More about the uniform...

The 1998 'flora' pattern winter tank crew uniform marked the first major departure from the old Soviet designs of 1972.

It consisted of a jacket and trousers, both of which feature a removable liner (seen above at right).  The uniform can be worn without the liner in cool climates, or worn with the liner in very cold environments.

The jacket also features an attached hood that offers a degree of wind and rain protection while still providing camouflage to the wearer's head.  This hood can be worn over the conventional winter tank crewman's helmet.

There is a hidden pistol pocket for a PM Makarov in the upper right side.  No lanyard is provided as in earlier models.  This can be reached by a concealed opening along the hidden button placket.  This allows the wearer to draw the pistol

without sacrificing warmth.  In addition to this, the jacket has two pockets on the lower front, just above the unique plastic snap belt.  The jacket cuffs feature elasticized fabric (seen at left) to retain warmth.  A set of two buttons on each cuff (not visible here) can also be used to adjust the fit.

The large plastic jacket buttons and the black snap belt can be seen in the photo below.

As mentioned above, the trousers come with a detachable insulated liner.  It has belt loops and a button fly.  Also included are two thigh level pockets with single snap button closures (seen at right).

The trousers also feature button stirrups that enable them to be worn inside boots.