Uniforms of the Russian Armed Forces

The current effective order which governs this is:[1][2] Which replaced the following previous orders (in effect from 2015 to 2020): 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, members of the reserve who have been discharged from active service, and ex-servicemen and women who still have the right to wear a military uniform.

In terms of division by rank, major distinctions tend to emerge between generals, officers, and enlisted personnel.

A noteworthy exception to this general rule is in military bandsmen who receive parade uniforms and use the ceremonial insignia and accoutrements of officers during solemn occasions.

Additionally, the army and aerospace cockade acts as a synthesis of that from both periods, with a five-pointed gold star on top of orange and black ovals, and surrounded by dihedral ray edging and occasionally a wreath.

The five-pointed star became a Russian military symbol as a result of its importation from socialist heraldry during the Red Army period.

Additionally, officers have a different style service dress uniform which is reminiscent of the Soviet period uniform, personnel of all ranks often wear telnyashka instead of just enlisted personnel, and they have black berets with a red flag and anchor (in a similar pattern to the flag of the Soviet Union).

Similar to other armies, the Russian Ground Forces makes use of a number of colours for its uniforms depending on the degree of formality.

The wave-green colour draws its origins from the 19th and early 20th century Imperial Russian era uniforms in which it was known as "czar green".

Formerly the staple colour of officer and other ceremonial winter uniform items such as greatcoats under both the Soviet and Imperial periods, it now only serves in this role for honour guards.

Since the introduction of the office uniform in 2012, the second colour to be called olive is a noticeably different bright shade of green.

The 1994 uniforms kept blue as the primary service and parade dress colour, however, this quickly fell out of use in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The colours of the uniform are wave-green for the Army, blue for the Aerospace Forces, and black or white for the Navy.

Hot weather seasonal variations include the replacement of the closed-collar tunic with a white shirt-jacket and a black tie.

Demi-season ceremonial dress adds a standing-collar greatcoat (grey for army, blue for Air Force, and black for navy).

The kit formerly served the everyday, dress, and parade roles for enlisted servicemen until its abolition for these purposes in 2015 due to cost cutting measures.

It noticeably features no coloured hat band or shoulder boards between branch distinctions which are common in higher-tier uniforms.

For the cold seasons, a branch-corresponding coloured jacket was introduced with a snap-on hood with fur lining incorporated.

This noticeably included the abolition of parade and dress uniform kit for conscripts[15] and all ranks below that of warrant officer.

These ceremonial variations, with the exception of the headdress and footwear differences, carry over from the now-in-abeyance dress uniform kit which was used for this role.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the uniforms of the Russian Federation have undergone a number of changes, including major reforms in 1994, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2018.

On 21 December 1991, the CIS member countries agreed to maintain a unified command of the Armed Forces until they were reformed.

Marshals, officers, ensigns and servicemen of extra-long service lost their ceremonial belts as well as the leather shoulder strap.

Since 1994 the field uniform had the special, but unofficial sleeve insignias: the branch of service or the military unit.

[11]In 1994, President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree that abolished the Soviet-era uniform and changed military dress for the first time since 1969.

[12] The 1994 uniform reforms included a new army and air force cockade which had connection to both the Imperial era, through the orange and black St George ovals, and Soviet-era, through the retention of a star.

In 2006, the cockade was changed to remove the gold star, returning fully to the Imperial design, with plans to roll it out across all troops.

For the cold seasons, a branch-corresponding coloured jacket was introduced with a snap-on hood with fur lining incorporated.

This noticeably included the abolition of parade and dress uniform kit for conscripts[15] and all ranks below that of warrant officer.

Other changes also included: the removal of the traditional greatcoat for the parade and dress uniforms for all ranks except the honour guards, changing of officer parade/dress tunics to M69 Soviet-style notched lapels instead of peaked lapels, and the return of the M69 Soviet-style button layout for dress and parade uniforms (four buttons for officers and six for generals.

The tunic resembles that which was used in the latter years of World War II by the Soviet Union for ceremonial purposes.