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"Bogatyrka", which became Budyonovka. Interesting facts about "Budyonovka" Budenovka was worn until 1944

Immediately after the revolution, the fighters and commanders of the Red Guard, and then the Red Army, were dressed in the uniform of the Imperial Army with stripped shoulder straps. However, with the outbreak of the Civil War, it became necessary to distinguish the Red Guards from the White Guards.

In May 1918, the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs of the RSFSR announced the development on a competitive basis of new uniforms for the soldiers of the Red Army. Famous Russian artists took part in the competition: V. M. Vasnetsov, B. M. Kustodiev, M. D. Ezuchevsky, S. T. Arkadievsky.

As a result of the competition on December 18, 1918, the Revolutionary Military Council, among other elements of the new form, approved a winter headdress - a cloth helmet, which in shape resembled a medieval helmet with an aventail worn by epic Russian heroes - the future Budyonovka.

In Perestroika, the legend spread that the Budyonovka project was developed before the revolution as an element of the uniform of the Russian army for the victory parade in Berlin and Constantinople. However, orders for the development or production of such a headdress could not be found either in the archives of the tsarist departments or in the archives of the Provisional Government.

2. What did Budyonovka look like?

The first description of the appearance of Budyonovka is found in the order of the RVSR No. 116 of January 16, 1919. The helmet was made of khaki cloth with a cotton lining. The upper part of the helmet consisted of six spherical triangles, tapering upwards. At the top, a round plate 2 cm in diameter was sewn in, covered with the same cloth.

On the front, the Budyonovka had a stitched oval visor, and on the back - a neck pad descending down with elongated ends, fastened under the chin with buttons. When folded, the backplate was fastened with loops on leather straps to two buttons.

A cloth star with a diameter of 8.8 cm was sewn over the visor on the budenovka. A cockade badge was attached to the center of the star.

3. Was the hammer and sickle depicted on the cockade?

No, initially the cockade was made of yellow copper and had the shape of a five-pointed star with a crossed plow and hammer in the center. The hammer and sickle appeared on the cockade in 1922. The front side of the badge was covered with red enamel.

4. How did the infantry Budyonovka differ from the cavalry one?

The types of troops in the Red Army differed in the color of the cloth star sewn onto the front of the budyonovka. The infantrymen had a crimson star, the cavalrymen had a blue one, the artillerymen had an orange one, the engineers and sappers had a black one, the pilots had a blue one, and the border guards had a green one.

5. Bogatyrka, Frunzevka or Budyonovka?

Initially, the winter helmet in the army was called the "bogatyrka" because of the outward resemblance to the helmets of ancient Russian warriors. But later, when helmets began to spread among the troops, they began to be called by the names of the commanders-in-chief M.V. Frunze and S.M. Budyonny - "Frunzevka" and "Budyonovka", respectively. The "Budyonovsky" name has been preserved in history. Perhaps due to the more famous battle path of the First Cavalry Army, as well as the great authority of Marshal Budyonny.

6. Why did they refuse Budyonovka?

Budyonovka remained the main winter headdress until the Winter War. It was then that it turned out that the earflap hat, common in the Finnish troops, keeps the heat much more efficiently. It was decided to replace Budyonovka with earflaps. But the process dragged on, and many troops fought in Budyonovka until 1943.

7. Budyonovka in art

The first works of revolutionary art depicting Budenovka as an integral attribute of a Red Army soldier were propaganda posters issued during the Civil War and intervention, calling on workers and peasants to join the Red Army. The most famous of them is the poster by D. Moor “Have you signed up as a volunteer?” (1920).

It is believed that Budyonovka was developed back in tsarist times - during the First World War. However, such an opinion is today recognized as only one of the versions of the emergence of a recognizable headdress. And when did the idea of ​​\u200b\u200btailoring Budyonovka actually appear?

"Royal" version

This version is supported by modern historical literature. According to this hypothesis, in order to participate in the Victory Parade in Berlin for the Russian Imperial Army in 1915, they developed a headdress that resembled in its shape the Budyonovka that the Red Army soldiers later wore. But because of the war, the headdress remained lying in warehouses. And only after the October Revolution in 1918, he entered the disposal of the Bolsheviks.
The version turned out to be quite slim. However, according to journalist and writer Boris Sopelnyak, this theory is just "one of the most common, but there is not a word of truth in it." And he emphasizes that in the USSR, in part, they also supported this version of the origin of Budyonovka. Documentation was always cited as evidence, containing orders and reports on the development of new uniforms for the Red Army and signed by the chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Soviet Republic, Lev Trotsky. The uniform approved for the Red Army included Budyonovka, which at that time lay in the former tsarist army warehouses. But in the version in which this headdress was on conservation, it could not be used. The coat of arms of the Russian Empire and the double-headed eagle, which were present on the cap, could not serve as symbols of the Red Army. And they were closed with a large five-pointed star. And it was originally blue.
By the way, the documents cited as evidence, dated to the post-revolutionary years, were used by many Soviet historians as a counterargument against the “royal version” of the origin of Budyonovka. Moreover, neither in the military nor in the civilian archives inherited from the Russian Empire, there are no papers that would indicate the development of new uniforms for the tsarist army.

In February 1918, the Red Army was created, which required its own uniform, different from the uniforms previously adopted in tsarist times. To this end, on May 7, 1918, by order of the People's Commissariat for Military Affairs of the Republic, a competition was announced for the development of a new uniform. Even world-famous artists participated in this competition - V.M. Vasnetsov, B.M. Kustodiev, S.T. Arkadyevsky and the master of the historical genre M.D. Ezuchevsky.
Sketches of the new form were accepted for a whole month - until June 10, 1918. Moreover, the headdress, and overcoat, and other parts of the uniform were described in detail in the order itself. All artists had to adhere to these criteria. On December 18, 1918, the winter version of Budyonovka was approved. And already at the very end of the same year, the first combat unit of the Red Army - a detachment formed in Ivanovo-Voznesensk - received a new form and went to the Eastern Front at the disposal of Mikhail Frunze. That is why Budyonovka was first called "Frunzevka". By the way, this hat also had one more name - “bogatyrka”, because of the similarity of its shape with the ancient Russian helmet.
Opponents of the Red Army origin of Budyonovka pointed out in their studies that at the time of the October Revolution, a new uniform was already in the quartermaster's warehouses, developed, by the way, according to the sketches of Vasily Vasnetsov, who subsequently participated in the May 1918 competition. The royal uniform consisted of long-brimmed overcoats with fastening arrows and cloth helmets, which were a stylization of old Russian heroic helmets. Evidence of this form also slipped in émigré memoirs. However, all this can be called into question. Moreover, the sketch of a new uniform presented in 1918 by Vasnetsov, which repeated (and only!) The uniform of the tsarist army for the parade, apparently, was also liked by the Bolsheviks. But the uniform lying in the warehouse was full dress, not military! Therefore, most likely, Vasnetsov made adjustments to his previous version.
However, there is one “but”, which leads to slight confusion from the “Soviet” origin of Budenovka. The country after the revolution and the First World War was financially ruined. And where did the Bolsheviks manage to get so much money to provide the new Army with uniforms? But here it is worth remembering that the royal uniform was sewn for the parade, which means that there were not so many sets of it. In other words, the Bolsheviks still had to sew it, and not immediately. Therefore, during the Civil War (1918-1922), instead of Budyonovka, many Red Army soldiers wore hats and caps of the tsarist army on their heads.

blue to orange

The star on Budyonovka was not originally red. First, it was made in the blue version, and then it was assigned its own color depending on the type of troops. A crimson star was sewn on for the infantry, a blue star was left for the cavalry, and orange for the artillery (and in 1922 it became black). The engineering troops were given a black star, the armored forces (future armored forces) received a red one, and the aviators a blue one, etc. On top of the cloth star, a copper red star was also attached.
Chekists received Budyonovka only in June 1922. Moreover, they had a dark blue color, and the star was made of dark green cloth. In 1923, their Budyonovka was "repainted" black, and the star - crimson. In 1924, their helmet became dark gray, and the star became maroon.

From summer helmet to winter version

Budenovka of the 1918 model was intended for the cold season. She had a long nape that folded in half and fastened on the sides with 2 buttons. If necessary, it was unfolded to cover the ears and neck.
From April 1919 to February 1922, Budyonovka became an all-season dress. And on January 31, 1922, a linen Budyonovka was introduced without a nape and with two visors, which were located at the back and front of the helmet. For this, the people called the headdress "Hello, goodbye." In addition, it very much resembled a German helmet because of the sharp tip. This often led to confusion of the White Guards. For example, in the summer of 1920, there was a case in Northern Tavria (in the Crimea), when a white officer who fought in the First World War mistook the Red Army for the Germans.
Therefore, the helmet resembling a German helmet was replaced with a cap in May 1924. As for the budenovka, approved back in 1918, it returned to the Army again in February 1922, becoming a winter headdress. At the same time, its shape acquired a roundness, and the pommel ceased to be so sharp and very prominent. In this version, Budyonovka lasted until 1927. True, from the summer of 1926 to the spring of 1927, this Budyonovka was “deprived” of a star, because it could not be stitched in any way.
During the war with Finland, the helmet showed itself not in the best way. Therefore, it was abolished in July 1940, replacing it with a simple hat with earflaps. But since a huge number of earflaps were required, the Budyonovka had to be worn until 1942. And in some cases, the Budenovka was issued to soldiers even until March 1943.

From lightning rod to symbol

Budenovka had many names, among which was the "lightning rod" or "mind rod". She got such an offensive name because of the sharp pommel. There is even a legend about this: the red commander, who served in the Far East in 1936, liked to ask his subordinates what “spire” means in Budyonovka. And then he himself answered: “This is for when they sing the Internationale, so that at the words “Our indignant mind boils” steam can escape through this spire ...”.
However, artists, directors and writers managed to change the offensive and mocking attitude towards this helmet. True, the romantic image of Budenovka appeared only in the 1950s. And from that moment on, she was actively, since she was recognizable, depicted on posters and postcards. By the way, thanks to the efforts of these people, to this day Budyonovka remains a solid symbol of Russia for foreigners.

Name
From "bogatyrka" to "frunzevka"

There is a version in journalism that the "Budyonovka" was developed back in the First World War: in such helmets, the Russians were allegedly supposed to go through the victory parade in Berlin. However, no confirmed evidence of this has been found. But according to the documents, a competition for the development of a uniform for the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army is clearly traced.

The competition was announced on May 7, 1918, and on December 18, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic approved a sample of a winter headdress - a "helmet", which was introduced by order of January 16, 1919. At first, the helmet was called the "hero", in the division of V.I. Chapaev - "Frunze" (by the name of the commander-5 M.V. Frunze), but in the end they began to be called by the name of S.M. Budyonny, to whose 4th Cavalry Division helmets were sent among the first ...

There were no analogues to the pointed khaki cloth cap in the regular armies of Europe. It resembled the sphero-conical "helmets" of Ancient Russia with chain mail aventails descending onto the shoulders.

Design
Stars crimson, blue, orange

Budenovka was created for the cold season (although from April 1919 to February 1922 it was already considered an all-weather headdress). Her nape, folded in half, bent up and fastened with two buttons on the sides of the cap, could be lowered and fastened with two buttons under the chin, covering the ears and neck. A cloth five-pointed star was sewn on the front in color according to the type of troops. Infantry - crimson, cavalry - blue, artillery - orange (black since February 1922), engineering troops - black, armored forces (future armored forces) - red (black since February 1922), aviators - blue, for border guards - green, for escort guards (since February 1922) - blue.

Until February 1922, the stars had to be outlined (departing 3 mm from the edge) with a black (and for black stars red) strip 5-6 mm wide. The cockade of the Red Army - a copper red star - was attached to the cloth star.

On June 27, 1922, Budyonovka was also assigned to the Chekists. At first, it was dark blue with a dark green cloth star, and from March 1923, for the Chekists in transport, it was black with a crimson star. From April 1923, the star on a dark blue helmet was, depending on the type of service, black with a white edging, gray or blue, and in August 1924 the helmet of the Chekists (except for transport workers) became dark gray with a maroon star.

Battle path
1941 was met with them

During the Civil Budyonovka, it did not receive much distribution. The devastation that reigned did not allow the entire Red Army to change into a new uniform, and the vast majority of Red Army soldiers fought in caps and hats of the Russian army.

On January 31, 1922, a summer Budyonovka was introduced - made of linen or cotton fabric in gray or a color close to it, without a nape, with two visors - in front and behind. "Hello and goodbye" - this is how this "summer helmet" was dubbed (already very much reminiscent of the "pickelhaube" - a German helmet covered with a protective cover with a pointed pommel). In the summer of 1920, in Northern Tavria, there was a case when a white officer - a participant in the First World War - could not understand anything, peering into the advancing chains of the Reds. What the hell, are they really Germans? ..

However, this helmet turned out to be uncomfortable, and already in May 1924 it was replaced by a cap.

The "classic" Budyonovka from February 1922 again became the winter headdress of the Red Army. Now this "winter helmet" was sewn not from protective, but from dark gray cloth and became more rounded and not as elongated upwards as in Civil. Especially low, with a weakly expressed "spire", its silhouette was in 1922 - 1927.

From August to October 1926 (and in fact until the spring of 1927: it was not possible to re-adjust the machine "attachment" of the stars) there was no cloth star on it. From November 1932, the backplate was supposed to be lowered only at -6 Celsius and below.

Since December 1935, the helmets of the command staff of the Air Force were dark blue, and the helmets of the armored forces were steel.

On July 5, 1940, the Budyonovka coat, which did not protect well from the cold during the "winter war" with Finland, was abolished and replaced with a hat with earflaps. But it took a long time to sew millions of earflaps, and Budyonovka used to be worn even in 1941-1942. Let us recall the film footage of the parade on Red Square on November 7, 1941 - a unit with Lewis light machine guns taken "on the shoulder" (also a legacy of the Civil War) marches in Budyonovka. A fighter in a Budenovka and a summer tunic (!) Is also captured in a photograph taken in May 1942 near Kharkov. And the front-line soldier, whose memoirs were recorded by the military translator Elena Rzhevskaya, was given a “lightning rod helmet” back in March 1943 ...

legends
Farewell to the "lightning rod"

A romantic halo appeared at Budenovka only in the 1950s, when it firmly settled on posters, illustrations, and postcards. And already in 1964, the critic Felix Kuznetsov blamed the author of the "Arctic Novel" Vladlen Anchishkin for the "duty" image of the guardian of revolutionary morality, grandfather Surmach - with a "grimy Budyonovka" on his head ...

And before that, the helmet was not very respectfully called a "lightning rod" (because of the "spire" extended upwards), or even a "mind rod". In the Far East in 1936, one commander liked to ask, pointing to the “spire” of the helmet: “Don’t you know what this is? S.], steam comes out of this spire "...

    Budyonovka, Budyonovka, Budyonovka, Budyonovka, Budyonovka, Budyonovka, Budyonovka, Budyonovka, Budyonovka, Budyonovka, Budyonovka, Budenovka, Budenovka (Source: "Full accentuated paradigm according to A. A. Zaliznyak") ... Forms of words

    AND; pl. genus. wok, dat. vkam; and. Red Army cloth helmet of a special cut with a visor and ears (originally among the Budyonovites). * * * Budyonovka is the popular name of the headdress that existed in the Red Army in 1919 41. * * * BUDENOVKA BUDENOVKA ... encyclopedic Dictionary

    BUDENOVKA, budenovka, women. (neol. colloquial). Red Army helmet of a special type. (By the name of the commander of the first cavalry army Budyonny.) Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

    BUDENOVKA, and, wives. Red Army cloth headdress in the form of a helmet (in 1 meaning) with a red star. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

    Budyonovka, and; R. pl. wok… Russian word stress

    budenovka- Budyonovka, and, genus. n. pl. h wok (headdress) ... Russian spelling dictionary

    budenovka- (BSRG) ... Dictionary of the use of the letter Yo

    budenovka- BUDENOVKA, and, pl. wok, dat. vkam, f Headdress in the form of a low cone-shaped helmet made of soft cloth with a red star above the visor, with drooping ears; named after the hero of the Civil War, Semyon Budyonny; part of the uniform ... ... Explanatory dictionary of Russian nouns

Where does the Motherland begin?
From windows burning in the distance,
From my father's old Budyonovka,
What we found somewhere in the closet ... ..

Friends, this topic was going to be created back in 2013. But better late than...
I was lucky in April 2013 in the attic of the house (under the dacha) of a work colleague, to find a “heroic helmet”
Subsequently, in 2014, this find was transferred by me to the city museum of local lore and took its place in the exposition.

It is now February 23 that they celebrate the Day of Defenders of the Fatherland. But in the Soviet era, it was the birthday of the Red Army - despite the fact that the Decree on the creation of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army was issued on January 15 (28), 1918. But on February 23, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars of Soviet Russia published an appeal "The socialist fatherland is in danger" - because of the revolution, the front completely crumbled, and the troops of the 8th German army, without encountering any resistance, occupied one city after another. The hopes of the Bolsheviks for the "proletarian" Red Guard did not come true. According to the memoirs of Antonov-Ovseenko, as soon as the "Red Guards" learned that from now on they would no longer have to rob the capital's shops and wine cellars, but go to the front to fight the Germans, as many of them threw down their weapons and went home. And then Lenin came up with a powerful ideological move: to equip the new Red Army, he decided to use the uniform invented for the Victory Parade in the Great War, which was to be held in Berlin (and then in Constantinople). The new form was created by the artist Vasily Vasnetsov by order of the Court of His Imperial Majesty around 1915-1916. The uniform was sewn by the concern M.A. Vtorova in Siberian factories and was stored in army warehouses in Petrograd. However, there were not so many of them, and in May 1918, Trotsky, People's Commissar for Military Affairs, created a commission to develop a new uniform for the Red Army. The commission included Russian artists V.M. Vasnetsov, B.M. Kustodiev, M.D. Ezuchevsky, S. Arkadyevsky and others, who, on the basis of the previous "royal" sketches, developed all types of forms.

This commission also compiled the first description of the headdress, which was then called the “bogatyrka” - because of the similarity with the ancient helmets of Russian heroes:

“The headdress (“hero”) is made of khaki uniform cloth and looks like a helmet. It consists of a cap, tapering upwards, and a nape and a visor that are unfolded. The cap consists of six identical pieces of the shape of an isosceles spherical triangle, stitched together on the sides so that the vertices of the triangles converge at the top in the center of the cap ... "


Drawing from the materials of the commission.

"... In front of the headdress, symmetrically with respect to the visor and the front seam, a regular five-pointed star is sewn from instrumental cloth with a diameter of 8.8 cm, and the inner corners on a circle with a diameter of 4.3 cm. The star must have a piping 5-6 wide mm, applied with black paint, retreating 3 mm from the edge. In the center of the star, a "cockade badge" of the established sample is attached.

A winter “bogatyrka” was also invented - more pointed in shape. This helmet was called "Budyonovka" - according to the division of S.M. Budyonny, in which he first appeared.

"Bogatyrka", which allows the passage of cold air to the head in winter and tightly fitting the head in summer and concentrating the sun's rays in itself, causes headaches without creating at least the slightest comfort ... "

".. The summer headdress has even greater drawbacks. Its backplate (of strictly established sizes) with a straight position of the head rests against the collar of the overcoat, and the headdress slides over the eyes. elongated neck. When made of lightweight material (paper fabric), the cone and dome quickly wrinkle and give the Red Army soldier a sloppy look. Ventilation is far from insufficient ... "

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