Translated material
Farewell foot wraps
The Russian army has begun the transition to a new uniform
Tarpaulin boots, which became a symbol of the Soviet and then Russian army, are being cancelled. As well as their faithful companions - footcloths, who trace their ancestry from peasant onuchs, who later passed into the Red Army windings. True, both will remain only as an element of a special uniform. For example, for the honor guard companies, the soldiers of the Commandant Regiment unanimously said that it is both more comfortable and more beautiful to march in boots. Special boots will remain for those who serve in the Far North. The bulk of the servicemen will switch, according to the chief of logistics, Army General Vladimir Isakov, to “light, durable, waterproof” boots of a new design with high tops and socks. Considerable reserves of boots will be used for household work.The abandonment of kirzachs and foot wraps is, perhaps, the main point in the transition of the Russian Armed Forces to a new uniform. There are many differences of another kind. All of them were born in the course of consultations with command staff at all levels and surveys of privates and non-commissioned officers in military districts and navies. The military says that dozens of meetings and consultations have been held, the best samples of domestic and foreign manufacturers have been studied, and the suggestions of more than 90% of those surveyed have been taken into account. By the way, when developing special clothing for sailors, they also remembered Vladimir Putin’s critical remarks about the “inconsistency of submariners’ clothing with modern requirements.” This uniform will necessarily be made of cotton, without additives; in addition, the sailors will be given disposable underwear.
A new uniform has been created by order of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov since May 2007. Last year, 100 million rubles were allocated for the creation of prototype single samples. Sketches of the new uniform were developed by the Fashion House of Valentin Yudashkin, who, according to the designer himself, “served in the army and has an idea.” The designer says that he combined the best in uniforms of all times, from Generalissimo Suvorov to Marshal Zhukov, avoiding foreign borrowings. Yudashkin developed the new uniform for female military personnel according to the principle: to be “elegant and attractive and so that one would want to serve in it.”
Conservative military officers accuse Yudashkin of an excessive penchant for glamor, which is intolerable in the army environment, and of excessive variety of uniforms - “for all occasions.” In addition to Yudashkin, the Central Research Institute of the Textile Industry, the Central Research Institute of Leather and Footwear, and specialists from Igor Chapurin’s Fashion House took part in the work. Breastplates are manufactured by FSUE Goznak. Yudashkin receives wool blend fabrics from the Bryansk worsted mill.
The main differences between the old and new uniforms, according to military clothing experts, are in the details. There will no longer be patch pockets on shirts and jackets. This circumstance will obviously please the orthodox, who, precisely because of these patch pockets, called the current uniform “a mixture of NATO and Vlasov.” The caps will not look bulky, since the crowns have become two centimeters lower. In addition, double-headed eagles were removed from caps.
In total, more than 80 samples of new military uniforms have been developed - dress (ceremonial and weekend), casual (for formation, out of formation and, which is completely in the spirit of the times, office), field, for special forces, for performing special work according to types of armed forces forces and types of troops (for pilots, infantrymen, sailors, landing troops, and so on). The new uniform is also divided into categories of wearers - for senior officers (starting with the colonel), for ordinary officers and warrant officers, for soldiers and sailors. Finally, the form is divided into summer and winter.
Some of the samples may at first look completely foreign in our army. These are, for example, leather raincoats and leather jackets, sweaters, office shoes and astrakhan berets developed for the first time. The new general's uniform will have gold embroidery. An indispensable difference is the color inherent in the types of armed forces. In the Ground Forces - sea green, in the Air Force - blue, in the Navy - black and white. The branches of the military will differ in the so-called decorative and distinctive elements - cap bands, piping, stripes, gaps on shoulder straps.
Considering the practically unabated hot spots in Russia itself and along its borders, the greatest attention was paid to field uniforms, especially for special forces. It consists of four modules or layers, in the manufacture of which even nanotechnology was used. The first layer is unified thermal underwear, fire-retardant and hygienic. There are more than one and a half dozen items of such underwear. It has already been tested, the result is positive. The second layer is modern anti-allergenic insulating materials with little-known names such as fleece and Polartek. The third layer is waterproof, which consists of membrane materials. The fourth is camouflage or camouflage. All these four layers are also present in the clothing of the fighters of two mountain Russian brigades in the North Caucasus. Tests were also carried out there, including during the ascent of one of the companies to Elbrus.
It is already clear today that the new form is more expensive than the current one. The high cost is explained by its new quality and the fact that imported fabrics are used in it. But the state will not stand behind the price, and the situation of the mid-90s, when officers were given only field uniforms, is unlikely to be repeated in the coming years. The final cost of the new uniform will be determined after its approval by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, that is, the President, and at the start of mass production. Now the troops are undergoing the so-called trial wear of experimental samples. In the Leningrad Military District, for this purpose, officers, warrant officers and contract soldiers were issued 600 sets of field and 200 everyday uniforms. After a few months of experimental use, the “testers” will be surveyed, and the data will be reported to the developers for possible amendments. Similar tests will take place in other military districts.
According to the chief of logistics, it will take at least three years to completely switch to new uniforms for more than a million armed forces. The first to show off the new cockades will be the soldiers of the Commandant Regiment and the troops of the capital and Leningrad military districts. In the meantime, the Ministry of Defense is thinking about future changes in the order and standards of support, the payment of monetary compensation in exchange for the required clothing. Changes will be made to legal acts, including the presidential decree “On military uniforms and insignia of military ranks” and the government decree “On clothing provision for federal executive authorities.”
In January of this year, 80 new samples were shown to then Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin, who was pleased with them. The new uniform was first demonstrated en masse (approximately 11 thousand sets) at the dress rehearsal of the parade on Red Square in May of this year. Testing of another 20 thousand sets of uniforms will continue at least until September. Some changes may be made at this time. Then the uniform will be assessed by commanders-in-chief and commanders at different levels. Planned deliveries to the troops will begin next year.
How the Russian army dressed
The Streltsy regiments were the first to receive a uniform and obligatory dress uniform for all in the Russian army: a caftan, a zipun, a hat with a band, trousers and boots. Peter I borrowed the most popular examples of military costume in Europe: the infantry wore a green caftan, the artillery - red, the cavalry - blue. Under the caftan they wore a camisole, short trousers, stockings and shoes. Everyone had black hats. The officers were distinguished by a metal plate around the neck, a scarf over the shoulder and braid on the cuffs.
Since 1786, on the initiative of Field Marshal Grigory Potemkin, a loose-fitting uniform, jackets, trousers, boots and light helmets were introduced. The uniform was light green. After 12 years, Paul I introduced tight and uncomfortable uniforms with wigs and braids, alien to Russian tradition. Buckles and braids were abolished only at the beginning of the 19th century, boots and shoes were replaced with high boots, uniforms were significantly shortened, and hard stand-up collars and epaulettes were introduced.
The first cloth overcoat was sewn in 1802. She has survived to this day. State symbols on military uniforms and the first stars on shoulder straps appeared under Nicholas I. Alexander III significantly simplified the uniform, depriving it of many decorations. Nicholas II returned the decorations, but divided the uniform into casual and field uniforms. Since 1913, the hat has become the universal winter headdress.
The revolution of 1917 abolished the insignia; the distinctive insignia of the Red Guard became a red ribbon on a cap and a red armband. During the Civil War, a cloth helmet appeared, called "Budenovka", as well as insignia in the buttonholes - triangles, squares, rectangles (sleepers) and rhombuses. In 1943, the shoulder straps were returned to the servicemen; their shape, edging and insignia repeated the shoulder straps of the tsarist army. Subsequently, instead of tunics, tunics and jackets and camouflage were introduced.
After the creation of the Russian army in May 1992, the red star was replaced by a double-headed eagle, and in 1994 the uniform that is still worn today was established. In 2005, the hat, which had been abolished in 1998, was returned to generals and colonels.