The Winter helmet 1919-1940

By Ethan Toye

At the beginning of the civil war, uniform pieces were needed for the new Red army of the Bolshevik revolution. According to the Revolutionary Military Council Order No. 326 on May 7, 1918, a competition was announced for these new uniforms for the Workers and Peasants of the Red Army, one of which uniform pieces needed was a winter hat. The design to win this competition was officially designated as the winter helmet, otherwise nicknamed the “bogatyrka” as it resembled the helmets worn by medieval knights of Russia called the bogatyrs.

By order of the RVSR No. 116 of January 16, 1919, a description of the new hat design was given. “The headgear is made from a protective uniform cloth and is shaped like a helmet. It consists of a cap narrowing up, a visor, and a flap that unfolds at the neck. The cap consists of six identical pieces of an isosceles spherical triangle, stitched together at the sides so that the vertices of the triangles converge at the top in the center of the cap. The top of the point is dulled. A round button plate with a diameter of about 2 cm, covered with cloth, is sewn into its top. A cloth liner of the same shape made of calico with a cotton quilted lining is sewn to the cloth cap from the inside. A two-layer cloth visor with six rows of stitching is stitched to the bottom edge of the hood, and the flap for the back of the head, also made of two layers of cloth, is attached to the back. The back of the head has a triangular neckline in the middle part and elongated tapering ends. There are two buttonholes on the left end and two buttons on the right end. To fold, the back of the head is bent in width at the top of the triangular cutout, and its free ends are bent inside along the fold. The corners of the folded back of the head are fastened with buttons with a diameter of 1.5 cm, covered with instrument cloth. In front of the headdress, symmetrical with respect to the visor and front seam, a regular five-pointed star made of instrument cloth with a diameter of 8.8 cm is sewn, and internal corners on a circle with a diameter of 4.3 cm are sewn. The star must have a 5-6 mm wide edging applied with black paint, retreating 3mm from the edge. A “cockade badge” of the established sample is attached in the center of the star.’’

Later on “By order of the RVSR of April 8, 1919 No. 628, the design of the winter hat was amended – its silhouette and size of the cloth star changed. The ends of the star began to be located on a circle with a diameter of 10.5 cm, and the inner corners – on a circle with a diameter of 3.5 cm, as a result of which it became more pointed.”

Now let’s look at a surviving example, as the order describes these caps as being made from six panels that converge to a point and have a protective neck flap for extreme cold weather. These caps were made of wool that ranged in colors from green to gray and had a variety of weaves and textures. Certain branches such as border troops even had a specially designated color of wool as seen in the second example

Just like any other type of insignia the cloth stars shown on the cap were meant to be representative of the branch the wearer belonged to. The stars were made from tightly woven wool officially known as “instrument cloth’’. Each color is representative of the following branches: Infantry – Crimson red, Border troops- Green, Aeronautical- Light Blue, Artillery- Orange, Engineering- Black, Cavalry- Dark Blue.

By Order of the Revolutionary Military Council No. 322 from January 31, 1922, significant changes were made to the existing uniform of the red army. The design of the new Obr.22 winter helmet was drastically changed compared to its predecessor. The new design still featured the same six-panel construction, but the shape of the cap was widened and had a much more “loose” fit. Another addition that can be observed is on the protective neck flap, where the button closure is, instead of the previous two buttonholes four were now added. The reason for this is unknown but speculation believes it was to adjust the tightness of the flaps. A variation that is seen in earlier model’s leather loops that were used for keeping the flaps buttoned upright whereas later the loops were made from the same cloth as the cap.

Another type of cap was introduced in the 1922 order, this time being a cap for summer use. Where the winter version was meant to protect the wearer from the cold, the summer version was meant for protection against the rays of the sun. These caps were made with a four-panel design with a visor and a flap covering the neck. They were made from a light cotton canvas that ranged in colors from green, khaki, and gray. These caps like their winter counterparts would also feature the cloth star of the corresponding branch and cockade. On May 13, 1924, the summer hat was officially canceled by order of the RVS No. 641.

On 1924 another change was made to the branch colors of the cloth star; a seventh color was now added. Infantry- Raspberry, Internal troops- Crimson, Border troops- Green, Air Force- Light Blue, Cavalry- Dark Blue, Technical/Chemical/ABTV/Artillery- Black, Medical/Administrative- green.

On August 2, 1926, by order of the Armed Forces of the USSR, the cloth star was canceled and not to be included in the new production of winter helmets, instead, these caps were to have only the metal cockade. Two months later on October 5, 1926, the order was lifted, and the cloth stars continued to be included in the newest production of caps.

On September 3, 1927, by order of the Armed Forces of the USSR No. 474, the winter helmet was once again changed. The new Obr.27 design heavily reflected the Obr.1919 in terms of shape but the top point was much smaller in comparison. The order for this cap describes it the same as previous models by having a six-panel construction with a visor and folding neck flaps and now being made from twilled wool. All military personnel with the previous Obr.22 caps were officially allowed to use them until the winter of 1929, but such caps could be observed into the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940.

In 1931 a simplification measure was made to the Obr.27 winter helmet, instead of a six-panel construction it was now being produced with four panels. The addition of a new material was also mentioned. The cap could now be made from baika, a material similar to flannel or moleskin, and the continuation of twilled wool as previously seen. The construction also differed in the front arms that would wrap around the neck of the wearer, these flaps would feature a single buttonhole instead of the previous two and the inside of the flaps were reinforced with additional fabric usually using the same material from the lining of the cap.

In 1935 new changes were introduced to the winter helmet, by order of the People’s Commissariat of Defense of the USSR No. 176 of December 3, 1935, introduced new uniforms and insignia for all personnel of the Red Army. The description of the new winter helmet tells of them being made from a semi-rough cloth or carded wool similar to the wool used on great coats, as well as the continuation of baika fabric being used, some of the earlier produced caps could also be seen in twilled wool. The order also states the construction of the cap returns to a six-panel design. In 1936, by order of the People’s Commissariat of Defense of the USSR No. 229, new rules for wearing military uniforms were introduced, thus bringing the Obr.36 winter helmet. Examples shown here demonstrate the use of baika and twilled wool as well as the six-panel construction.

The last change made to the winter helmet came on December 15, 1938, by brigade Commander Vlasov, head of Supply and Logistics of the Red Army. The new specification and description were the lack of loops for the neck flap. Instead of having loops that hooked to buttons to hold the flaps in place when they were folded, the new design specified buttonholes that were sewn directly into the flap itself. The flap now was sewn with a 15-degree angle to accommodate the buttons piercing the flaps directly. On January 11, 1939, the new design came into effect for garment production companies to start producing the new simplification. Here below we can observe the new buttonhole, the angle of cut for the neck flap, and examples of baika and carded wool.

Civil models and Common variation

According to the order of the People’s Commissar of Public Utilities of the RSFSR No. 227 dated September 9, 1932, new uniforms were established for the commanding and rank and file composition of the communal fire protection of cities and other settlements. One of which uniform pieces that were discussed was a winter helmet “A winter helmet of dark blue cloth, on wadding, a circular semi-solid visor of the helmet is stitched with longitudinal lines, the back of the helmet folds like a Red Army helmet and fastened in the front under the chin. On the top of the helmet are two small buttons with a fire emblem to hold the back of the neck fold. A pentagon of gray cloth with a blue edging was sewn on the frontal part of the helmet, with the base parallel to the visor. The side length of the pentagon is 40 mm. A chin strap in brown leather. The cap and lavalier insignia consisted of a fire ax and a wrench crossed at an angle of 90 ° intersecting in the middle; white stamped metal signs, the ax is turned to the left, and the wrench is turned to the right. The length of the ax and the wrench with the handle is the same and is equal to 25 mm for the cap badge, and 18 mm for the lavalier badge. On the helmet, the emblem was fixed in the middle of a gray cloth pentagon with a blue edging.”

The winter helmet is described as having blue wool, but it is unknown if they were produced in such a way. Very little photographic evidence is known and sadly currently no known original exists. From the photographs, we do have the cap appears to be the same construction as the standard RKKA model 1927 and 1931 that were being produced at the time.

Not a civil model but a close ally of the USSR, Mongolia. Mongolia was outfitted with standard RKKA uniforms while also issuing their own uniforms which were heavily inspired by their soviet counterparts. One of these pieces needed was a winter helmet. The Mongolian army was supplied with many standard RKKA models of winter helmets, but they also created their own. These caps are heavily influenced by the model 1919, from photographs they seem to always have piping going along the visor and along the length of the cap itself. The earflaps also featured a fur lining. At this time there is no official documentation regarding these caps known, only original photographs and at least one known surviving example are how we know of their existence.

The Aeronautical troops of the Red Army had a more official variation regarding their caps, both the Command staff and Enlisted personnel could be issued a winter helmet in either gray wool/baika or a cap made from dark blue wool introduced by Decree of the Council of People’s Commissars on December 2, 1935, No. 2590 during the change in regulations to the uniforms of the aeronautical troops of the RKKA.

A variation that was commonly seen in the later half of the 1930s was the differences in the shape of the visor. Around 1935 winter helmets could be seen with a more squared visor otherwise known as a “spade bill” by collectors, it is believed that manufacturers were inspired by the square visors that were seen on the newly introduced obr.35 furazhka. Before 1935, winter helmets were always sewn with a semi-circular visor that could angle nearly straight down or be sewn at a flatter angle for a billed effect. Below we can see the visor variation compared to their furazhki counterpart.

The loops in which the neck flap was held upright when in its folded position were always made from either leather or the same wool/baika the cap was made from. This variation is what collectors use to approximate the time frame the cap was made. Generally, earlier models and early production runs of caps used leather loops, every model except the model 1936 used both the leather and wool/baika loops. The reason for the model 1936 not using leather is unknown but popular speculation is there was a realization that thin leather pieces were more susceptible to damage thus leading them to have been repaired more.

Finally, after a long service life with the Armed Forces of the USSR, the winter helmet was canceled by order of the People’s Commissariat of Defense of the USSR No. 187 on July 5, 1940. The now outdated winter helmet was replaced with a newer designed hat for cold weather use, the Obr.40 Ushanka. While production stopped for winter helmets and they were gradually replaced for almost the entire army a small number of survivors still saw use on rear line troops and in the Red army cadet schools, but this still isn’t the end for the newly nicknamed budenovka as it was referred to after the war and even in today’s culture. These hats would still serve as garments of both warmth and as decorations, trophies, and symbols of triumph over Nazi Germany during the Great Patriotic War. Today we still see the budenovka used in parades, film, and various other works of art. Newly constructed hats usually made from surplus army blankets are even sold to tourists or for patriotic holidays in Russia and other former territories of the USSR.

I would like to give a special thank you to all the people who helped in making this article. First to my dear friend Lukas Maksin for providing photos from his collection as well as gathering information and editing. Sasha Rusinek for photographs from his collection. Spencer Wilcock for photographs from his collection. Randall Stewart for photographs from his collection. Thank you to all of you, this wouldn’t have been possible without all of your help.