Green cap- One of the most important symbols of the border service. Not for nothing, even the border guards themselves are sometimes called "green caps." Named so because of the bright green color of the crown, this headdress  has its own special story.

The first historically proven fact of the appearance of the border cap (forage cap), made of gray cloth with dark green band and light green edgings, dates back to 1827, so the current headdress of the border guards is 181 years. The dark green color was the departmental color of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Empire, and the border guards, as is known, were part of this ministry until 1917.
In 1893 he was established, and the Minister of Finance was appointed by his chief. In 1901, for the civilian uniform of the chief of the frontier guard, a hat with a light green top and cross-stitched golden braid was introduced. In 1902 officers and privates of border guards became the light-green top of the cap. At the same time, the crown (top) of the caps of the officers and the rank and file of the corps also became light green. In 1911, the caps of this color were introduced for the officers and lower ranks of the directorates and the staff of the border guard corps. They wore such hats and during the First World War.
In the post-revolutionary time, the uniform of the clothes of the Soviet border guard was first declared by order in 1923. And the following year there were noticeable changes in the uniform of the military units of the OGPU, in particular, the colors of the caps were determined. For the internal and border guards a dark blue band color was chosen. The crown of the caps of the internal guard fighters became krapovoy (dark red), and the border guards became light green with a crimson edging.

The colors of the border caps and the green instrument color, as can be seen, were well chosen, since they remained fairly stable, despite significant changes in uniform.
In 1935, with the formation of the Union NKVD and the emergence of personal military ranks, a new form of clothing for the NKVD servicemen was introduced, which differed from the military one.
It is characteristic that, despite the prohibitions and persecutions of the royal symbols at that time, there were no arguments against the border green. The differences of the Border Guard, as a special department, continued to remain in the light - green edging of the uniform, in the light - green color of the buttonholes on the collars. But the insignia, stars and “triangles” were embroidered on light green cloth so that they also had a light green border.

The border guards wore a uniform different from the general army’s armor until 1938. It was replaced by a general military uniform and insignia of the Red Army, while the green buttonholes on the collars and uniforms remained unchanged.
By this time, an introduction to the army cap. In her daily service, she almost replaced her cap, which became in fact a ceremonial headdress. But for parades and parades a special guard uniform was defined; It is possible, therefore, the personnel of the border guard patrols were in the caps, and caps in the border troops were not widely used.
In early 1941, the political atmosphere already smelled of thunder. In connection with the increase in the number of armed forces and the provision of better camouflage, the next change in the form of clothing was planned and launched, the main focus of which was to reduce the multicolor uniforms. But the colored caps of the NKVD formations are preserved. The completion of these changes was prevented by the war.

The crucial year of the Great Patriotic War, 1943, is also notable for the fact that it returned the name “officers”, the greeting “I wish you health (wish)” and many other attributes of the pre-revolutionary Russian army. And of course, epaulets as insignia. The introduction of epaulettes for the NKVD was carried out by a special decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the order of the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs. The green edging of the uniform and the colors of the hats remained unchanged.
This order provided for the distribution of green instrument colors and to the top officers (generals) of the border troops, which was used in practice until July 1945. The generals wore green stripes on trousers, green edging uniforms and shoulder straps, green-top hats and caps of the “border colors” ".
Only after the Victory Parade I.V. Stalin remarked to the Commissar of Internal Affairs: “Lawrence, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR introduced a single form for all generals. And what, unless the "generals of the NKVD"? After this replica of Stalin, it was necessary for the generals of the border troops to otparivat stripes and edges.
In the early 50s. Uniforms Border Troops has changed. A new all-army uniform of peacetime was introduced. But, despite the fact that the light blue top of the caps of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB has become a protective color, the border cap has not changed.

In 1957, another reform of the form took place - it was close to the European, anglicized type. Dark blue pants were replaced with a protective color pants. For everyday wear were introduced shirts with ties, open jacket with pockets and shoulder straps in the form of hlyastiki protective color. The order of the Minister of Defense was put into action, and the officers had already sewed new uniforms in accordance with the expiration of the socks.
The well-known October Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1957 removed G. K. Zhukov from the post of Minister of Defense. In this regard, the order on the new uniform was “put on the shelf” and deliberately forgotten, although it was not canceled with any documents. But even today, historians of military uniform never mention it anywhere.
Order No. 70 of March 28, 1958, Minister of Defense Marshal Malinovsky on a new uniform, once again reduced the “uniform” set. The frontier guards lost the crimson fringing of buttonholes on the collars of coats of rank and file, but the color of their caps was not touched by the reform.
In 1969 and 1973 There was another limitation of the green color of the instrument cloth on the shoulder straps, buttonholes and band forazhek. The Ministry of Defense left only three colors - red, black and blue. For the border guards, light green, including the cap, once again managed to resist. Thus, this color, close to camouflage, turned out to be stable in different political times.

Perhaps the most serious trials for the border uniform fell in 1993-1994, when the task of cheapening and unifying military uniforms was being solved on a Russian scale. By decree of the President of the Russian Federation on May 23, 1994, the ordinary composition of the Border Troops prescribed shoulder straps of a protective color with light green longitudinal stripes along the edges. And if monochrome caps of the officers of the Ministry of Defense began to be decorated with unnecessary ornaments around the cockade, golden chin and eagle on the crown, then the border cap managed to keep the cockade of its former modest size and protect itself from bad taste of additional details.
The clothing service of the border troops to the Central Department of Defense Directorate of Defense presented the considerations for the uniform of the border guards, in which the caps were left unchanged. The Ministry of Defense accepted these considerations without discussion and immediately included them in the Presidential Decree.

Unfortunately, history has not preserved the names of people - the true defenders of the integrity of the border cap (now the only color) neither in the past, nor in our days.
But the aviation of the frontier troops was still deprived of its original headgear. The then command of the air forces of the frontier troops was seduced by the newly introduced dark blue uniform of the Air Force of the Ministry of Defense, part of which was a dark blue peaked cap. Obviously, someone with authority considered that the green crown could not be in harmony with the dark blue color of the uniform, although from 1935 to 1943. The flight personnel of the border troops wore green caps with blue furs and blue overcoats.
Perhaps someone liked this as something new. But, I think, many of those who are sad are also aware of the fact that the uniform of the officers of the frontier aviation lost its traditional originality and became the same as in the Air Force. This, like the dressing up of pilots of naval aviation in a “general aviation” uniform, is nevertheless a rejection of traditions, which, no matter what, is rarely justified.

During the period of creating the uniform of the modern Armed Forces, the Belarusian border troops managed to defend their “battle colors”. First of all, they retained the traditional green color on the cap. Although in 1993 - 1996. she had a light green rim and a dark green crown. However, since May 1996, the main headgear of the border troops recalled its traditional colors - light green tulle, dark blue rim and red edges.

Caps  - men's headdress with a visor, a flat bottom and a hard wide band.

Previously, the caps were called caps, which began to fall out of use with the onset of Soviet power in the country and the beginning of atheism, when the covered head and the presence of a belt became optional for men, i.e. there was a change of culture of a certain appearance. Kartuzy out of wide use before World War II.

Classification caps is given by the sixtieth year.

The caps were divided into civilian and uniform; were for adults and children.

Civilian cap

Civilian Caps for adults were made - from number 53 to number 62; Caps for boys of school age of seven sizes - from number 50 to number 56; for boys preschool age  five sizes from number 47 to number 51.

Children's cap

Uniform hats for children and adolescents were available in sizes from 49 to 56; for adults - from 52 to 61. Uniform caps were divided into military and departmental, including students. The military-style caps were in accordance with the uniform: for the ground forces, the air force, the border guard, the navy and river flotillas, the police and the militarized guard.

Military cap

Cap for officers of the Navy

A special type of military caps was the Cossack.

The caps for the foremen, sailors of the military service and pupils of the Nakhimov naval schools were made without a visor, under the strap and buttons (cap-cap), with a fleet rep silk ribbon, with the inscription in gold letters of the name of the fleet or crew and an image of an anchor gold color.

Peak cap

Departmental caps were set up for employees of railways, water and air passenger transport, and some others, for students of general education schools, vocational and special schools, and some higher education institutions. educational institutions. Different types of caps were introduced by separate organizations for their employees: hotel attendants, urban transport workers, porters, etc.

Civilian caps were made of wool (from cloth, cheviot, leotard, drape), h.- b. (from matting, pique, boucle), silk (from combing), linen (from linen, canvas) and less often leather, fur, straw, knitted and others. To the top of officers hats were pure wool wrap (sample 11128 BTU MO 275-59 / TK 2835) for marshals, generals and officers - pure wool gabardine article 1511; for other servicemen, a forage cloth article 852. The type of visor distinguished caps with a lacquer visor and with a visor from the base material. In summer uniform caps, white cloth was often used for the top. In this case, removable covers were made of it so that they can be washed. The set of cap included two covers.

The main parts of the cap are: top (head), rim and visor. The top consists of a flat bottom and sides, made up of four arched parts - quarters. The bottom has the shape of a slightly elongated ellipse (the difference in the lengths of the semiaxes is from 2 to 10 mm); manufactured in three layers: the top of the base material, the lining, called the "circle", and an intermediate gasket, providing some stiffness. A stamp was printed on the lining in the middle, sometimes it was covered with cellophane, or a trombone pad of moisture-resistant material (streaked) with a stamp was sewn. In uniform caps, a narrow colored (of a fixed color) edging was laid between the bottom and the band; in civilian caps, the seam between the bottom and the bevel was usually without edging or with edging from the base fabric of which the top of the cap was made. Inside the side walls between the quarters of the base material and their lining were given various gaskets to ensure the stability of the shape of the cap. The main ones were racks that supported the caps in front of the top in a raised position, while the back was lowered, and an annular frame made of a thin narrow (1-8 mm) metal or plastic strip (or wire), ensuring the stability of the bottom edges. Two poles: large (wide, almost the entire length of the visor) and small (narrow high, was placed in the middle of the front). The shrill (also called a chamfer and a chaff) was made more or less rigid, bore the top and visor. The hardness of the band around the band was a strip of cardboard, most often lined with canvas. The outer side of the band was usually covered with the same material from which the top was made, in uniform caps it was often of a different color or of another material — colored velvet; get off with rep ribbon. The inner side of the band was formed by a gasket; a forehead, a sweat-protective strip of leatherette or lederin, was attached to it along the bottom edge. On the front side of the band, above the visor, a strap (made of leather, varnish oilcloth or basic fabric) with two buttons at the ends and decorative loops in front of them, a decorative double twisted cord or a double strap, which could be pulled apart and pulled down under the chin, was strengthened. Cockades, emblems, and coats of arms are attached to uniform caps.

Visors were made of fiber or cardboard - lacquered or double-lined with fabric. Lacquer have a coating only on the upper (front) side, often made with a convex extruded side. The front layer of the fabric is also called the visor, the bottom plating is called the visor.

Basic measurements of caps depend on their style .; The table shows the main dimensions for several main types of uniform forazhek.

The main dimensions of uniform caps cm(1960)

The dimensions of the remaining parts for the hats of all the numbers of 1960 are the same: the height of the military band's cap around 4.5 cm, the navy and school 4.2 cm, the width of the cap of the military and navy hats 5.0 cm, the school 3.7 cm , quarter height for military caps 5.0 cm, navy 4.8 cm, school 3.7 cm. In general civilian caps, depending on the style, the dimensions of parts varied quite significantly. Top uniform caps often matched the color of the suit. The caps were divided into a parade weekend (only for military personnel), everyday and field (only for marshals, generals and officers of the Soviet Army). All types of forage caps were identical in design and differed only in colors, quality of material, size, and also on the crown, rim and visor of the cap.

Coloring uniform caps (1960)

Quality requirements. Stitching seams smooth without gaps. The stitch seams of the quarters and round feet are straight. The seam of the band should coincide with the seam between the back quarters, forming one straight line. In caps with a visor lined with fabric, the seam of the striker visor with a visor is made on the side of the visor. The visor is symmetrically attached; the middle exactly coincides with the middle of the front of the cap. Tailoring should be made by thread to the color of the product. The outer line of the cap of pure-wool fabrics is silk.

Depending on the quality of materials and workmanship, as well as the presence or absence of individual defects, the caps were sorted into three grades. The 1st grade included caps in which the main materials are free of defects (thickenings, staples, beds, spans, stains, creases, etc.) or have them in quantities not exceeding the limits for grade 1, and caps completely complied with the requirements of the TU or had minor allowable deviations. The 2nd grade included caps with 2nd grade defects in fabrics or certain defects in tailoring; The 3rd grade included caps with corresponding fabric defects, as well as with corresponding manufacturing defects.

Acceptance and packing of forage caps  produced by the rules of acceptance of garments. They were packaged (according to GOST 4869-50) in boxes with a crosspiece forming a nest. Nests and walls of the box were lined with paper from the inside. After filling in one row of nests, a sheet of cardboard was superimposed, a new cross-piece was placed on it and the next row of caps was put in the same order until the box was filled.

Marking. Each cap was attached a label with a registered trademark, name of the company, its subordination and location, product name, indicating the type of fabric, article number, grade, price and GOST or TU.

Uniform phantasmagoria from Paul I to Marshal Zhukov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Sunday. Summer is in full swing. Sevastopol languishes from the heat. In Balaklava Bay, black cigars of submarines heated in the sun froze at the moorings. In the barracks, the remaining commander in the brigade, the commander of the 1st Division (Comdiv-1) lazily arranges the pieces on the chessboard.

- Who wants to play?

No one is willing. Everyone knows that the division commander is the chess god of a submarine brigade. Only the flagship navigator could fight with him on equal terms, but today, as the sailors say, he went ashore - a rare opportunity to stay home with his family.

The operational shift — the officer on duty in the brigade, the commander of the warhead 5 of the submarines for the flagship mechanic, the mechanic of one of the submarines, the other officers doomed to pull the strap of military service on a day off — exhausted from idleness.

The mechanic mentally recounts the money left in the wallet before the “sailor’s day” —that is how the military in the navy calls the day of issue of money, and the civilians ’pay. Enough for dinner at the best restaurant in Sevastopol. That is the bet in the game.

Komdiv-1 and all the officers immediately revived. The division commander asks the operational duty officer of the brigade to call the restaurant, order dinner for one person and call two taxi cars at 19.00 to the checkpoint. Someone will go to dinner at a restaurant. The divisional commander does not doubt that today he will be the lucky one. The game begins. But the result of it is completely unexpected for participants and viewers. Checkmate chess god announces mechanic.

In the evening, after the shift from duty, the climax begins. Two cars with checkered doors drive up to the checkpoint. In the first car in the front seat (commander) lay a snow-white mechanic cap. The mechanic himself sits in the second car, and a small cavalcade, escorted by a depressed divisional commander (he pays for this holiday), drives off from the checkpoint.

In the city center, the cars do not immediately approach the restaurant, but make three circles of honor - along the South Bay on Lenin Street, from it, near the Grafskaya Wharf, turn onto Nakhimov Avenue, then on to Bolshaya Morskaya Street and again on Lenin Street. Finally, they approach the Sevastopol Hotel, where on the ground floor there is the best restaurant in the city. The driver of the first car solemnly introduces a mechanic's cap through the door opened by an obliging doorman. After that, “his excellency” comes out of the second car.

This ritual was well known in Sevastopol to all who happened to serve here in the 60s of the last century. But our story is not about him, but about his cap.

HISTORY LONGER ALMOST 220 YEARS

1900 type cap

The word "cap" is the brightest specimen of folk etymology, says leading researcher of the Central Border Museum of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, candidate of historical sciences Alexander Pecheykin. It comes from the headgear that the soldiers wore in cases where the drill headpiece was out of place - when performing various works, on the preparation of food and fodder (fourrage - animal feed). From the word "fodder" the cap began to be called the fodder cap, and simpler - the cap.

Reliable information about fodder caps in Russia dates from the rule of Paul I. In particular, the document of December 21, 1796 ordered hussars to produce fodder caps in the color of mentic, and their rims are in the color of dolomans. So next year our caps will be 220 years old. On this occasion, the Ministry of Defense, we dare to suggest, will arrange a holiday and release a commemorative medal, because the cap is worth it.

The cap, issued from the warehouse of clothing services, as a rule, was immediately discarded.

In the Navy, a rare officer wears a cap, issued to him at the warehouse of clothing services. A self-respecting military sailor orders a headdress from an atelier, it is considered a special chic to sew it from a master known to the entire fleet. Unfortunately, as the lieutenant of the French Corps of Engineers Sadi Carnot noted two centuries ago, there are no others, and those are far away ...

In the 70s of the last century, the officer of the Black Sea Fleet could easily be distinguished from the Baltic or Northern Seaman in the form of a cap, made by special order. The Black Sea officer's cap was with a high crown and curved, repeating the shape of the sea wave, the bottom - the top of the headdress. That is, the front of the bottom proudly bulged up, and the bottom was lowered. A cotton roll was placed in the crown, which made it bulged like a bow with a tight string.

Peaked cap to order "Sevastopol" sample

The caps of the Balts differed even bottom. They are said to have been sewn by their old masters, who still remembered the former names of the cities of East Prussia and the old school of forage tailoring. It was possible to find in the Balts and caps without a reinforced insert - a steel wrap, which maintains the shape of a crown and gives it a dandy curvature. Without the insertion, the crown sagged, and in this, people with the concept also saw a certain chic: it is immediately clear that in front of you is not a parquet slave, but a combat officer salted by the sea and wind-boggled by all winds. In form, his cap resembled that worn by German submariners during the Second World War, but this comparison is rather conditional. At the same time, submariners of the twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet were most often the owners of such hats.

This cap wore my grandfather in the Baltic in the 50s

Not bad sewed fleet caps and in far Vladivostok. But they did not leave a noticeable trace in the history of the forage art.

Severomortsy were the most disadvantaged in the Soviet Union, because in the North there were no craftsmen, and therefore, stunning headwear in terms of style. The caps of the North Seamen were usually rated on a solid top three. No, this is not a price, but a mark from a school diary. The price for head beauty, depending on the place of creation and the “brand” of the master, ranged from 25 to 35 Soviet rubles (in the modern system of money coordinates, multiply by 1000). For such a cap relied still embroidered "crab" (what is called a badge of the land officers). "Crab" cost 5 rubles. Sewn him, too, the master, but came across and artisans who coped well with this business. On the "crab" they spread out arcuate stars made of a thin metal thread, then this thread was re-twisted using a small device, and the prepared "sausages" were sewn to the "crab" blank strictly along the outlined contours of the "twigs".

Sewn crab

Braided cords were considered to be an elegant addition not from a silk thread, but from metal, “under gold”, and copper buttons of the pattern of the 50s. These are works of art that are little different, in fact, from statutory official caps, which were proudly worn by naval officers and, of course, they were valued as part of the battle flag.

LAST EXAM

At the end of July 1984, the entrance exam for the statutes of the Armed Forces of the USSR was taken for the last time at the Lenin Military Political Academy. Later, applicants who came from the positions of deputy politicians of battalions and their equal, instead of charters, they passed a foreign language. But until 1984, the officers did not need a foreign language, or the high command doubted: could a political worker learn the basics of military service in five years?

In a group of journalists, the head of the academy, before the very exam, changed the composition of the selection committee for charters. This meant for applicants that the list with pre-marked marks opposite the names of those who must go to the academy, remained somewhere outside the walls of the audience. Solitaire passing score clearly did not develop.

The officers, not accustomed to relying on chance, became agitated. Captain Zadunaysky was running around with an album for drawing, in which newspaper clippings with his notes were pasted, he popped them under his breath and muttered with conviction:

- After all, I am the editor of the divisional newspaper. Well, if not me, then who else to take to the editorial office?

He emphasized the word “editorial”, and his voice trembled treacherously.

All officers are extremely responsible attitude to the delivery of statutes. Everyone tried to bring a personal creativity into the testing process. Especially distinguished officer, who all four years of study at the school sat in the store room, giving his fellow students underwear and footcloths. This practical baggage of economic activity was hardly useful to him for five years of service in the editorial office of a military newspaper, but left an indelible mark on his life. He went to the table, where members of the selection committee were sitting. They were colonels — gray-haired candidates of some sciences and even one professor. The captain in a well-placed voice (did he learn something in the capter?) Read the first question of the ticket:

- Return of honor out of order.

Members of the selection committee nodded according to.

- Allow me to take the materiel?

Here the colonels looked puzzled at the captain.

- In the sense of a hat,

- clarified the captain.

The bewilderment in the views of the colonels was replaced, one might say, by some pacification, and they nodded again approvingly.

The captain put a hat on his head and saluted outside the line. For the first question of the examination ticket, the score was “excellent.”

Do you think just for the brave application of the hand to the visor? Far from it. The applicant opened the most sacred in the army service during the entrance exam: they do not put a hand on an empty head. Thus, he showed a profound knowledge of the philosophy of the statutes: the main thing is not the head, the main thing is the cap. But this does not mean that the head is a secondary part of the soldier. After all, if it had not existed in a serviceman, then there would be nothing to wear a cap on. A military without a cap does not happen. Consequently, the army as a large mass of military people does not exist without a cap.

My cap

MIRROR OF MILITARY ORGANIZATION

A cap is not only part of the uniform, but also a mirror of the state’s military organization. Fashion on the shape and size of the cap is of great political importance. The higher the crown - the lower the level of combat capability. It is said that Grachev, who, as we know, was a short sprout, introduced the high-crown fashion to appear higher. But this is a blatant lie. At the time of Grachev, the crown and rifle increased in direct proportion to the reduction and weakening of the Armed Forces. When Sergeev, this fashion has been further developed. The officers flaunted not in the “airfields”, but in the “cosmodromes” on the head. Then the president appointed a civilian minister of defense, and confusion and vacillation began in the headgear, and therefore in the heads of the officers. Nobody knew what kind of hat in fashion, because the civilian minister did not wear it.

The brainchild of Grachev

Sergei Shoigu, appointed by the Minister of Defense, did not serve in the army for a minute. He received the first officer rank of "lieutenant" after graduating from the Krasnoyarsk Polytechnic Institute and immediately went to the reserve, having not served in active service even for a fixed year. This helped Sergei Kuzhugetovich to happily avoid the trends of the forage case. In his heart he is undoubtedly a military man, this was noted in him even during the time of his presidency in the Russian rescue corps, but he was not burdened by the forage traditions of the Soviet and Russian army. When Sergei Kuzhugetovich headed the Ministry of Defense, the army was inspired by a new cap — like the Emergencies Ministry: with a low band and a small crown. One would like to call it “a la Chopgou”.

But if you take a closer look, then in this cap you can clearly see the style of the Russian army of 1916 and the imperial ambitions that remained at that time. By the way, such a cap in 1916 was worn by non-commissioned officer Georgy Zhukov, named many decades later as the Marshal of Victory.

In other words, judging by the cap, today the window-dressing of Yeltsin's times has sunk into oblivion, and the army under the leadership of Minister Shoigu returns to real combat activity, becomes strong and unlike the imperial one, let's hope - victorious.

New caps "from Shoigu" in the Navy are called "Shoiguvka".

And what else is needed to ensure the security of the Fatherland? - There would be a cap, and there would be a head for it.

P.S. The Navy is very negative about the new reform on changing the shape of clothing. Overcoats and jackets were abolished. On the form appeared "tags" and "plates". All old-style caps were also abolished. They say that during the May holidays dirks will be hung on down-padded jackets: (Soon white “shoiguvki” will appear and the naval sewn caps will be forbidden to wear. However, there is no choice .... let's get used ...