Changes from collar to shoulder insignia

[Historian]

Hi Guys,

I havn't posted in a while, but have been nosing around :-)

Just wondering can anyone point me in the direction of the Order/date that Soviet Uniforms went from Soviet to 'Neo-Tsarist' (woohoo, new phrase coined :-) ), i.e. from collar tabs to Shoulder tabs (Pogony?). And if any sources exist detailing why this happened?

Also, anyone know any sites that would show details of the uniforms pre & post change?

ATB, TIA,
Tom

[DougD]

Tom,

Welcome (back) to the forum. I think the answer to your question(s) could be a few sentences or a book and I am sure that many others will contribute to the thread with info./opinions.

In a nutshell the changeover back to the boards was in the middle of WWII, in 1943, in order to return some of the “Russian” look to the Red Army; with the introduction of such Russian themed awards as the Nevsky Order, the Suvorov Order, the Kutuzov Order, etc., the Russian soldier/officer was to feel he was fighting for the eternal Russian motherland. The Tsarist looking boards went along with this idea. Again, there is a huge amount that can be added to this!

As for images/ details, there are literally hundreds in the uniform section...if you do not find what you want, let us know and I am sure we could post what you need.

DougD

[Historian]

Doug,

Thank you, thats the sort of thing, I thought it was arround the beginning of Stalingrad, but was unsure. I've been reading about Russia and the patriotic war, but not much is mentioned about this changeover, which is rather a shame as it is an interesting point in time :-)

ATB,
Tom