awesome pics, ill be in Moscow in 4 days, gonna pick up those Airborne t-shirts.
VDV Day in Gorky Park
Former and serving VDV members gather for a party.
Future Airborne member
The old school
Airborne dog? Hmm....
Every VDV member should take a swim in this fountain.
Lot's of drunk dudes.
awesome pics, ill be in Moscow in 4 days, gonna pick up those Airborne t-shirts.
Pardon my ignorance but what is the significance of the striped shirts?
its a VDV tradition. Im not sure about the history of the blue stripe pattern, I believe it goes back to 1800s, back to the Russian Royal army.
not sure though, maybe someone can explain. You can see the blue pattern shirt from Ww2 to Afghan war and up to now. its a tradition thing.
From http://www.sovietairborne.com/Uniforms.htmlOriginally Posted by D-gin
Pardon my ignorance but what is the significance of the striped shirts?
"Elite forces have traditionally distinguished themselves from the rest of the military by adopting distinctive uniforms or insignia. The Soviet VDV was no exception. Colonel General Margelov was an enthusiastic proponent of the effort, feeling that it bolstered unit morale. The first step was the adoption of the Soviet Navy's striped blue and white sailor's shirt, the telnyashka, under the normal khaki tunic, to distinguish the paratroopers from the rest of the Soviet Army. This was an odd choice for an army unit, and was due to Margelov's combat career in World War II. In the early years of the war, Margelov had served on the Leningrad Front. Many Soviet warships were bottled up in harbors in Leningrad, so the sailors of the Baltic Fleet were brought ashore and used as elite infantry. Although an army major, Margelov was assigned to command the 1st Naval Infantry Regiment, which was used for raiding behind German lines."
"Margelov associated the striped sailor's shirt with this highly effective unit. He had kept his own naval shirt as a memento of past glories, and now he decided the sailor's shirt would serve as the basis for the new VDV paratrooper's uniform. In spite of its odd beginnings, the blue-and-white-striped shirt became the predominant symbol of Soviet and Russian elite forces, especially after Afghanistan. It is now used not only by the VDV, but by other elite formations, including the Spetsnaz and elite special police units."
Thank you.
Yeah, good stuff; I was wondering the same thing.
awesome pix!
Pardon my ignorance but what is the significance of the striped shirts?
The tradition goes back to WWII with the founder of the soviet airborne corps who was Vasiliy Margelov http://www.peoples.ru/military/vdv/margelov/
who used to be a member of marines/navy so he adopted the striped shirts for the airborne corps which was a new type of force for that period.
Since then wearing a striped shirt is a proud tradition of the airborne corps.
those dudes look pimp.....
celebration in Caucasian.
Celebration of the VDV day in Novosibirsk. The police tried not to provoke slightly intoxicated VDV members, but it did not manage without the fight.
VDV v.s. OMON
and heavily drunk.
so this is what russian paras are trained for?
hehe, VDV rule the world!
Bless you all, bastard brothers!
Isn't that just flame-baiting as you know the answer already?
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