Uniform Requirements

Minimum Required Items

These are the minimum required items and Uniform for Re-enacting with the 52nd Guards. We are justly proud of our Authenticity Standards and every member is responsible for always maintaining these minimum Standards or Higher!

In order of importance,here are the minimums,broken down into 2 sections;the Required items as well as the recommended Optional Items,which should also be acquired as quickly as possible,within the required 1 year probational period.


UNIFORM:

1)M-43 GYMNASTIORKA
This is the Traditional Shirt of the Russian Soldier.In an effort to sustain flagging morale after the many defeats suffered by the Red Army during 1941-42,Stalin re-introduced the traditional stand collar Tunic of Tsarist times,as well as the Traditional Shoulder Board rank insignias known as POGONY,which up to this time had been the very symbol of the hated officer/aristocracy,attesting much to Stalin's propoganda astuteness.The revived morale of the Frontovik was not the least of the factors in turning the Red Army around from abysmal defeats to the proud,hardened Armies that Marched into Berlin only 2 short years later.The M-43 pattern was truly that,as replacement troops being flooded into the Inferno of the fighting at Stalingrad were specially issued the new uniforms as early as January 3,1943. These new uniforms,(as well as the earlier M-35 type) were manufactured in a staggering varity of materials,by an incredible number of sources,including England and the United States,who furnished millions of yards of leftover yardgoods from the First World War,as well as finished goods to the Russian patterns.The uniform came in two Basic versions,summerweight in cotton and other light natural fiber cloth,and a winter weight made of woolen broadcloth's. The colors ranged greatly from the Offical Khaki/Mustard to all variations of Greens,Browns and Grays.Much of the Russian made Cotton uniforms tended to bleach quickly to almost white,as can be seen in many photo's from the period.

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