Uniforms of the Russian Armed Forces
The uniforms of the Russian Armed Forces use an extensive system of uniforms, as inherited from the Soviet Armed Forces and modified across the years.
Governance
The specific items of service uniforms and the equipment used in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are determined by the governing bodies of the Force and ultimately by the Minister of Defense. The rules for wearing these uniforms, established in the 1990s, are also under their purview.Types
Typically, uniforms are divided into four categories: ceremonial "parade", dress, everyday "office", and field configurations, with summer and winter variations.Design
In terms of their design, the uniforms currently worn by the Russian Federation's soldiers, sailors, and airmen are, to a greater or lesser degree, a development of those worn by the armed forces of the former Soviet Union. In particular, the customary basic colors of black, green, and blue as worn by those serving in, respectively, the Russian Navy, Russian Army, and Russian Air Force reflect those traditionally worn in earlier periods. This classic division of colors is today most apparent in the armed forces' parade uniforms, dress uniforms, and office uniforms.Also in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, there are a number of uniform supplies that were used in the USSR and the Russian Empire. For example, a general view of the girdles and shoulder straps of ceremonial calculations and honor guard units in especially solemn occasions, such as parades on Red Square and other cities on the occasion of state and military holidays, a meeting of heads of state and government delegations, solemn ceremonies and military honors.
Navy
In the navy, a wide variety of clothing sets differ from the Soviet tradition. The dominant colors are navy blue, which in practice are black, and white.Ground Forces
The so-called "green" color of the ground forces, in fact, can mean:- The sea wave color of the officers' ceremonial parade uniform. This color was restored to the Ground Forces in 2010 after abolition in 1994. The reintroduction restored continuity with the uniforms of USSR Armed Forces officers, which in turn resemble those of the infantry and artillery units of the Russian Empire of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
- The olive color of the ceremonial and everyday clothes of soldiers and officers from 1994 to 2010. This color currently remains the color of the office uniforms for both soldiers and officers & the color of the dress uniforms for officers. This color replaced the Soviet khaki color of dress uniforms for officers, parade uniforms of soldiers, and everyday uniforms for both in 1994. In 2010, the olive color of uniforms soldiers and daily uniforms of officers of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation became a brighter shade of green, so that the color differences to that of the Soviet khaki color became stronger.
Air Force
Regulations
The wearing of uniforms is subject to regulations applying not only to those serving in the Armed Forces, but also to pupils of the Suvorov military and Nakhimov naval academies, cadet and cadet naval corps, and citizens discharged from active service but still members of the reserve. Ex-servicemen and -women who still have the right to wear a military uniform must also observe these regulations.History
1992–1996
On 21 December 1991, the CIS member countries agreed to maintain a unified command of the Armed Forces until they were reformed.On 11 February 1992, following Commander-in-Chief of the CIS Armed Forces Order No. 50 "On temporary changes in the military uniform for the period 1992–1995", a description was given of "temporary changes" in uniforms. For marshals and generals, a ceremonial cap was introduced, modeled on the everyday, parade uniform-dress uniform, according to the pattern of the everyday jacket, but with ceremonial epaulettes, dressed-out trousers without boots, with edges along the line. It also authorized officer's model caps in the summer everyday form. In May 1992 the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were established.
The hats worn by marshals, generals and colonels were abolished, replaced by astrakhan hat-earflaps of gray color from the fur of tsigeyki. The edges of the ceremonial uniforms of officers, ensigns, servicemen of the extended service and women servicemen, as well as armor-type arm plates for the latter three categories were abolished. A cockade was introduced for officers, warrant officers, and servicemen of super-long service for everyday and dress uniforms.
Berets for military servicemen and caps for ceremonial dress uniforms of military servicemen were replaced by officer-type pilots. The woolen jackets of marshals, generals, officers, ensigns and servicemen of extra-long-term services replaced button fasteners with zippers, and sewn side pockets closed with zippers.
Marshals, officers, ensigns and servicemen of extra-long service lost their ceremonial belts as well as the leather shoulder strap.
Conscripts and cadets adopted a woolen uniform fitted with sewn epaulets of the same material in place of the parade-out uniform and closed everyday jacket.
The letters "CA" were removed from shoulder straps of service members of urgent service, while the metal letters "K" on shoulder straps of field jackets and everyday cadets of cadets was added. Buttonholes were removed from collars of service members and cadets, while the golden emblems on cotton tunics were fastened to collar corners.
The same document introduced changes in generals' uniforms, compared with the 1988 Soviet Army. Sewing on ceremonial caps and uniforms became similar to every day and disappeared from the cuffs. Trousers were set to the gray front-and-back tunic, with cuffs, but without lamphas, in the tone of the tunic. Aa cap with a gray crown and colored band.
Since 1994 the field uniform had the special, but unofficial sleeve insignias: the branch of service or the military unit.
In 1994, President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree that abolished the Soviet-era uniform and changed military dress for the first time since 1969.
1997–2008
2008–2011
2012–present
In November 2012, Sergey Shoigu was appointed the Defence Minister of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. Following his appointment, a number of changes were instituted.This included the introduction of an entirely distinct "office uniform" to as a new everyday uniform for officers in 2013. The office uniform is blue for the Air Force, green for the Ground Forces, and black for the Navy. It includes a zipper jacket, t-shirt, a cap or peaked cap without the coloured band, and the option of wearing combat boots or dress shoes. For the cold seasons, a branch-corresponding colored jacket was introduced with a snap-on hood with fur lining was incorporated into the uniform.
In 2015, the rules surrounding wearing military uniforms were officially changed. This noticeably included the abolition of ceremonial & dress uniforms for conscripts & all ranks below that of warrant officer. The office uniform was rolled out to all ranks in 2016 & now serves in the ceremonial & dress roles for all ranks below that of warrant officer in addition to its everyday capacity. Other changes also included the removal of the traditional greatcoat for the ceremonial & dress uniform for all ranks except the honor guards.
In the 2017 Moscow Victory Day Parade, officers wore a standing-collar tunic which replaced the previous open-collar tunic. The tunic resembles that which was used in the latter years of World War II by the Soviet Union for ceremonial purposes. The officer corps buttonholes as used by both the Soviet officers during this period & Imperial Russia were added onto the tunics. Generals have the standard ceremonial insignia instead of this design. The color of the Navy ceremonial uniform was also officially changed to pure white, instead of the off-white/cream used before for the summer version of the ceremonial open-collar uniform. Following a trial, the new tunic design was rolled out beginning in 2018 to all ranks down to and including warrant officer as the standard ceremonial tunic. In the 2018 Moscow Victory Day Parade, the massed bands of all ranks had noticeably begun using this uniform. Only the Alexandrov Ensemble continues to use the open-collar Sea Wave design as standard issue instead of the closed-collar variant.
with the new ceremonial tunic design.
wearing a ceremonial version of the "office" uniform introduced in 2012.