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Say Do Svidanya to the Portyanki: Russian Troops to Get Sock Upgrades

By Rain Noe - January 16, 2013

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Whether Axis or Allied, there wasn't any army that had it easy during World War II. But I just learned an astonishing fact that hadn't come up in any of my go-to WWII history books: The Red Army did all of their fighting without wearing socks.

Which is not to say they had nothing between their feet and their boots. Russian soldiers were issued portyanki, which are cotton or flannel rectangles of cloth not much larger than a handkerchief. Troops were taught to wrap them around their feet, as seen below, before donning their boots.

If you're wondering why there's color footage of someone doing this, the surprising fact is that portyanki have been a Russian army staple until this year. Although they began phasing them out starting in 2007, it was just this month that Russian Minister of Defense Sergei K. Shoigu issued a call to replace them across the board with proper socks.

The big question is, why did they use these? The answer is manufacturing. While it's well-known that Russian manufacturing might flooded the battlefields, during the second half of the war, with an overwhelming number of T-34 tanks, that industrial largesse did not extend to sock factories. With a finite amount of manpower (womanpower, more than likely) on the home front, and the manufacturing ease of producing cloth rectangles rather than knitted, fitted socks, the decision was made to stick with portyanki.We say "stick with" because portyanki, or "puttee" as they were known to Western armies, were in fact what British, American, Chinese Nationalist, Italian, and French troops were all wearing in the first half of the 20th century. The Brits starting using them in the 1890s, and in fact the name "puttee" is an Anglicization of the Hindi word patti, or bandage. The puttee/patti was more like a boxer's handwraps than a handkerchief, and some Russians were issued these as an alternative. Here's how this latter variant goes on:

Unbelievable. I'll never complain about unlacing cumbersome boots again.

via the at war blog

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wr

11 years ago

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Well, it's mostly wrong. Portyanki date back to roman times (it's really cold in sandals during British winter), they were widely used by post-reformation European armies and were adopted as a part of Russian military uniform in early 1700s. Highly advanced Finnish army traded portyanki for socks in 1990, East Germany - in 1986, some ex-Warsaw pact countries kept on using them during 1990s. Tell the Germans about manufacturing issues.

Truth is, while manufacturing really was a serious issue a century or more ago, portyanki had way more serious advantages over socks: hygiene and sturdiness. Meant to be worn with rough high boots (cheap synthetic leather boots in soviet army), they don't tear down in a few days like socks do, they really protect feet in such user-unfriendly footwear, they withstand dampness way better and they are washed just once a week. Not the best smell possible, but imagine fighting or marching or entrenching in dirt, rain and snow for days without changing your socks.

Ah, yes, and they were meant to be used with talcum powder as a cheap hygienic measure.

Also you may read something on puttees. They were used through both world wars by some armies. Same idea, other body part.
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Michael

12 years ago

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Well, I'm from Russia, and I found some portyanki advocates among the oldschool guys working with me (who atualy went to the army) :) They point, that portyanki have a big advantage over socks. If your feet gets wet, you just take them off and then wrap them from the other side (the guy on the video has a rather small piece of portyanka). Plus, until recent time russian soldiers were wearing high boots. Portyanki are thick enough to prevent callus formation and keeps feet cooler than thick socks. :)
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michael

12 years ago

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Awesome video, can imagine how can a handkerchief like small piece of cloth can be used as a socks. In a world war period at a lowest temperature of -7 degree cold condition.
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