More about the uniform...

Surprisingly little has been written about the 'Flora' pattern camouflage since its introduction in 1998.  It has its origins in the early days of the Russian Federation.  The army was interested in moving away from Soviet era uniforms with the desire of fielding something uniquely Russian.

Many designs were studied during the mid-1990's including those of Western nations.  It was eventually decided to use a pattern that was derived from the earlier VSR pattern of the 1994 regulations.  The pattern was not identical, but had similar design elements.  Major differences were in the size of the color blots, which were made larger, and in their predominantly horizontal layout.

The new pattern was adopted in 1998 and would become the standard for all Russian Federation armed forces.  When first seen in the West, the pattern was designated 'Flora' although it is more commonly called 'Arbuz' or watermelon in Russia.

The uniform was made in a large variety of color patterns ranging from yellow-green (as seen here), to green (as seen in the headgear), to red-brown.  This has made standardization difficult, with men in some units having widely differing colors of the uniform.

As with the earlier M-1994 VSR camouflage, the uniform follows the pattern of the M-1985 'six pocket' uniform.  Its shoulder pockets both feature velcro closures.  According to regulations, the national armed forces patch is worn on the left shoulder pocket.  Unit patches are worn on the right shoulder pocket.  Enlisted rank insignia are pinned to the epaulettes and branch of service emblems are attached to the collar.

While the shoulder pockets are velcro, the two breast pockets and two lower pockets are each secured by a pair of buttons.  The trousers feature two conventional hip pockets and two thigh pockets which are secured by two buttons.  Along the waist are two tabs that each can fasten onto buttons to tighten the waist to improve the fit.  Stirrups fastened by buttons enable the trousers to be more easily worn tucked into boots.  There is also a drawstring closure at the end of each pant leg to adjust the fit there as well.

Service Chronology

The M-1998 Flora pattern uniform was adopted in 1998 as a new 'Russian' uniform for all of the armed forces except the navy which had its own traditions.  It retained the modern cut of the 1985 uniform, but only changed in appearance.  The uniform continued to be used throughout the early 2000's until the Ministry of Defense decided to transition over to a new design known as the Yudashkin pattern (also known as 'digital flora' or the M-2010 pattern).  Despite being officially replaced, the M-1998 pattern uniforms can still be seen in service with Russian forces.  They are likely to remain in service until those in service are replaced due to wear and existing replacement stocks are depleted.