Although Georgia, Latvia, and Lithuania are not Slavic countries linguistically, they have been influenced by Russian terminology due to having been part of both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Latvian and Lithuanian were also influenced by Polish terminology, due to those countries having been part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The rank of polkovnik was also used in the Estonian army until 1924. Countries Russia In the 17th century, polkovnik became the position of a regimental commander of the streltsy; this position also made it into New Regiments of the streltsy and later into the new army of Peter the Great. The rank was legalized by Table of Ranks that placed it in the 6th grade as the second-top field officer, right under the brigadier. A promotion to the rank of polkovnik gave a privilege of hereditary nobility. The Red Army reintroduced the polkovnik rank in 1935, together with a number of other former Russian ranks, and it continued to be in used in many ex-USSR countries, including Russia. Rank insignia The Rank insignia to Polkovnik (OF-5) is as follows: See also Ranks and insignia of the Russian armed forces until 1917 Ranks and insignia of the Red Army 1935–1940, and ... 1940–1943 Ranks and insignia of the Soviet Army 1943–1955, and ... 1955–1991 Ranks and insignia of the Russian Federation's armed forces 1994–2010 Poland As part of the Commonwealth