Russian usage includes captain-lieutenant plus third-, second-, and first-class captains, so several officers aboard can hold captain status without commanding the ship. Soviet authorities could treat that arrangement, together with a political officer, as a check on the commanding captain's independence. In practice, the multiple captains might instead form a cohesive brotherhood of senior officers led by the ship's captain. The hierarchy could therefore strengthen practical command by embedding the captain within an influential group rather than isolating him above it.
Chapter · 44:32-47:19
Russian captain grades and collective shipboard authority
Four captain grades put several officers of captain status aboard one ship and complicated Soviet efforts to make command more collective.