Telnyashka

Telnyashka with stripes coloured in black. Designated Soviet and then Russian fleet and naval infantry.

A telnyashka (Russian: Тельняшка) is a dark color and white striped, sleeveless or not, undershirt, which is an iconic uniform of the Russian Navy, the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) and the Russian Naval Infantry (marines), initially by Soviet predecessors of these troops. It has been a symbol of great military pride for those who wear it gradually becoming a broader symbol of masculinity and self-confidence.

Technical details

The official uniforms of mentioned troops include no shirts and a specially crafted jacket thus making telnyashkas a visible part of it (not just underwear).

Soviet marines in full dress consisiting of black jacket and telnyashka.

Telnyashkas are also available to civilian customers and may come in a variety of knittings. Single thread knitting is the standard military-issue variant, but double and quadruple knittings for increased warmth can be produced. A quadruple telnyashka is enough to keep a person warm with nothing else on even at 5°C, as it was originally developed for military divers to be worn under a dry suit.

History

Telnyashkas come from a practice that originated in the merchants and fishermen of Brittany, who adopted the style to distinguish them from other nationalities at a distance, later adopted and popularized by the French Navy and other navies of the pre-Dreadnought era. These continued in use for some time.

The tradition of Russian/Soviet ground troops wearing a naval uniform comes from Soviet Navy sailors who fought on the ground while under siege during World War II. It is exemplified by the famed Soviet sniper Vassili Zaitsev. Zaitsev was a petty officer in the Soviet Pacific Fleet who volunteered for army duty, but, despite transfer, he refused to give up his Navy telnyashka because of the pride it engendered.

General Margelov, who was later to modernise the Soviet airborne forces, had previously served with a Naval Infantry unit in WWII, and procured telnyashkas for the VDV as a mark of their elite status.

Troops' colors

Russian air assault paratroopers in parade uniform with light-blue telnyashkas

Russian navy assault troops use dark-blue telnyashkas

Telnyashkas with stripes of certain dark color are traditionally the marks of particular troops, for example:

• Black (depth) - submariners
• Dark blue (sea) - Navy and Naval Infantry
• Light blue (sky) - VDV paratroopers, GRU Spetsnaz (posing as VDV)
• Light green (forests) - Border Troops
• Red - OMON and Internal Troops of the MVD

Popular culture

There is a popular saying that ironically presents telnyashkas as an attribute of "real men": "We are few in number, but we wear telnyashkas!" (Russian: "Нас мало, но мы в тельняшках!", Nas malo, no my v telnyashkakh!).

A scene from the Nu, pogodi Episode #7, showing The Wolf in telnyashka.

Telnyashka has become such evident symbol of masculinity in Soviet culture, that it is sported by dozens of popular non-military characters of the cinema and even children' cartoons, notably The Wolf in the Nu, pogodi and Matroskin the Cat in the Troe iz Prostokvashino.

Sources

• Zaitsev, Vassili. "Notes of a Sniper." Trans. David Givens, Peter Kornakov, Konstantin Kornakov. Ed. Neil Orkent. Los Angeles: 2826 Press Inc., 2003.
• Presidential Decree N 921 of 28.08.2006 (http://lawrussia.ru/texts/legal_739/doc739a408x944.htm)