|
Russian boys mostly wore caps for headwear. We note many different styles. We note many familiar European styles such as sailor caps. After the Revolution we see new styles being worn. Flat caps were worn in the 1920s and 30s. This was a style primary worn by adults. We note younger boys wearing berets in the 1930s-60s. We see a peaked cap looking rather like a baseball cap appearing in the 1950s. Some were done in straw. One style we do not see is the British peaked school cap. There was a very destinctive trapper cap worn by the Red Army that some boys wore during the winter. We see those mostly after World War II, but our archive is still rather limited. Given that fur was used, this would hve been an expensive cap. With the innovation of faux fur it may have become more common. Two styles were popular for school, peaked cadet caps and a glengary style. The glengary was also used by the Young Pioneers. Our assessment of Russian caps is just beginning so we expect find other styles. There does not seem to be a style for girls.
We note younger boys wearing berets in the 1950s and 60s. The boy here is a good example (figure 1). It looks like this was the boy's dressup headwear, although we do not know if he had other headwear. A Russian reader dates in to the early-1960s. A Canadian reader writes, "The photograph here looks more like the 1950s to me, but it is hard to tell. About the badge, it was common in Canadian schools to get a badge for being the best pupils for one month. This could be the same in the USSR." This may be a school event, although the baloon suggests otherwise. Notice behind them is another parent holding a child's hand, probably waiting to have their photograph taken. We note other images of boys wearing berets to school. A good example comes from the 1950s, about the same time, a snapshot of two brothers.
After the Revolution we see a very destinctive cap worn by the Red Army that some boys wore.
Here is a photograph where a boy is wearing one of these caps. They were called "Budenovka", from the name of Semen Budyonnyj, a famous Russian war leader and politician. They were also called "Bogatyrka", from a word "Bogatyr" - "a mighty warrior" in ancient Russian. It was a uniform headwear used in Red Army before 1940s years - a cloth helmet, resembling ancient Russian war helmets. The Red Army eventually discontinued this helmet because it was not comfortable, but such a form for children headwear (you can see even a star on the helmet) was popular for children's headwear even in the 1980s.
There are also a range of cold weather caps, but we do not yet have much information on the different styles. Cold-weather headwear was almost always was some kind of cap. We do not see hats. The major exception seems to have been the head scarves that many girls wear. Russian girls or at least their ears had a prioblem. Caps were mostly worn by boys and the tyles were seen as a boy's garmnt. The primary winter cap style was what seems to have been called a trapper hat. It was made with fur and got its name from the caps worn by fur trapers who as in America payed an important role in the expansion of the Russian state. Americans moved west, the Russians moved east in their case into Siberia. Traper cap is the term we note today. We are not sure what it was called during Soviet times. As fur was used, it would have been relatively expensive. So we are not sure how widely worn there were. It was also the cap style worn by the Red Army soldiers in World War II. Interestingly, American boys wore similar caps styled a little differently during the 1940s-60s, of course made with faux fur. Many American boys wore them to school. With the innovation of faux fur it may have become more common in Russia. It had ear flaps that were tied together at the top when the weather was mild.
Flat caps seem popular in the 1920s and 30s. This was a style primarily worn by adult men. It was popular in part becuase it had a ideological image. Well to do men in Europe wore hats, several different styles. You eveb see that in Soviet propagabnda where evilcapitalkists are commonly depicted in high-top hats luj=ke the Monopoly guy. The European working-class tended to wear caps. (English country squires were a bit of an exception.) We also see that in American where flat caps are also called newsboy caps. We think that this working-class image was part of the reason that flat cps begcame so popular in the Soviet Union. .
We see a peaked cap looking rather like a baseball cap appearing in the 1950s. Some were done in straw. This seems to be a kind of play or vacation cap.
We note many familiar European styles such as sailor caps.
We have some informatiom on Russian schoolwear including heaswear. Our first inmages are from the 19th century. But mostly we have 20th century images. This includes both Tsarist ( -1917) and Soviet (1917-91) images. We note both uniform and non-uniform caps. The uniform caps were paked-caps and garison caps. The rules seem stricter during the Tsarist era. We see boys during the Soviet era wear more varied caps. There was uniform style, but not all the boys wore the proper uniform style. We see some boys wearing berets, but they were not a uniform item. We have mot yet found any images on modern Russian headwear. Interestingly there was some contunity between the Tsarist and Soviet styles, especially the peaked military cap. We only see Russian boys wearing caps to school. We do not see hats, although our 19th century archive is limited. We do have a number of images from the Tsarist early-20th century era. The cap we see had a leather peak, done like the uniform caps of those worn by officers in the Tsarist Army. They appear to be replicas, but we see them being worn at many schools. It is the only country we know that used this style of military peaked cap in World War I. It looks more like a World War II cap. The boy here is a good example (figure 1). The Germans also had a peaked cap, but their's were styled differently. Russian boys wore both peaked military caps and garrison campaign caps. The peaked military caps were very common during Tsarist period. It was the primarily military style item, but this varied from school to school. It was often worn with tunic-like blouses. We are not sure if they had a dress cap or wore the same cap year round. The garrison caps appeared after the Revolution. We are not sure yet just when. It was also use by the Young Pioneer youth group. They were less expensive. We still see the peaked caps in the 1950s and 60s. The boy on the previous page is a good exmple. We no longer commonly see them by the 1970s. We are less sure about the caps or hats worn by the girls. After the Revolution girls education became more important. But the girls did not wear military syled uniforms like the boys.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main Russian headwear page]
[Return to the Main Russian garment page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Topics]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Satellite sites]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
Navigate the Historic Boys' Clothing Russian pages:
[Ballet]
[Children's literature]
[Choirs]
[Fashion magazines]
[Movies]
[Royalty]
[School uniform]
[Youth groups]
Navigate the Boys Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to theMain country page]
[Australia]
[Canada]
[England]
[France]
[Germany]
[Ireland]
[Italy]
[Mexico]
[New Zealand]
[Poland]
[Russia]
[Scotland]
[United States]
