Lex Libertas

Technorati Tags: Russia,uniform,military,портяни,portyanki

Deputy Minister of Defense, army general Vladimir Isakov, reported that the Russian military will completely change to a new uniform by the year 2011. Isakov noted that, despite the good reviews, boots and foot-wraps are a thing of the past, and the whole uniform will be more expensive than the current one.

The old and new uniforms differ, according to Isakov, mostly in their details. Different branches of service will have different types of uniforms, particularly their formal uniforms: the army will be in aqua, the air force in dark blue, and the navy in traditional black and white.

The new uniforms have been designed by a famous Russian designer, Valentin Yudashkin. The “foot-wraps” mentioned above are what Soviet soldiers wore instead of socks. Apparently they’re quite comfortable, multi-purpose, and dry pretty quickly. My friends who served say they’re better than socks for a soldier.

Russian recruits learning to properly tie their портянки (portyanki).

A helpful illustration for anyone who hasn’t gone through Russian basic training.

They even put on a fashion show to display the new designs.

Доброволец (Volunteer), has a very long post on the subject, with more pics.  In general, I like the new stuff, but some of it is just too imperialistic for me, too gaudy and 19th century.  I prefer more down-to-earth and functional, even in formal dress.