Army Service Patches of the Soviet Superpower (1960-1978) |
Army Uniform Patches The Soviet army had used a variety of insignia to designate the branch or length of service of its soldiers. During the late 1960's the Ministry of Defense chose to adopt the distinctive sleeve patches that characterized the late Soviet era. Yet, while the most obvious, they were not the only patches that were used during this time. Wound stripes of one sort or another had been used since the Tsarist era, and continued to serve during the Cold War. Length of service and school stripes were also used during this era. Samples of these various patches can be seen in this section. |
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Patches, and Awards of the Soviet Superpower |
These patches were established by Ministry of Defense Order #190 on 26 June 1969. This order decreed that all students of military schools would wear stripes to denote how many years of study they had completed. These stripes were sewn on the left sleeve of the tunic and greatcoat one centimeter below the branch of service insignia. (1) All army stripes were thermally molded plastic on red felt. They measure 1 cm wide and 7 cm long. Members of the Medical academy could acquire up to six of these stripes, but most other branches could only attain four. Unofficially men called these stripes 'kursovki'. |
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3 Years | 6 Years |
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2 Years | 5 Years |
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1 Year | 4 Years |
Works Cited (1) Stepanov, A., Нарукавных Знаки Вооруженных Сил СССР. 1920-1991 (1), Moscow: Zeughaus, 1999. Print. (2) Prilutskaya, N. V. and N. L. Kortunova, ВОЕННАЯ ОДЕЖДА ВООРУЖЕННЫХ СИЛ СССР И РОССИИ (1917-1990), Moscow: Military Publishing, 1999. Print. |