Gymnasterka
Encyclopedia
Gymnasterka was a Russian military shirt-tunic comprising a pullover style garment with a standing collar having double button closure. In addition two upper chest pockets, with or without flaps may have been worn. It had provision for shoulder boards (epaulettes or shoulder straps) and sometimes reinforced elbows and cuffs. The M35 version had a stand and fall collar which was replaced with the standing collar in the M43 version. The Soviet Army M35 version had hidden buttons, as had the original Tsarist model.
about 1870 for wear by regiments stationed in Turkestan
during the hot summers. It took the form of a loose fitting white linen "shirt-tunic" and included the coloured shoulder-straps of the green tunic worn during the remainder of the year. The gymnasterka was taken into use by all branches of the Imperial Army at the time of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Originally intended for working dress during peace-time and patterned on the traditional Russian peasant smock, the gymnasterka was subsequently adopted for active service and worn as such during the 1890s and early 1900s. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 the white gymnasterka with its red or blue shoulder boards proved too conspicuous against modern weaponry and the garments were often dyed various shades of khaki. The smartness and comfort of the white gymnasterka enabled it to survive for a few more years of peacetime wear until a light khaki version was adopted in 1907-09 and worn during World War I.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917
, a new version of the gymnasterka with a stand-and-fall collar was issued to the Bolshevik forces, with three razgovory straps sown across the chest in branch colours. During the Russian Civil War
, both the counter-revolutionary White Army and the Bolshevik Red Army
wore gymnasterkas, White Army troops were issued with new black gynasterkas of the original Tsarist pattern, some of them wore old khaki-green or white ones, but all of them had black shoulder boards. The Bolshevik Red Army wore both original Tsarist pattern shirt-tunics and ones of a new model, with or without the coloured stripes, but some added with two breast pockets. The wide variety of uniforms worn by both sides during the Civil War arose from supply and production difficulties in the chaotic conditions of the time.
The garment was abolished by the Red Army
in 1921. It was reintroduced in 1935 with a stand-and-fall collar, modified back to its original Tsarist form in 1943, and finally abolished in 1965, replacing it with new modern ones.
Origins
The gymnasterka was originally introduced into the Czarist armyImperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
about 1870 for wear by regiments stationed in Turkestan
Turkestan
Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...
during the hot summers. It took the form of a loose fitting white linen "shirt-tunic" and included the coloured shoulder-straps of the green tunic worn during the remainder of the year. The gymnasterka was taken into use by all branches of the Imperial Army at the time of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Originally intended for working dress during peace-time and patterned on the traditional Russian peasant smock, the gymnasterka was subsequently adopted for active service and worn as such during the 1890s and early 1900s. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 the white gymnasterka with its red or blue shoulder boards proved too conspicuous against modern weaponry and the garments were often dyed various shades of khaki. The smartness and comfort of the white gymnasterka enabled it to survive for a few more years of peacetime wear until a light khaki version was adopted in 1907-09 and worn during World War I.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, a new version of the gymnasterka with a stand-and-fall collar was issued to the Bolshevik forces, with three razgovory straps sown across the chest in branch colours. During the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, both the counter-revolutionary White Army and the Bolshevik Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
wore gymnasterkas, White Army troops were issued with new black gynasterkas of the original Tsarist pattern, some of them wore old khaki-green or white ones, but all of them had black shoulder boards. The Bolshevik Red Army wore both original Tsarist pattern shirt-tunics and ones of a new model, with or without the coloured stripes, but some added with two breast pockets. The wide variety of uniforms worn by both sides during the Civil War arose from supply and production difficulties in the chaotic conditions of the time.
The garment was abolished by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in 1921. It was reintroduced in 1935 with a stand-and-fall collar, modified back to its original Tsarist form in 1943, and finally abolished in 1965, replacing it with new modern ones.
See also
- KosovorotkaKosovorotkaA kosovorotka is a Russian, skewed-collared shirt. The word is derived from koso - askew, and vorot collar.-Description:A kosovorotka is a traditional Russian shirt, long sleeved and reaching down to the mid-thigh...
- Military uniformMilitary uniformMilitary uniforms comprises standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and military styles have gone through great changes over the centuries from colourful and elaborate to extremely utilitarian...
- Pilotka