In Red Revolutionary Pants
Recently, among the leftist youth, the paraphernalia of the civil war has become fashionable.
The most creative student received a special award - the famous red revolutionary pants. This year it was Vladislav Shvarev, chairman of the housing and welfare commission of the students' trade union committee, the author of the Life Orientation project.
How did these pants come about? What did they really look like?
Unfortunately, the vast majority of photographs of this period were black and white, and it is difficult to make out who is wearing these hero pants. So here is an illustration.
Kombrig Kotovsky
Red revolutionary trousers were issued to a few Red Army soldiers who distinguished themselves in battles, and the person who wore them stood out qualitatively from the crowd, had privileges. To avoid fraud, trousers were accompanied by a document certifying the right to wear them.
In Kyiv, after the departure of the Germans in 1918, the uniforms of the Austrian hussars remained in the warehouses. I assume that the pants from this uniform were used for the award.
In this picture, two people in Hungarian uniforms
Most likely, a more elegant version with embroidery was used for the award, which is confirmed by the fighter Popandopulo, in an excerpt from the video from the feature film "Wedding in Malinovka". The film was released in 1967, when many participants in that war were still alive and they noted that although according to the plot of this movie, his detachment (gang) was White Guard, most likely it was one of the many Ukrainian detachments that were periodically Red Army , then independent. If the wearer of such trousers fell into the hands of the White Guards, or nationalists, he would inevitably be shot.
An excerpt from the video.
I hope that this publication will allow Komsomol members to establish the correct historical style of the legendary pants.
Red Commissar Dunkevich in battle 1929
From the diary of I. Babel about the Polish campaign of Budyonny, from which it is clear that the red pants, in the majority, were not awarded to ordinary Red Army soldiers.
“Highways, wire, cut down forests, and despondency, despondency without end. There is nothing, there is nothing to hope for, war, everyone is equally bad, equally alien, hostile, wild, there was a quiet and most importantly traditional life.
Budennovtsy on the streets. In shops - only soda, hairdressers are also open. At the bazaar, a shrew has carrots, it rains all the time, incessant, piercing, suffocating. Unbearable longing, people and souls are killed ...
... At the headquarters - red pants, self-confidence, small souls strut, a lot of young people, including Jews, are at the personal disposal of the commander and take care of food ... "
There are references that Trotsky himself personally awarded such pants.
"He who was nothing will become everything!" - this quote from the revolutionary song "Internationale" could be used as an epigraph to the material on the history of trousers. As well as the biblical "and the last shall be first." Ordinary pants can serve as a great example of how the dubious becomes normal, the socially unacceptable becomes socially approved. “This, at first glance, a simple thing, nevertheless has an unusual history: after all, trousers are not only clothes, they are also a symbol,” writes French culturologist Christine Bahr in the book “The Political History of Trousers”, which was published several years ago on in Russian. This work is limited to the history of France of the last two centuries and the problem of women's equality. We will look at trousers from the height of all human civilization.
Man sits on a horse
// VI-I millennium BC e. They were the first
Pants are not such a banal thing. Perhaps this innovation would never have been introduced if man had not begun to domesticate the horse. Riding is more convenient when the legs are covered with separate trousers. Probably, the first horsemen seemed strange people. But centuries later, it is the cavalry that will become the striking force of the army, and the hordes of nomads will terrify the whole of Eurasia. The most ancient are woolen pants found recently during excavations in western China. Their estimated age is 3,000 years. Most likely, they belonged to an Asian nomad.
Rise of Assyria 
// IX century BC. e. Women's bloomers
Assyria. In the 9th century BC, this state is experiencing its second heyday, turning into the first empire in the world. It is the Assyrians who begin to systematically use cavalry in wars. It is believed that then women's trousers appeared. They were worn by the legendary ruler Semiramis (her historical prototype is the Assyrian queen Shammuramat). During horse trips, she pulled the long hem of her clothes with belts, and something like bloomers turned out. The fashion trend has persisted in the East for many centuries. “And the old woman took her things and left, leaving the woman in a shirt and pants ...” - we read in the tales of “A Thousand and One Nights”. Most likely, we are talking about harem pants - wide translucent pants, gathered at the ankles.
Decline of the Roman Empire
// III-V centuries. Barbarian Pants
Late Rome. The borders of the empire are cracking under the pressure of the barbarians: the Germans, the Slavs, the Huns who came from the depths of Asia. Some of them are included in Roman life - they become military officers, officials. Indigenous citizens contemptuously say about such people: “I recently took off my pants” - in terms of meaning, this is something between “from rags to riches” and “came in large numbers here.” The fact is that pants were considered purely barbaric clothing that a decent patrician should not wear. However, soon the military began to wear short woolen trousers under the traditional tunic: in cool weather, this saved from colds, and the riders approved. And then the Roman Empire crumbled. And the wild barbarians in their pants began to build Europe.
French revolution 
// 1789–1793. Commoners make history
The French Revolution is raging on the streets of Paris. Freedom, equality, brotherhood and other beautiful words. The main acting force is the sans-culottes. Initially, it was a contemptuous nickname that the aristocrats gave to the representatives of the mob. The word comes from the French sans culotte, which means "without culottes." In the XVII-XVIII centuries, male aristocrats wore culottes - short, tight-fitting trousers made of velvet or suede fastened under the knee. And commoners (modern cattle) wore long trousers made of coarse material, like those that everyone wears now. Then they began to methodically cut off the heads of the aristocrats, and the word "sans-culottes" began to be used with pride - to refer to the insurgent people. “The costume and image of the sans-culotte rightfully remain in the memory of republicans and workers, because they symbolize the transition from one world to another, from one value system to another. The spread of a single piece of clothing, in this case trousers, up the social ladder from the bottom up is in itself a rather rare event, and therefore one should not neglect its symbolic content, ”writes Christine Bahr in her Political History of Trousers.
Europe: ships and factories
// Second half of the 19th century. random crease
Western Europe is turning into the factory of the world. The industrial revolution also applies to the production of clothing - it can now be done more, faster, better. Britain and other countries are actively exporting their products by sea, since almost the entire globe is already covered with colonies. To save space in the holds, the trousers are folded in half and stacked as tightly as possible. The resulting folds-arrows are smoothed out with difficulty. It is then that entrepreneurs turn a minor flaw into a fashionable novelty (modern programmers in such cases say that this is not a bug, but a feature).
Age of cowboys and steamers 
// 60–90s of the XIX century. The birth of jeans
Look around: you will surely see at least one person in blue or light blue jeans, which have become one of the most massive types of clothing in the history of mankind. It is believed that Levi Strauss created the first jeans in 1853. But it is unlikely that they would have gained such popularity if several factors had not coincided at once. Firstly, the gold rush in the western United States (1848-1860) - it was the prospectors who were the first buyers. Secondly, the mass distribution of steamships (since the middle of the 19th century) - the capacities of the factories that produced sails were freed up. Thirdly, the synthesis of artificial indigo (1880) - this ensured the cheapness of the dye. Fourthly, the end of the American Civil War and the beginning of the era of cowboys (1865–1885), at least a third of whom were freed blacks, jeans became associated with cowboys over time ... And then there were advertisements, films that taught ranches for children. And still the same trend: the first consumers of jeans were poor shepherds and gold diggers - now these clothes are considered normal even for millionaires.
October Revolution and Civil War
// 1917–1922. Red bloomers
“The Red Army soldier Trofimov is awarded red revolutionary harem pants for outstanding achievements in combat and political training, as well as for understanding the current moment!” announces the voice-over, and a wide smile appears on the face of the young fighter. The Soviet film "Officers" begins with this episode. Where did these trousers come from? During the Civil War, it was necessary to somehow reward the Red Army, but there were no medals yet, and not everyone had enough watches and personal weapons. Then the savvy Bolsheviks remembered that a lot of red cavalry pants remained in the warehouses of the tsarist army! They began to reward them for feats of arms. "Red revolutionary harem pants" singled out their happy owner, he was treated with special respect. These pants were even accompanied by a document certifying the right to wear them.
New victories of feminism 
// 60s of the XX century. Trousers enough for everyone
“To serve their body, their gestures, their postures, their lives. I wanted to accompany them in this great liberation movement, wrote the famous fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. “I tell myself that it was I who invented the wardrobe of a modern woman, that it was I who participated in the transformations of my time.” It was he who introduced the unisex style, including women's trousers. The conservative society resisted. Ladies in trousers were not allowed into restaurants; during the establishment of Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile, they could be arrested or even shot for wearing trousers. But emancipation won. This was facilitated by the youth riots of the 60s and technological progress. “Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first female cosmonaut: in 1963 she spends more than two days in outer space, dressed in an orange jumpsuit. During training and skydiving, in which she has no equal, she is always in trousers, ”writes Christine Bahr. Now most of humanity is calm about women's trousers. The only exceptions are religious fundamentalists, both Muslim and Christian.
Commodity deficit in the USSR
// 60–80s of the XX century. The Case of the Fartsov
The entire Western world was already wearing jeans, but in the USSR they remained a terrible shortage. In order to acquire the coveted blue pants, one had to either go abroad (which was an extremely difficult task), or turn to illegal traders - fartsovschik. The state fought them mercilessly. In 1961, Yan Rokotov, Vladislav Faibishenko and Dmitry Yakovlev were shot. They were accused of trading in currency and foreign goods, including jeans. By today's standards, this is not a crime at all, but rather a socially approved business, and at least not a basis for the death penalty, which, all the more so, has been de facto abolished in Russia. In memory of the executed black marketers in the United States in 2013, the Rokotov brand of jeans was launched.
Recently, among the leftist youth, the paraphernalia of the civil war has become fashionable.
The most creative student received a special award - the famous red revolutionary pants. This year it was Vladislav Shvarev, chairman of the housing and welfare commission of the students' trade union committee, the author of the Life Orientation project.
How did these pants come about? What did they really look like?
Unfortunately, the vast majority of photographs of this period were black and white, and it is difficult to make out who is wearing these hero pants. So here is an illustration.
Kombrig Kotovsky
Red revolutionary trousers were issued to a few Red Army soldiers who distinguished themselves in battles, and the person who wore them stood out qualitatively from the crowd, had privileges. To avoid fraud, trousers were accompanied by a document certifying the right to wear them.
In Kyiv, after the departure of the Germans in 1918, the uniforms of the Austrian hussars remained in the warehouses. I assume that the pants from this uniform were used for the award.
In this picture, two people in Hungarian uniforms
Most likely, a more elegant version with embroidery was used for the award, which is confirmed by the fighter Popandopulo, in an excerpt from the video from the feature film "Wedding in Malinovka". The film was released in 1967, when many participants in that war were still alive and they noted that although according to the plot of this movie, his detachment (gang) was White Guard, most likely it was one of the many Ukrainian detachments that were periodically Red Army , then independent. If the wearer of such trousers fell into the hands of the White Guards, or nationalists, he would inevitably be shot.
An excerpt from the video.
I hope that this publication will allow Komsomol members to establish the correct historical style of the legendary pants.
Red Commissar Dunkevich in battle 1929
From the diary of I. Babel about the Polish campaign of Budyonny, from which it is clear that the red pants, in the majority, were not awarded to ordinary Red Army soldiers.
“Highways, wire, cut down forests, and despondency, despondency without end. There is nothing, there is nothing to hope for, war, everyone is equally bad, equally alien, hostile, wild, there was a quiet and most importantly traditional life.
Budennovtsy on the streets. In shops - only soda, hairdressers are also open. At the bazaar, a shrew has carrots, it rains all the time, incessant, piercing, suffocating. Unbearable longing, people and souls are killed ...
... At the headquarters - red pants, self-confidence, small souls strut, a lot of young people, including Jews, are at the personal disposal of the commander and take care of food ... "
There are references that Trotsky himself personally awarded such pants.
The image of a Red Army soldier, familiar to us from the cinema, as a beggarly ragamuffin in a tattered tunic in worn-out boots with windings, in fact, has nothing to do with reality. When the Red Army was created, the quartermaster warehouses were captured, where a new uniform, sewn by the N.A. concern, was already lying. Vtorov based on the sketches of Vasnetsov and Korovin - this uniform was sewn by order of the Court of His Imperial Majesty and was intended for the Victory Parade in Berlin. These were long-brimmed overcoats with "talks", cloth helmets stylized as old Russian sholoms, later known as "budenovkas", as well as sets of leather jackets with trousers, leggings and caps, intended for mechanized troops, aviation, crews of armored cars, armored trains and scooters.
How the Red Army really looked can be judged from the drawings of Andrei Karashchuk, the most famous Russian master of military historical illustration.
In addition, the Red Army soldiers also got rich stocks of ceremonial uniforms. Often the mixing of various uniform items led to curiosities. So, cadets of the Engineering Courses wore cadet uniforms with shakos, on which the royal eagles were covered with red cloth stars, and all this “miracle” was worn along with protective trousers.
Also in the Red Army there were a number of units that wore sets of hussar uniforms.
Russian diplomat G.N. Mikhailovsky wrote in his memoirs: “Across the city along Nakhimovsky Prospekt from Yekaterininskaya Street, literally, a“ red cavalcade ”passed - all in red robes from head to toe, with white high leggings - not so much Red Army soldiers as “Red Indians” of a new type. A crazy cavalcade (special detachments of the Crimean Cheka) swept through the empty city very picturesquely, which looked like a page from a cinematic novel ... "
And here is what the representatives of the White movement looked like. There were almost no gold epaulettes of white officers widely known from feature films. This is explained by the fact that already during the First World War, almost the entire army wore field shoulder straps and the production of galloon shoulder straps, for which scarce gold was used, was curtailed; factories capable of producing gold and silver shoulder straps ended up on the territory occupied by the Bolsheviks. Any sewing workshop could sew officer shoulder straps from ordinary matter.
In 1918 - early 1919, officers often simply drew epaulettes with an ink pencil directly on their tunics. Light gray jackets, also well known from feature films, did not exist at all. Frenchies were khaki, dark green, brownish and brown. Very often the colors of the uniform were black or white. The armies of the White Movement, in general, were equipped much worse than the Red Army. Partly they wore the old Russian uniform, partly dressed in the uniform of England, France, Italy, Germany, Austria received from the allies.
Red Army of all fashion!
The image of a Red Army soldier, familiar to us from the cinema, as a beggarly ragamuffin in a tattered tunic in worn-out boots with windings, in fact, has nothing to do with reality. When the Red Army was created, the quartermaster warehouses were captured, where a new uniform, sewn by the N.A. concern, was already lying. Vtorov based on the sketches of Vasnetsov and Korovin - this uniform was sewn by order of the Court of His Imperial Majesty and was intended for the Victory Parade in Berlin. These were long-brimmed overcoats with "talks", cloth helmets stylized as old Russian sholoms, later known as "budenovkas", as well as sets of leather jackets with trousers, leggings and caps, intended for mechanized troops, aviation, crews of armored cars, armored trains and scooters.
How the Red Army actually looked can be judged from the drawings of Andrei Karashchuk, the most famous Russian master of military historical illustration.
Also in the Red Army there were a number of units that wore sets of hussar uniforms.
Russian diplomat G.N. Mikhailovsky wrote in his memoirs: “Across the city along Nakhimovsky Prospekt from Yekaterininskaya Street, literally, a“ red cavalcade ”passed - all in red robes from head to toe, with white high leggings - not so much Red Army soldiers as “Red Indians” of a new type. A crazy cavalcade (special detachments of the Crimean Cheka) swept through the empty city very picturesquely, which looked like a page from a cinematic novel ... "
And here is what the representatives of the White movement looked like. There were almost no gold epaulettes of white officers widely known from feature films. This is explained by the fact that already during the First World War, almost the entire army wore field shoulder straps and the production of galloon shoulder straps, for which scarce gold was used, was curtailed; factories capable of producing gold and silver shoulder straps ended up on the territory occupied by the Bolsheviks. Any sewing workshop could sew officer shoulder straps from ordinary matter.
In 1918 - early 1919, officers often simply drew epaulettes with an ink pencil directly on their tunics. Light gray jackets, also well known from feature films, did not exist at all. Frenchies were khaki, dark green, brownish and brown. Very often the colors of the uniform were black or white. The armies of the White Movement, in general, were equipped much worse than the Red Army. Partly they wore the old Russian uniform, partly dressed in the uniform of England, France, Italy, Germany, Austria received from the allies.
