USSR

The Soviet Army had been experimenting with the concept of camouflage for individual troops as early as 1937, the first issue uniform being a solid white oversuit for winter wear. By 1938, the first Soviet-designed camouflage pattern was being fielded by specialized personnel such as paratroops, combat engineers, and snipers. Additional camouflage designs, such as a printed pattern that mimicked leafs and twigs, and a unique disruptive design utilizing large geometrical shapes with a "stair step" edging, had entered Soviet service by the end of the Second World War. Virtually all of the wartime patterns were mass-produced in huge quantities and continued in service with the Soviet Armed Forces for decades, whilst large stocks of certain uniforms were also given to other socialist nations such as Albania and Romania.

During the immediate postwar period, Soviet military designers continued to work with existing concepts (such as the disruptive "stair step" design) to create more practical camouflaged combat clothing for specialized troops. The early Soviet uniforms were lightweight, cheaply-produced and not very hardy, but in 1981 a much more durable combat uniform was introduced that incorporated many of the features of American and NATO field uniforms. The six-pocket khaki airborne uniform, widely distributed to Soviet personnel operating in Afghanistan, was soon manufactured in a newly-designed three-color camouflage pattern (nicknamed "woodland," although having no relationship to the US pattern of the same name) and initially distributed to Soviet airborne and special forces personnel. The six-pocket combat uniform in a tricolor camouflage pattern would eventually become the standard combat uniform of the Soviet Union and the postwar republics, remaining essentially unchanged until the early years of the 21st century. Soviet camouflage designs, although not terribly sophisticated, were nevertheless effective for their time and have been reproduced in a multitude of variations by most countries of the former USSR. They have seen service with numerous Marxist and pro-Soviet insurgent movements, particularly in Africa, and constitute and important chapter in the history of camouflage development.

In December of 1991, following a failed military coup d'etat, the USSR was dissolved into 15 independent states, including Russia.

Soviet Camouflage Patterns

• The first mass-produced Soviet camouflage uniform was the makirovochnyi kamuflirovannyi kostium) or MKK, printed with large reddish-brown amoeba shapes on a light green or khaki background. Introduced in 1938, the MKK (also issued as a one-pieced coverall or makirovochnyi kombinezon - MK) was in service with engineers, snipers, airborne forces, forward artillery observers and reconnaissance units throughout the Second World War. It continued in service sporadically for the next couple of decades, and even longer with reservists and cadets. The camouflage design is often called Soviet "amoeba" pattern.

• In 1941 a different type of camouflage design was introduced, utilizing a printed pattern of dark leaves & twigs on a khaki-colored field. Referred to in some period literature as letniy kamuflyazh (summer camouflage), surviving examples suggest the color overprint was likely produced in at least two variations (green or grey/brown) for issue during different seasons. The issue uniform was the same MKK/MK type, and it saw service well into the 1960s with some Soviet units. Following the Second World War, large stocks were given to Romania, where it became the only camouflage uniform in use until the 1990s. Not to be confused with ERDL-derivative patterns, this style of camouflage is often called "leaf pattern."

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