BACKGROUND:

By Steven J. Zaloga

"Inside the Blue Berets: A Combat History of the Soviet and Russian Airborne Forces, 1930-1995" Presidio Press, 1995

"Chapter 7, Imperial Storm Troopers, Blue Berets," pgs. 151-152

"Elite forces have traditionally distinguished themselves from the rest of the military by adopting distinctive uniforms or insignia. The Soviet VDV was no exception. Colonel General Margelov was an enthusiastic proponent of the effort, feeling that it bolstered unit morale."

"The use of crimson berets by paratroopers can be traced back to the British practice, later picked up by the United States. The initiative for a Soviet paratrooper's beret came from a Russian military artist, A. B. Zhuk, who did some paintings of a proposed paratrooper uniform heavily influenced by the Anglo-American tradition. Margelov thought the idea was a good one, since it would further distinguish his forces from the great dull mass of the Soviet Army. Margelov authorized two berets, a khaki beret with the service uniform and a crimson beret with the dress and parade uniform. The new berets were officially approved in June 1967, and crimson berets began to be issued later in the summer. They first appeared publicaly on 7 November 1967 during the big fiftieth anniversary parade for the 1917 October Revolution."

"The crimson berets were short lived and disappeared within a year. No official explanation has been put forward to explain the sudden change. It may have been that the crimson berets were seen as too heavily influenced by the NATO style. In any event, the crimson berets gave way to cornflower blue berets. These had a more satisfactory Soviet lineage, since the original Soviet paratrooper units of the 1930s used pale blue helmets during the great summer war games. The blue berets were issued in 1968 and became the most popular element of the Soviet paratrooper's uniform. Indeed, Soviet paratroopers have been colloquially known as Blue Berets ever since."

BACKGROUND:

This cap was first introduced during the Second World War (Seen to the right). The cap at that time had a bigger brim, the eyelets were machine embroidered and not all caps had a chin cord. The earlier cap was used throughout the Cold War and wound up fading away during the 1960's. The cap was reintroduced during the Soviet-Afghan War and this version had a shorter brim and the eyelets were metal. It had a faux leather sweat band and chin cord. (Photograps courtesy of Collect Russia and "KGB & Soviet Security Uniforms & Militaria, 1917-1991 in Photographs" by Laszlo Bekesi and Gyorgy Torok)

The Smack Brigades - How Opium Lost the Afghan War
Sobaka Columnist (June 8, 2005) http://www.diacritica.com/sobaka/2005/smack.html
by Misha Pozhininsky

"Russia's boots defeated the Nazis 40 years before. Soviet troops were now wearing "sneakers." They held up better on the rocks and you could run in them without carrying the weight of iron on your legs. I got a pair of these myself. They were made by the Chinese and after some problems the merchants got a connection that would supply them. I remember once that some journalists from Poland were in Bagram, but one of the commanders told them to only aim their cameras from our waists to our faces, because they did not want others to know that the soldiers of the USSR were in shoes that joggers would wear."

BACKGROUND:

By Desantnik

"Prior to Afghanistan, the Soviet Army used 4-celled ammunition pouches on thir equipment belt. Soviet troops were largely mechanised infantry who would ride into battle in armoured fighting vehicles, then dismount and clear up any survivors of the stattering artillery barrage delivered before hand."

"When they met the counter-revolutionary elements in Afghanistan, the enemy was equipped with Chinese gear. The Chinese had long used chest mounted webbing. The Soviets discovered that in this new type of warfare, the chestrig offered big benefits. Initially they used captured Chicom webbing, then they made their own "bras" (as the Soviets called them) and finally in 1984 (approx.) they started to be issued with Soviet factory made ones. In about 1988 this design changed."

2) Cardboard boxes of 5,45mm rounds - for reloading

3) Pocket for a single AK mag - AK-74

4) Rubberised pocket for the oil bottle

As you can see, you only can fit 3 magazines in this chestrig. Loose rounds are kept for reloading instead of ready to use magazines.

2) Grenades x4 - 3x F1 fragmentation and 1x RDG5 fragmentation is displayed here

3) Pockets for AK mags - 2x per pocket, 6x in total

4) These straps are for attaching a separate piece of equipment which holds grenades for the OG15/OG30 under barrel grenade launcher

BACKGROUND:

By V. Suvorov

"Spades and Men"

"Every infantryman in the Soviet Army carries with him a small spade. When he is given the order to halt he immediately lies flat and starts to dig a hole in the ground beside him. In three minutes he will have dug a little trench 15 centimetres deep, in which he can lie stretched out flat, so that bullets can whistle harmlessly over his head. The earth he has dug out forms a breastwork in front and at the side to act as an additional cover. If a tank drives over such a trench the soldier has a 50% chance that it will do him no harm. At any moment the soldier may be ordered to advance again and, shouting at the top of his voice, will rush ahead. If he is not ordered to advance, he digs in deeper and deeper. At first his trench can be used for firing in the lying position. Later it becomes a trench from which to fire in the kneeling position, and later still, when it is 110 centimetres deep,it can be used for firing in the standing position. The earth that has been dug out protects the soldier from bullets and fragments. He makes an embrasure in this breastwork into which he positions the barrel of his gun."

"In the absence of any further commands he continues to work on his trench. He camouflages it. He starts to dig a trench to connect with his comrades to the left of him. He always digs from right to left, and in a few hours the unit has a trench linking all the riflemen's trenches together. The unit's trenches are linked with the trenches of other units. Dug-outs are built and communication trenches are added at the rear. The trenches are made deeper, covered over, camouflaged and reinforced. Then, suddenly, the order to advance comes again. The soldier emerges, shouting and swearing as loudly as he can."

"The infantryman uses the same spade for digging graves for his fallen comrades. If he doesn't have an axe to hand he uses the spade to chop his bread when it is frozen hard as granite. He uses it as a paddle as he floats across wide rivers on a telegraph pole under enemy fire. And when he gets the order to halt, he again builds his impregnable fortress around himself."

"He knows how to dig the earth efficiently. He builds his fortress exactly as it should be. The spade is not just an instrument for digging: it can also be used for measuring. It is 50 centimetres long. Two spade lengths are a metre. The blade is 15 centimetres wide and 18 centimetres long. With these measurements in mind the soldier can measure anything he wishes."

"The infantry spade does not have a folding handle, and this is a very important feature. It has to be a single monolithic object. All three of its edges are as sharp as a knife. It is painted with a green matt paint so as not to reflect the strong sunlight."

"The spade is not only a tool and a measure. It is also a guarantee of the steadfastness of the infantry in the most difficult situations. If the infantry have a few hours to dig themselves in, it could take years to get them out of their holes and trenches, whatever modern weapons are used against them."

BACKGROUND:

By Lester W. Grau, Michael A. Gress and The Russian General Staff

"The Soviet-Afghan War: How a Superpower Fought and Lost" University Press of Kansas, 2002

"Chapter 2, Organization, Armament, and Training of the Limited Contingent of Soviet Forces and Government of Afghanistan Armed Forces," pgs. 41-42

"For the first time in the history of the Soviet armed forces, Soviet soldiers used a wide variety of armored flak jackets for individual protection during the Afghanistan war. At the start of the war, there were not enough flak jackets for everyone. Therefore, flak jackets were issued to soldiers going into direct combat or to those on combat duty. The first battles proved that flak jackets reduced fatalities by two or three times. This made the procurement of sufficient flak jackets a priority, and, by the end of 1988, all the personnel of the 40th Army had flak jackets."

"There were five flak jacket models issued during the war. The first model was the Zh-R1 issued in 1980. It weighed four kilograms and was fairly comfortable; however, it failed to provide adequate protection. The 6B3 and YaB4 flak jackets were developed to correct the shortcomings of the Zh-R1. They were issued in 1983 and 1984 and proved more capable of stopping an aimed bullet. However, they both weighed about 10.5 kilograms (23.15 pounds) and were very uncomfortable when worn in the mountains or when it was hot."

"In 1985-1986, the Soviets began issuing the Zh-85t and Zh-85k flack jackets. They weighed about 7.5 kilograms (16.5 pounds) and provided chest protection from a bullet fired at the front and spinal protection from fragments impacting in the back. But the area of the body that these flak jackets covered was inadequate. Therefore, these flak jacketswere replaced in 1988 with the Zh-86 single-piece flak jacket that covers 1.6 times more body area. The Zh-86 uses titanium alloys, ceramic armor, and specialty steel." (Photograph from Trident Militaria)