General Admiral
General Admiral
the highest naval rank in Russia; it corresponded to the rank of field marshal general in the ground forces. The rank of general admiral was first given in 1708 to F. M. Apraksin, who was assigned by Peter I the Great to head the navy. In 1855-1905 the general admirals (the grand dukes Konstantin Nikolaievich and Aleksei Aleksandrovich) were the main chiefs of the navy and of the Navy Department. After the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, the title of general admiral became merely an honorary one. After 1908 there were no more general admirals in the Russian Navy.