Some 15 million people served in the Tsar`s imperial Russian army in the First World War.
And each one had to be outfitted, equipped and armed. No small feat for any nation.
But particularly challenging for Russia.
A relatively backward nation beset with resource shortages, poor infrastructure and a corrupt bureaucracy.
But outfitted they were! And today I`m gonna look at the uniforms of the Russian army.
I`m Indy Neidell. Welcome to a Great War special episode about Russian army uniforms in the First World War.
No military, even to this day, has adopted one single uniform for all of it`s personnel.
Russia, a hundred years ago, had distinctive dress for each branch of service,
but also a wide variety within each branch, depending on things like
rank, place of origin or job description.
In fact, there was a dizzying array of uniforms in just the army.
The infantry had more than one thousand distinct regimental units.
And while their uniforms were not all strikingly different, they were all different.
Some units also had height and hair color requirements.
The cavalry also had loads of different units like the Don Cossacks, who had four hundred squadrons.
And yes, their uniforms, though similar to one another, were distinct.
There was also the field artillery, horse artillery, heavy artillery, howitzer divisions, mountain batteries,
the pigeon station, courier corps, telegraph company, sappers, engineers, motor corps,
machine gunners, pontoon battalions, railway battalions, disciplinary battalions and that`s not the whole list.
They each had distinct uniforms.
But in general, the frontovik, or fronline Russian soldier, wore a simple uniform,
adopted in 1905 during the reform programs begun after Russia`s defeat in war with Japan
On their heads the men wore a furazhka, a picked cap with a visor, made of khaki colored wool,
linen or cotton.
These were sometimes stiffened with wire or cardboard.
The visor was painted green or black.
The caps showed the black and orange imperial rosette and, maybe, a unit badge.
Officer`s versions were better quality.
Were often lined with silk or leather and had a chin strap.
In winter the men wore the papakha - a tall grey or brown fleece cap
with flaps of wool that could fold down over the ears and neck.
When it got really cold, these were wrapped in the cone-shaped bashlyk cap; model 1881
Helmets were issued in limited numbers
The French 1915 Adrian helmet was issued to elite troops and officers in 1916.
It was khaki brown and stamped with a Romanov double eagle.
Rarer was the Russian Model 1917 Sohlberg helmet, not produced in large quantities.
There were several types of blouse produced.
The 1912 version of the Gymnastyorka was the most common.
The officers wore tailored versions and the enlisted men`s version was far from standard.
The color was generally greenish khaki, but because of several factors, including the origin of the dye,
there were many different shades.
Some were greenish brown, others even white.
These had shoulder boards which varied in color from unit to unit; and with different markings according to rank.
The blouses were belted and worn over khaki pants of cotton or wool.
These were loose at the hips and thighs and tight at the knees, and tucked into
what was most likely a Russian infantryman`s most prized possession after his rifle, if he had one.
His high top black leather boots called sapogi.
The tough knee-length 1908 model boots were seamed at the back of the calf,
had an iron horseshoe heel and hobnailed soles.
They were so desirable, that even German soldiers were known to replace their own boots with the Russian ones
if they could get their hands on a pair.
Later in the war, though, when the was a shortage of leather and everything else
they were replaced by ankle boots and puttees.
The Russians did not wear socks.
They wrapped strips of cloth around their feet which was cheaper
and, from what I could find out, more comfortable, if done properly.
As to the Russian field gear, it was worn on, over, or attached to the Gymnastyorka.
In winter it went over the greatcoat or shinel
a large, heavy brown or greyish overcoat you`ve probably seen in a million movies and photos.
They could be both single- and double-breasted and could have buttons or hooks to close them.
Officers wore a similar version; not as roughly cut; that was lined with fleece or fur
and had a big chest flap, that could be buttoned up.
The buttons were of different designs and different materials.
The belts worn over these blouses and greatcoats were leather, either black or brown,
and had a rectangular brass buckle stamped with a double eagle or some other emblem.
On either side of the buckle was a brown leather ammunition pouch; the 1893 model
each one holding 30 rounds.
The men carried a variety of other gear in addition to ammunition.
Canteens were made of aluminum, copper, glass or wood
and were slung over the left shoulder and secured at the hip.
On the right hip was a shovel that doubled as a frying pan, perhaps also an axe
and one of several types of wire cutters.
Men carried a bread bag, a mess kit and a gas mask.
Gas masks were of several types actually. But probably the most effective was the Zelinksky model,
which used charcoal filtering that was originally designed for purifying vodka.
The bashlyk, that cone-shaped winter headgear, was carried crisscrossed over the chest
with the ends tucked into the belt.
Some men also carried ammunition bandoliers or rolled up bedding.
Now, you rarely saw a bayonet scabbard, though,
since the model 1891 bayonet was to be always attached to the rifle.
Again, these were the general uniform details. there were well over a thousand variations, as I said before
See, you get a bewildering variety of uniforms in just the army
let alone the air service, the navy and the administrative units behind the lines.
Russian soldiers endured conditions that were at least as bad as those on the Western Front, if not far worse.
Scorching hot summers, brutally cold winters, mountain peaks, filthy trenches, swamps, deserts, you name it.
The men of the Russian Imperial army fought everywhere, died by the millions
and were indeed a mighty force with which to be reckoned.
Today was a brief look at what they wore.
We will include some source materials in the comments, if you want to look up more.
We would like to thank Lawren W. Mitchell for the research for this episode.
If you want to learn more about British uniforms from World War I you can check out our special about that
right here!
There are some great books on World War I military equipment.
You can buy these in our Amazon store where we get a percentage of the checkout price.
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