By Aleksei Stepanov.

 

[From Tseikhgauz No. 13, 1/2001. Pages 46-47.]

 

            New emblems for the headdress of Russian navy personnel began to be developed in 1992. The basis for the draft designs was the Soviet officers’ insignia, in which the red star with hammer and sickle in a white circle was replaced by a tricolor cockade or star without any Soviet symbols. Prototypes were made out of “vinipros” plastic by A.V. Safonov of the movie studio “Mosfilm.” However, not one of these was approved.

            Directive No. D-24 of the Russian Federation’s Defense Minister, “On changing to the new military uniforms…,” was signed on 26 March 1993. In it were the instructions that “until questions regarding government insignia for Russia are settled, cockades, badges, and decoration are to be of previous patterns.”

            At the end of March 1994, the Scientific-Technical Committee of the Ministry of Defense’s Central Materiel Directorate prepared drawings of emblems for headdresses, and these were agreed to by the commander-in-chief of the Navy, Admiral F.N. Gromov (7 April), and the chief of the Armed Forces’ General Staff, Colonel-General M.P. Kolesnikov (21 July), and were confirmed on 27 July by the Minister of Defense, General of the Army P.S. Grachev. The traditional Russian cockade with gold-colored surrounding supports was taken as the basis of the design, and in its center was a fouled anchor. On the crown of hats for admirals, generals, and officers it was prescribed to have an emblem in the form of Russia’s state coat of arms.

            The presence of the two-headed eagle violated naval tradition (only in the Third Reich’s Kriegsmarine did sailors have an eagle on the crown in addition to a cockade), and was impractical because white covers were worn on the hats during summer. When these covers were put on it was necessary to remove and then reattach the emblem. Nonetheless, the wearing of an emblem on the crown was sanctioned by the “Regulation for wearing military uniforms by service personnel of the armed forces of the Russian Federation,” made effective by Ministry of Defense Order No. 255 of 28 July 1994. However, naval personnel universally continued to wear the previous emblems.

            In connection with this, in March 1995 the navy’s materiel service developed new cockades in which the center’s black-orange background was changed to black and a two-headed eagle was placed above the cockade for officers, midshipman, and ensigns. Drawings were agreed to by the commander-in-chief of the Navy, Admiral F.N. Gromov, and the Deputy Defense Minister of the Russian Fedation/Chief of Rear Services of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General V.T. Churanov, and then confirmed by the defense minister, General of the Army Grachev. Unfortunately, it was not possible to establish the exact confirmation date since there is none on the drawing. Along with this, there were no changes of any kind introduced in the dress regulations. Neither did the newly confirmed cockade enjoy any popularity among navy personnel, and only the commander-in-chief himself wore it along with some of the admirals and officers at Naval Headquarters and the central officers of the Defense Ministry.

            On 27 January 1997 a military heraldic emblem—an insignia for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation—was confirmed by Ukase No. 46 of the President of the Russian Federation (announced in Defense Ministry Order No. 155 dated 25 April 1997). In connection with this, instead of the state coat-of-arms there appeared over the cockades of admirals, generals, and officers of the navy a “military” eagle that was described in the new regulations for wearing uniforms, announced by Defense Ministry Order No. 210 dated 28 March 1997. A detailed description of new navy cockades first appeared in Defense Ministry Order No. 15 of 14 January 1998, “Descriptions of military uniform items for service personnel of the Armed Forces of eh Russian Federation.”

            Up to now many still prefer the previous Soviet emblems. Thus, sergeants and sailors of naval infantry continue to wear emblems in the shape of a black oval with gilt surroundings and a red star in the center, abolished in 1988!

 

[ILLUSTRATIONS.]

Page 46: (Bottom)

I CONFIRM, DEFENSE MINISTER OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, General of the Army, P.S. Grachev. [Signature]

            Cockade with emblem for fur hats and berets of admirals, generals, officers, midshipmen, and ensigns, and for service hats of officers, midshipman, and ensigns.

            AGREED, DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION/CHIEF OF REAR Colonel-General V.T. Churanov SERVICES OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION,. [Signature]

            AGREED, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE NAVY, Admiral F.N. Gromov. [Signature]

 

Page 47: 1. Cockade in wreath for service hats, fur hats, and berets of officers, midshipmen, and ensigns, 1994 pattern (officers had the Russian Federation’s coat-of-arms on the crown of the service hat.

2. Cockade in wreath for service hats, fur hats, and berets officers, midshipmen, and ensigns, 1995 pattern.

3, 4. Cockade in wreath for officers’ service hats, 1997 pattern (on officers’ fur hats and berets, and all other headdresses of midshipmen and ensigns, the cockade should be worn without the eagle, but no such variant was produced in metal).

5, 6. Cockades for sidecaps [pilotki] of admirals, generals, officers, midshipmen, and ensigns; for the peakless service hats [furazhki-bezkozyrki], berets, sidecaps, and fur hats of warrant officers [starshiny], sergeants, sailors, cadets, and Nakhimov pupils, 1994 and 1995 patterns.

7. Cockade for the sidecaps of officers, midshipmen, and ensigns, for peakless service hats, berets, sidecaps, and fur hats of warrant officers, sergeants, sailors, cadets, and Nakhimov pupils, 1997 pattern (the fur hats, sidecaps, and berets of admirals and generals had a cockade with an embroidered wreath.

8. Cockade with embroidery for admirals’ and generals’ service hats, 1995 pattern.

(From the author’s collection.)

 

Translated by Mark Conrad, 2001.