How to wrap your feet the Red Army Way

with drawings and text by Simon Vanlint
Other nonsense by Arkady Rodinko

    ONLY the Russians would come up with the idea of footwraps rather than socks. It is just so....Russian.
Simon sends us these drawings taken from life, from modern Soviet Soldiers donning their wraps. The pictures speak for themselves...

1.                                                                      2. Fold Cloth corner over toes to tuck in.

3. Pull Coth right round over the top of the foot and pull tight.

4. Tuck Toe in
    Smooth out edge.

5. Pull remainder up the side of the leg

6. Pull round the back of the ankle tight.

7. Tuck in low or high.

8. Pull breech leg down over foot clothand tie up over cloth to stop it slipping down.

    The cloth is white and heavier than plain cotton. Sorry I don't know precisly what cloth should be used. ...The best material we have found is a white linen often used for dustsheets, the exact demensions are again a mistory, I personally cut mine 36cm by 118 cm. The initial trick is to get them around the feet nice and smooth, then wrap them around the back of the ankle and tuck them in, in theory they should be held up by the ties on the long-johns, or even the breeches. This is the basic meathod I have seen with my own eyes, no doubt there may be other ways to do it. If your boots are too big the foot cloths will slip down. They must be a snug fit within the boot to stay in place. If you find you are still loosing  your portyanki during the day, try using a longer cloth and don't forget, don't use cloth that is too thin!

                                                                       Simon Valint

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