Potemkin uniform

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Russian hunters and infantry in Potemkin uniform ; note the hunter officer who, apart from the helmet, still wears the old uniform and powdered hair tied in a soldier 's pigtail (color plate by Richard Knötel)

Potemkin's uniform is the term used for the 1786-1796 unit uniform of the Russian army .

The uniform was developed on the orders of the Army Commander in Chief, Field Marshal Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin . Their concept, which was primarily oriented towards practical applicability, represented a radical break with the uniform style of European armies of the 18th century, which until then had primarily been based on civilian fashion.

Left: Russian infantryman in Potemkin uniform . Right: Officer in traditional uniform

Up until Potjomkin's comprehensive reform of uniforms, the clothing of the Russian army was heavily based on the Prussian model . This resemblance was completely eliminated by the new clothing: the previous coat-like uniform skirt was replaced by a so-called kurtka , which, apart from the rolled-up skirt tails and the plastron, was already very similar to the tunic . It was cut wider and gave the wearer considerably more freedom of movement. The tight culottes and gaiters were replaced by comfortably cut trousers. Tricorns and grenadier hats were discarded in favor of a helmet with a crosswise caterpillar ; At the back of the helmet was a freely hanging cloth bag that the wearer could tie around the neck or head like a scarf in cold weather.

With the Potemkin uniform, the soldiers no longer wore their hair tied in a long, taut soldier's braid in the Prussian pattern, but cut it short over the ears. In addition, what was also a novelty in the European military system of that time, the hair was no longer powdered white with flour on parades and ceremonial occasions . This measure should on the one hand save useless effort and on the other hand end the waste of large amounts of valuable flour for purely aesthetic purposes.

The Potemkin uniform was introduced as uniform clothing throughout the Russian army; only the color combinations differentiated the individual branches of arms and regiments from one another. Only the guards , the Cossacks and some special troops as well as the senior officers remained exempt from the new uniform .

The Potemkin uniform remained the uniform clothing of the Russian troops for a decade. After Tsarina Katharina II died and her son Paul I had taken over the Russian throne, the new Tsar, an unconditional admirer of Frederick the Great, issued one of his first decrees that the entire uniform should be restored to the state of 1786 without exception including the reintroduction of the old hairstyle regulations.

There were similar projects for the modernization of military clothing in Bavaria under War Minister Rumford and in Sweden. Here, too, the radical modernization was largely withdrawn after a few years due to conservative reservations, especially since an impractically tight uniform cut had been chosen in Bavaria for cost reasons and in line with the Rococo fashion. However, even after its abolition, the Russian uniform had a style-forming effect in its own country through contact with Poland, especially for the international uniform of the Uhlans .

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