Yliluutnantti is also the highest rank available to those educated in the now-decommissioned school Maanpuolustusopisto (comparable to a military junior college).
The rank of yliluutnantti was established in 1952, when it was felt that cadets graduating from the Defence College would be denied promotion avenues due to the large number of field-promoted company-grade officers in active service.
Senior lieutenant (Russian: старший лейтенант, romanized: starshy leytenant) is used in the army, air force or navy of Russia and the former USSR.
Corresponding ranks were captain in the infantry, rotmister (derived from the German Rittmeister) in the cavalry, and yesaul in the Cossacks corps.
The Russian Federation inherited the rank structure of the armed forces of the Soviet Union.