The Afghanka ( ; proper designation: Obr88) is a type of

military uniform A military uniform is a standardised clothing, dress worn by members of the armed forces and Paramilitary, paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and styles have gone through significant changes over the centuries, from colourful ...

system developed and issued by the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

in the early 1980s, still in use today in some

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...

in many different variants. The name ''Afghanka'' is an unofficial popular

slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

term in Russian for the uniform, derived from its prolific use during the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

. They are typically made of

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

( or "Х/б", "cotton paper").

Design details

The Afghanka field uniform is made in a lightweight summer and heavier, lined winter version; both consist of a long, loose fitting 6-pocket

BDU The ''Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote'' or BdU (Eng: "Commander of the U-boats") was the supreme commander of the German Navy's U-boat Arm (''Ubootwaffe'') during the First World War, First and Second World Wars. The term also referred to the Comm ...

-style jacket with large stand-and-fall collar,

epaulette Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scale ...

s, concealed buttons, armpit vents, and tube-style field trousers with cargo pockets on the thighs. A field cap made from sturdier cotton and featuring ear flaps which could be unbuttoned and lowered to protect the ears was supplied with the uniform. The winter model is composed of: jacket, jacket liner, trousers, plus insulated liners and suspenders. The liners are buttoned into their respective garments, and the outer garment can be worn without the liners. The jacket liner bears the fur collar of the jacket, usually in

fish fur Fish fur () is a Russian-language ironic expression used to describe poor quality of coats and other clothes worn for warmth. In modern times, it is also used for fake fur, especially of poor quality. The term traces back to a Russian proverb "A ...

but occasionally in real fur (officer's uniforms). The jacket and trousers are lined with a pile-type material that helps insulate by trapping warm air, whereas the liners are made of a quilted material similar to the

Telogreika The telogreika (, ), vatnik ( rus, ватник, p=ˈvatnʲɪk) or fufayka () is a variety of Russian warm cotton wool–padded jacket. When worn with valenki and an ushanka, it can keep its wearer warm in sub-zero temperatures for long periods. ...

uniform.

Colouring

The Obr88 were originally made in a

khaki The color khaki (, ) is a light shade of tan (color), tan with a slight yellowish tinge. Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage rela ...

-coloured material, but factory variants on occasion resulted in slight discoloration such as

olive drab Olive is a dark yellowish-green color, like that of unripe or green olives. As a color word in the English language, it appears in late Middle English. Variations Olivine Olivine is the typical color of the mineral olivine. The first re ...

, tan, and sage green. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Afghanka has been copied and issued widely by CIS members in various localized camouflage patterns.

Operational history

The Afghanka began appearing in Soviet military units in the early 1980s during the

of 1979-1989, hence the name. The design of the jacket and trousers may stem from similar patterns used by other

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

armies such as by the of the

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

. Initially only used in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, the Afghanka uniform was in very short supply and was often issued to units rather than individuals and passed around as necessary for various duties. By the end of the 1980s, it had become possible to issue a personal Afghanka to each soldier. Individual soldiers began marking the collars of their uniforms with bleach. In 1988 the

Soviet Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

adopted the uniform as standard issue, replacing the ageing Obr69 Uniform in all theaters. The soldiers found the new uniform very effective, especially in Afghanistan. Even without the liners in, a winter Afghanka provides comfortable warmth in temperatures down to −20 °C. Other advantages of the winter Afghanka over the preceding (

pea coat A pea coat is an outer coat, generally of a navy-coloured heavy wool, originally worn by sailors of European and later American navies. Pea coats are characterized by short length, broad lapels, double-breasted fronts, often large wooden, met ...

) and over the shinel greatcoat included greatly enhanced mobility for the wearer, and the increased number of pockets.

Variants

The Afghanka was initially issued to regular units of the armed forces in a khaki colour. The uniform was also standardized with the

KGB Border Troops The Soviet Border Troops () were the border guard of the Soviet Union, subordinated to the Soviet state security agency: first to the ''Cheka''/OGPU, then to NKVD/ MGB and, finally, to the KGB. Accordingly, they were known as NKVD Border Secu ...

, but in the service's unique "birch" camouflage pattern (similar to that used on the KLMK camouflage coverall) as well as Soviet Marines, who were the first to be issued with the newest Soviet camouflage development of the time—the woodland-style three-coloured Butane pattern (also known informally as Butan). Although derived from a previous chemical-warfare uniform known as OKZK-D, the camouflage uniform made for Soviet VDV paratroopers in 1984 included many features from the Afghanka. Since then, various other uniforms evolved from the Afghanka in various camouflage patterns—such as VSR (the standard field uniform of the Russian Armed Forces since 1993, and later flora camouflage (issued since 1998), and many others.

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

both currently issue Afghanka-cut uniforms in their own camouflage patterns. The Soviet and Russian VDV model, made in either khaki, Butan, or VSR, lacked the lower patch pockets on the jacket as the blouse was intended to be worn tucked inside the trousers, to better accommodate the numerous harnesses used with a parachute. Both the USSR and the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

have also produced the uniform in plain colours for paramilitary use.

Users

Former users

* * * * * * * * * * * - Obr88 winter jacket issued to some soldiers and officers

Notes

Sources

* ''Soviet Uniforms and Militaria 1917–1991'' by Laszlo Bekesi The Crowood Press UK (June 30, 2011), * ''Inside the Soviet Army Today''. Osprey Elite Military History Series No. 12 by Stephen J Zaloga * ''Russia's War in Afghanistan'' by David Isby * ''Warsaw Pact Ground Forces'' by David Rottmman

External links

*{{commons category-inline Military equipment introduced in the 1980s Soviet military uniforms Soviet–Afghan War