Basic Uniform Requirements

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GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Facial hair

No beards, no long sideburns. No artificially unnaturally colored hair. Hair must be cut short and off the ears and collar, but many soldatyi would shave their heads, although this is not required.

Mustaches are permitted on men over 40 years of age only. Two or three days beard growth for most

events is permitted. The Red Army soldier was clean-cut most of the time.

Women’s hair should be pulled back and tied. No makeup is permitted.

2. Eyewear

Eyewear must be appropriate to the time period. Round wire rimmed glasses are recommended. Contact lenses are permitted.

3. Ornamentation

No earrings or modern looking jewelry is permitted. Body piercings and modern tattoos should remain out of sight.

4. Subdued Insignia Prescribed by regulations, subdued insignia is recommend. Brass buttons were also still very common on the M43 tunic. However, subdued buttons painted olive are

permitted on the M43 tunic. The M43 tunic does however need to be worn with the typical subdued olive drab shoulder

straps with raspberry piping.

5. Captured Items

Captured items are restricted. See the FIELD GEAR section for details.

6. Lend-Lease Items

Lend-lease items are restricted and may only be used with approval and permission of the Unit Council. Although one

lend-lease item may be fine, too many lend-lease items can make an otherwise good Russian impression look bad.

7. Camouflage clothing

Except for white winter camouflage suits, camouflage clothing is restricted and reserved for those permitted to portray

specialized troops, such as snipers, engineers and scouts.

SECTION I

REQUIRED UNIFORM ITEMS : 1940-43 , 1943-45

1. M35 Tunic ( Gymnastiorka )

The M35 tunic in cotton or wool with correct wool collar patches. Collar patches are raspberry with black piping. Enameled

metal crossed rifle badges are to be affixed to the collar patches. Buttons should be black or unpainted brass. This tunic is

required for early war events and suggested by the end of your first year.

2. M35 Trousers ( Sharovariy )

These are the standard semi-breeches in cotton or wool with coffin-shaped knee patches. They will either have belt loops,

suspender buttons, or both.

3. Sidecap ( Pilotka )

In cotton or wool with a star insignia badge pinned in the center of the front.

4. Footwear

Russian jackboots ( Sapogi ) are preferred. Ankle boots ( Botinki ) must be approved by the Unit Council and be used with

leg wraps [puttees]. Leg wraps ( Obmotki ) may be black, khaki, tan or grey canvas or wool material. Period correct U.S.

Army ankle boots with toe caps, or British Army style ankle boots without toe caps, are acceptable.

5. Waistbelt (Poyas) or Suspenders ( Podtyazhki )

For trousers that have belt loops, a Russian pattern web trouser belt or a Russian pattern leather waist belt is preferred.

Proper period suspenders may be used instead of the trouser waist belt. Suspenders should have buttonhole tabs made of

leather, not plastic or naughahyde. Some modern suspenders can easily be converted.

OPTIONAL UNIFORM ITEMS

1. Tunic ( Gymnastiorka )

M35 Transitional Tunic

M35 tunics in cotton or wool continued to be worn through the end of the war, although they became less and less common as

they were replaced by the newer M43 tunic design. The collar patches were removed, and the M43 shoulder straps were added.

Buttons may be unpainted brass, black, painted olive, or a combination of the three, thus suggesting buttons have been lost and

replaced with a suitable replacement.

M43 Tunic

The cotton or wool M43 Tunic and Field Shoulder Straps ( Pogoni ), with or without breast pockets, is highly recommended

for later war events. Woolen olive drab field shoulder straps piped with raspberry branch of service color are worn with this

style of tunic. Buttons should be either unpainted brass or painted olive.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED WINTER ITEMS

1. Greatcoat ( Shinyel’ )

At least one is highly recommended. Appropriate wool collar patches are preferred, depending on the event time period.

However, if only one greatcoat is all you will be purchasing you may choose not to attach any collar patches and shoulder

straps.

M35 Greatcoat

Collar patches are to be raspberry with black piping with enameled metal crossed rifle insignia affixed to them. Buttons

should be black or unpainted brass. This greatcoat is restricted to events with a 1939 to 1942 scenario.

M43 Greatcoat

Collar patches and shoulder straps are to be olive drab wool with raspberry piping. Buttons are to be either painted olive,

unpainted brass or unpainted olive resin. This greatcoat is restricted to events with a 1943 to 1945 scenario.

2. Synthetic Fur Hat ( Shapka-Ushanka )

Synthetic fur with hat body made of wool, with a star badge pinned to the center of the front flap. Wool hat body should be

in the olive drab or brownish-grey range of colors, and the synthetic fur should be in the brownish or greyish color range.

3. Gloves ( Pyerchatki ) or Mittens ( Rukavitsiy )

Black, grey or brown knit wool with no apparent markings. Postwar Russian Army three-fingered mittens are highly recommended,

since they have not changed in appearance since the 1930s. These have a rag wool lining and an olive canvas outer

body with reddish-brown flannel reinforcements on the back sides of the mittens.

OPTIONAL WINTER ITEMS

1. Winter Cloth Helmet ( Budyonovka or Shlem )

This is the pre-war winter fold-down pointed wool cap with raspberry colored wool star stitched on the front with a red

enameled star badge pinned in its center. All buttons on the cap should be black or unpainted brass.The cap is subject to approval,as most reproductions are really bad.

2. Padded Jacket ( Telogreika ) and Padded Trousers ( Vatniye Sharovariy )

The earlier style jacket with stand and fall collar is preferred and recommended over the M43 short collar style. The earlier

collar may be with or without the subdued olive collar patches. For events with a 1943 to 1945 time period, raspberry piped

olive wool shoulder straps may only be worn by NCOs and officers, however, it is not required to wear them.

3. Winter Camouflage Suit ( Zimniy Maskirovochniy Kostyum )

Either the one-piece greatcoat style overwhite set or the two-piece smock with separate trousers. Both styles have hoods.

The greatcoat style suit was used during the Russo-Finnish War and early in WWII. The two-piece style suit was used later

in the war until the end of the war. The postwar East German greatcoat style winter camouflage suit is recommended for

the earlier style. The postwar Russian Army two-piece winter camouflage suits are recommended for the later style.

4. Felt Boots ( Valenki )

These quarter-inch thick densely compressed felt boots are excellent for keeping your feet warm in dry, sub-freezing temperatures.

For obvious reasons, they are better suited to wear when the snow is dry, not wet. Do not purchase the ones with

rubber soles. Correct versions consist only of felt. These style of boots are worn instead of boots or shoes.

5. Knit Wool Hood

The reproductions and the postwar Russian Army knit hoods are permitted.

6. Wool Scarf ( Sharf )

A plain colored wool scarf is permitted.

SECTION II

REQUIRED FIELD GEAR

1. Equipment Belt ( Remyen’ )

A one and one-half inch wide brown leather belt with a roller buckle and leather keeper.

2. Steel Helmet ( Stal’noi Shlem )

The M39 helmet with three outside rivets, a cloth drawstring liner and web chinstrap. Czech M53 helmets can be easily converted.

of this helmet. Someone in the unit will paint this on your helmet.

3. Gasmask Bag ( Sumka Dlya Provizii )

With or without the two side pockets. This serves as the soldier’s haversack for food and personal items.

4. Cartridge Pouch ( Patronnaya Sumka )

One is required. Two are an option. The cartridge pouch may be the earlier Czarist box style or the two-pocket 1940s style. In any case, leather cartridge pouches are highly recommended.

5. Canteen ( Flyaga )

An aluminum Russian canteen from the Cold War period is permitted. However, the correct WWII style canteen is highly recommended, because its screw cap has smaller threads and has a larger diameter knurled grip at the top. Russian glass canteens with a black rubber stopper or cork stopper are also permitted.

6. Entrenching Shovel With Cover ( Lopata )

This item was not always carried by each soldier, but is useful to have, especially for tending campfires or digging emplacements

at events where digging is permitted.

7. Knapsack ( Ranyets ) or Pack ( Vyeshch-Myeshok )

There are generally three distinctively different styles to choose from. The M36 hard pack, the M39 soft knapsack, and the

simple M41 drawstring pack ( Veshchevoi-Myeshok ). The Myeshok is a simple sack-type pack that closes with a drawstring

and has a long carrying strap. Converted and simplified postwar Russian drawstring packs similar to this are permitted. The

Myeshok pack is the one more commonly seen.

8. Mess Kit ( Kotelok )

The Russian M24 bucket style mess kit is preferred, but an M36 two-piece Russian or German style two-piece mess kit is permitted.

9. Spoon ( Lozhka )

A large spoon is required. No stainless steel. Wood, pewter, silver or tin is allowed.

10. Drinking Cup ( Chashka )

An unpainted aluminum cup or a white or green enameled tin cup which resembles the British Army tea cup is required.

11. Shelter Half / Rain Cape ( Plashch-Palatka )

One is suggested. Two or three are highly recommended; one for a rain cape and the other to combine with someone else to

form a pup tent.

12. Identification Booklet & Identification Capsule

Both are preferred,but not required. Someone in the unit will assist you in correctly filling out the paperwork in Russian.

OPTIONAL FIELD GEAR

1. M36 Helmet ( Kaska )

This is the earlier German-looking steel helmet. Members may choose to also have this helmet stenciled with the red star and hammer and sickle emblem on the front. Correct style liner and chinstrap are required.

2. M40 Helmet ( Shlem )

The M40 helmet with six outside rivets and a black or brown three-pad liner and a khaki web chinstrap.

3. Equipment Belt ( Remyen’ )

Combination canvas webbing and leather with metal roller buckle.

4. Grenade Pouch ( Sumka Dlya Ruchnaya Granata )

Highly recommended. Either the style for small fragmentation style grenades or the style for the stick grenades.

5. Extra Canteen ( Flyaga )

To be kept in the pack or knapsack for extra water.

6. Blanket ( Odyeyalo )

100 percent wool preferred. Avoid the olive drab U.S. Army blankets. Grey postwar Russian blankets or other grey blankets

with no markings are recommended. The postwar Russian blanket can be backdated to look like a Russian WWII blanket

by adding red blanket stitching to the short ends of the blanket.

7. Extra Shelter Halves ( Plashch-Palataka )

Highly recommended. One to wear as a rain cape; two to be buttoned together to form a pup tent.

8. Hold All

For toothbrush, tooth paste or powder, comb, soap, razor, etc. This can be a simple drawstring bag.

9. Sewing Kit

With needle, thread, patching material and extra buttons.

95 th Rifles Authenticity Standards Page 3 of 4 1/10/05

10. Ration Bags

Simple drawstring bags in various colors and designs, but nothing gaudy.

11. Foot Wraps ( Portyanki )

Traditional Russian Army “socks”. Russian boots often will fit better with these, but it depends upon the individual.

12. Flashlight ( Elyektricheskii Fonarik )

Russian or German pocket torch. A rectangular metal body with large lens, often having a leather strap with a buttonhole

for buttoning it to the uniform.

REQUIRED WEAPON

1. M91/30 Mosin Nagant Rifle ( Vintovka )

With cleaning rod, socket bayonet and either the earlier pattern leather sling or the later style combination canvas web and

leather sling.

OPTIONAL WEAPONS

1. SVT-38 or SVT-40 Semi-Automatic Rifle

2. PPSH-41 Submachine Gun

3. MP-38 or MP-40 German Submachine Pistol

4. DP-28 Light Machine Gun

5. MG-34 or MG-42 Captured German Machine Gun

6. M1910 Maxim Heavy Machine Gun with wheeled Sokolov Mount

7. Russian Mortar 50MM or 80MM size

8. Russian Anti-Tank Rifle

9. Rubber Knife and/or Rubber Entrenching Shovel

NOTE: When using optional weapons, members must also have the corresponding accessories. For example: When carrying

the SVT-40, members should also carry the correct cartridge pouch.

USE OF CAPTURED ITEMS

In general, captured items are not permitted. Exceptions include some German items.

1. German Machine Guns are permitted along with the necessary pouches. American weapons are forbidden.

2. Panzerfausts and German grenades may be used.

3. German Mess Kit

4. German Shelter Half ( Zeltbahn )

5. German Tent Poles and Stakes

6. Combat Knife

7. German Ration Items and Fat Container

8. German ESBIT Stove

9. German Toque for cold weather

10. Any other items must be approved by the Unit Commander or Unit Council.