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My family on my great-grandfather's side came from Romania and I have a picture of one of his brothers in a soviet military uniform.

I know nothing of his involvement in the military and was hoping by posting a picture of him in his uniform, someone could discern some meaning from it such as what branch he was a part of or his rank. This ancestor was born about 1899 if that helps. I don't know exactly when the photo was taken.

man in military uniform

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    The rank is "младший сержант" (the dictionary gives me "lance-sergeant" but one should be careful here - I'm not good at British or American ranks).
    – tum_
    Dec 6, 2019 at 16:54
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    At least it's a starting point. Thanks!
    – Cerulean
    Dec 6, 2019 at 17:12
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    I could give a bit more, actually, but I'm having a problem with the English equivalents here :) (A weird feeling, as I'm more or less fluent in English but all these Soviet/Russian military terms - not a clue how to present them). For example, "младший сержант" is denoted by the two stripes on his "погоны" (the "thingies on his shoulders" - what the hell is the English term for them - epaulets? shoulder boards?) Later on I might try to make an answer out of this. Not tonight, though.
    – tum_
    Dec 7, 2019 at 0:01
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    The branch of the military would be shown on "pogony" (shopulder boards?) as a little sign between the button and the stripes. Perhaps if you magnify the photo very much it will be possible to see what is this. And also the sign on the right of his chest. The sign on the left side has the shape of the Komsomol member sign but again it is not clearly visible. (I refer to the "left" and "right" with respect to the person standing in the photo. His shirt is a generic Soviet army shirt before and including WWII period, but even in 1970s some soldiers were wearing this style of shirt.
    – Alex
    Dec 7, 2019 at 0:25
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    … and if it's indeed "Отличник Советской Армии" - the photo is dated no earlier than 1957 because the badge did not exist before then ("учрежден приказом Министра обороны Советского Союза от 17.04.1957").
    – tum_
    Dec 7, 2019 at 1:08

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