About Us

We strive to provide a framework for Soviet Reenacting to advance as a hobby and bring together like-minded units into a nationwide group that comes together for events. Our goal is to be as authentic as possible and work to bring that mentality to every event we attend.  Our events are structured and planned to give reenactors the most memorable and immersive experience possible. From the smallest public event to a several-day immersion, we work diligently to achieve this goal.

Authenticity is a mixture of knowledge, behavior, and material culture that permits us to collectively feel in touch with a particular moment in time. We base all three in primary and secondary sources, tempered with common sense. Above all, we believe the most important factor in authenticity is a willingness to improve with experience, not how much money has been spent. If we cannot perform an impression to this standard, we will decline doing so altogether. As a general rule, we ask new members to start with the basic items at a high level of quality, and build from there.

Istochnik is a decentralized club comprised of multiple units across the United States dating back to 2018. Most of our members predominate from the midwestern United States, with strong subgroups along the east and west coasts. It started as a group of friends that became a larger organization which continued to grow as more units and reenactors joined and attended events with us.

Istochnik units attend all kinds of reenacting events, but our main “bread and butter” are Eastern Front immersion events which brings all members together. We also have units and members that attend a wide range of public events as Soviet and other impressions. Some units also host their own training and hangout style events occasionally.