Tarpaulin boots are sewn from tarpaulin - multi-layered durable cotton fabric, impregnated with a rubber solution and treated with a special water-repellent compound. The advantages of this material are that it withstands heat and frost equally well, and also protects the foot well from moisture.
Soldiers of the Russian Imperial Army. Reconstruction. Photo: www.russianlook.com
History of the creation of tarpaulin
The first experiments in the production of tarpaulin in St. Petersburg began to be carried out in 1903 inventor Mikhail Pomortsev. In 1904, he received a waterproof tarpaulin impregnated with a mixture of paraffin, rosin and egg yolk. It did not allow water to pass through and had properties almost identical to leather.
Tarpaulin was first used during the Russo-Japanese War as a material for covers for artillery guns. This material showed its reliability during the war, but they did not have time to start making boots from it.The technology was improved in the 30s Soviet chemists Boris Byzov and Sergei Lebedev. They began to use artificial rubber as fabric impregnation. Thanks to this, the material has become more resistant to external influences. Based on the developments of Byzov and Lebedev chemist Ivan Plotnikov established the production of tarpaulin boots at the Vyatka plant artificial leather. They experienced baptism of fire during the Soviet-Finnish War, but this experience ended unsuccessfully - in the cold the boots cracked, became hard and brittle.
In the very first days of the Great Patriotic War, quartermaster services were faced with the problem of a shortage of shoes for Red Army soldiers. Then the military leadership remembered that in the mid-30s, Ivan Plotnikov was working on a new technological material for boots. By order of the Council of People's Commissars, Plotnikov was immediately returned from the ranks of the Moscow militia to the rear and appointed acting director and at the same time chief engineer of the Kozhimit plant; he was given the task of improving the technology for manufacturing leatherette shoes - tarpaulin - in the shortest possible time.
Among the main requirements: the material must be durable, wear-resistant, water-resistant and air-permeable, so that the feet do not sweat and can “breathe”. Plotnikov successfully completed the task, and the tarpaulin boots were put into mass production. It was in these unpretentious and at the same time comfortable shoes that Soviet soldiers walked to Berlin.
Russia today is the world's largest producer of tarpaulin using Plotnikov technology, which has remained unchanged since 1941. About 85% of domestic tarpaulin today is intended for the manufacture of army footwear (boots and boots). In addition to this material, yuft is used in production - tanned leather from the skins of cattle, horse and pork. Most of the boots are combined: 15% (the lower part, including the toe) is made of yuft, the rest (including the shaft) is made of tarpaulin.
How is tarpaulin made?
The process of manufacturing material for sewing shoes takes place in five stages:
Boots Russian soldier with yuft (yalov) bottom and tarpaulin tops. Photo: Public Domain
- Production of fabric base.
- Application of a latex rubber solution with various fillers, dyes and vulcanizing components to a three-layer fabric.
- Film formation under the influence high temperature in a heat chamber on the surface of the cloth.
- Compaction of material by calendering - passing the fabric through a hot calender (a machine with rolling shafts that gives a smooth, glossy, even surface to the fabric).
- Embossing the front side of the fabric under pork skin.
In the process of tarpaulin production, the following are used: cotton base, suspension polyvinyl chloride, dioctyl phthalate, butadiene nitrile rubber, stearic acid, chalk, carbon black, coloring pigments.
Why is the material called “tarpaulin”?
Keirze comes from the name of the coarse English woolen fabric “Kersey” (from the English. Kersey), named after the village in Suffolk where a special breed of wool sheep was bred.
There are several erroneous versions of the origin of the word “kerza”. One of them connects the name of the material with the Kirov factories, where it was actually produced for some time. According to another version, the British Foreign Minister allegedly had a hand in the creation of “Kirzachs” at one time. Lord Curzon.
Tarpaulin boots are more than shoes. Ivan Plotnikov, who established their production before the war, received the Stalin Prize.
Creator of tarpaulin boots, Ivan Plotnikov
After the war, everyone wore kirzachs - from old people to schoolchildren. They are still in use today. Because soldier's tarpaulin boots- the most reliable...
Birth...
By the First World War, the long military confrontation between boots and boots came to an end. The boots definitely won. Even in those armies where there was not enough material to make boots, the soldiers’ legs were still wrapped almost to the knee. It was a forced imitation of boots. In the windings mustard color went through the war, for example, British soldiers. Soldiers of the Russian army, by the way, in the First World War were the only ones who could afford to show off in real leather boots.
Like any cult thing, there are a lot of conjectures and rumors about tarpaulin boots. Thus, one of the misconceptions is that “Kirzachs” got their name from the “Kirov plant” where their production was established. In fact, the legendary boots got their name from the Kersey wool fabric from which they were originally made.
There are also a lot of misconceptions about who was the first to create tarpaulin boots. Let's dot the i's. The priority in this matter belongs to the Russian inventor Mikhail Pomortsev. He received tarpaulin fabric impregnated with a mixture of paraffin, rosin and egg yolk in 1904. The material had properties almost identical to leather. It did not allow water to pass through, but at the same time “breathed.” For the first time, tarpaulin "sniffed gunpowder" during the Russo-Japanese War, where it was used to make ammunition for horses, bags and covers for artillery.
Pomortsev’s material earned high praise from both soldiers and experts at international exhibitions; it was already decided to produce a batch of boots from it, but their mass production was never established. At first, leather lobbyists interfered with the business, and in 1916, Mikhail Mikhailovich died. The boots were “put on the shelf” for almost 20 years.
Second birth...
The production of tarpaulin was revived already in 1934. Soviet scientists Boris Byzov and Sergei Lebedev developed a method for producing cheap artificial sodium butadiene rubber, with which fabric was impregnated, which caused it to acquire properties similar to natural leather. We owe the further development of the production of tarpaulin boots to the chemist Ivan Plotnikov. It was thanks to his efforts that the production of “kirzachs” was established in the country.
They underwent combat testing back in the Soviet-Finnish War, but this experience ended unsuccessfully - in the cold the boots cracked, became hard and brittle. Plotnikov’s daughter Lyudmila recalled how her father told her about the commission at which a “debriefing” of the use of the new material took place.
Ivan Vasilyevich was asked: “Why is your tarpaulin so cold and does not breathe?” He replied: “The bull and the cow have not yet shared all their secrets with us.”
Fortunately, the chemist was not punished in any way for such insolence. On the contrary, after the start of the Great Patriotic War, an acute shortage of shoes became obvious. This is where Plotnikov’s experience came in handy. He was instructed to improve the technology for the production of tarpaulin as soon as possible. Kosygin himself supervised the issue. Plotnikov coped with the task. Moreover, he established the production of “Kirzachs” in Kirov. On April 10, 1942, he received the Stalin Prize. By the end of the war, 10 million Soviet soldiers wore tarpaulin boots.
One of the symbols of Victory...
Tarpaulin boots gained well-deserved fame during the war. Tall, almost waterproof, but at the same time breathable, they allowed soldiers to march for many kilometers on any road or off-road. How good the tarpaulin boots were can be judged by comparing them with American military boots.
General O. Bradley, author of the book "A Soldier's History", wrote that due to constant dampness, the American army lost 12 thousand combat soldiers in just one month. Some of them were never able to recover after this and return to the front.
O. Bradley wrote: “By the end of January, the disease with rheumatism of the legs had reached such a large scale that the American command was at a standstill. We were completely unprepared for this disaster, partly as a result of our own negligence; by the time we began to instruct the soldiers what kind of foot care and what needs to be done to prevent boots from getting wet, rheumatism has already spread throughout the army like the plague.”
Without high boots and footcloths on the autumn and winter front had a hard time.
Foot wraps...
We can admit that foot wraps are no less a brilliant invention than tarpaulin boots themselves. However, they are inseparable. Those who have tried to wear tarpaulin boots with socks know that sooner or later the socks will inevitably roll down onto the heel. Then, especially if you are on a forced march and can’t stop, good luck... Your feet are bleeding.
In addition, foot wraps are also convenient because if they get wet, you just need to wrap them on the other side, then the leg will still remain dry, and the wet part of the foot wrap will dry out in the meantime.
The spacious boot of the "kirzach" allows you to wrap two foot wraps in cold weather, plus put newspapers in them in order to keep warm.
Tarpaulin boots are known to each of us as truly Russian uniform shoes. Their appearance is unique; it is impossible to imagine a Russian warrior without them. For several decades, the soldiers of our army have been wearing these rough, but, as practice shows, durable boots. I liked the inexpensive one wearing shoes And ordinary people: rural residents, lovers of fishing and hunting.
It does not allow water or dirt to pass through and is surprisingly durable. And for many years now, tarpaulin boots have been in demand, although they have long been considered a relic of the past.
A little history
The word “tarpaulin” is not, as some people think, but an abbreviated name for the Kirov plant, where these boots are produced. Kirza is a leather substitute and is a multi-layer durable cotton fabric, treated with a film-forming substance. To give the material the appearance of rough natural leather, it is embossed.
It all started with the search for material for sewing soldiers' boots. Leather was too expensive; the state was unable to provide soldiers with shoes made from natural material. A low-cost, durable replacement suitable for use in harsh military environments was required.
The first to begin experiments with the development of tarpaulin was the Russian scientist Mikhail Pomortsev. Only then it wasn’t called that yet. The boots began to be called “kirzachs” when they were put into mass production during the Great Patriotic War. M. Pomortsev conducted his first experiments with rubber, but they were unsuccessful.
Boots made of such material could not withstand the load placed on them and broke. Before the start of the Second World War, the development of material for soldiers' boots was continued by engineer Ivan Plotnikov, and this time they were crowned with success. The work was completed in a short time, and in 1942 the production of soldiers' shoes was already established.
Thus, Russia became the main producer of tarpaulin boots. The lower part and toe are made of yuft, and the shaft is made of tarpaulin, which makes the production process cheaper. More than 80% of the plant's products are intended for the army.
Tarpaulin boots. Our days
Soldiers still wear tarpaulin boots today, although attempts are being made to switch the military to lace-up boots.
Tarpaulin boots reliably protect soldiers’ feet from any external influences, as well as from heat and frost. They are adapted for long hikes through forests and swamps. The sole is made of durable rubber and is secured with nails. The toe and heel are made of yuft, the boot is made of tarpaulin. The rigid heel and granite toe cap provide stability to the foot. Tarpaulin boots have proven themselves well when used in extreme conditions.
As already mentioned, they are also in demand in civilian life. When purchasing, you need to know that the boots are made taking into account the fact that they will be worn over foot wraps, so thin socks in them will immediately tear, and your feet will be uncomfortable. Today everyone can buy tarpaulin boots. Their prices range from 800 to 1000 rubles, and they will not wear out. They are sold both in workwear stores and on online trading platforms.
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Tarpaulin boots- one of the symbols of past times. Not only the appearance of a soldier shod in tarpaulin, with a roll over his shoulder and a three-ruler, but also the hard worker, trampling the lands destined for development with a tarpaulin boot, formed a stable image. The image of the Winner and Creator.
Moreover, there was a feeling as if tarpaulin boots had always existed. Long before the advent of the three-line system, virgin lands and “all-Union” construction projects. Therefore, the fact that industrial production of “Kirzachs” began only seventy years ago small years old ago may be perceived by many as a malicious distortion of history.
Nomad Legacy
Everything speaks in favor of the fact that the boots “came” from the East: Turkic nomads wore them as the most comfortable shoes for riding. From nomads, boots spread across the territories of modern Russia, came to the Middle East, and then to Europe. Their spread was not peaceful, but the shoes of the conquerors soon, when the conquerors themselves and the spirit had caught a cold, became so familiar that they were perceived as originally their own. First of all, they are like military shoes.
Military footwear, tailored and sewn according to certain standards, first appeared during the Roman Empire. It resembled Greek sandals, only with a thick sole, it was lined with nails, lacing with wide straps went to the very top of the shin, leather inserts protected the foot. There is a tradition of calling legionnaires’ sandals “kaligs.”
In fact, “kaligas” resembled low boots made of soft leather, which were worn by the few cavalrymen from the equestrian class, compared to foot legionnaires.
“Caliga” completely covered the toes, had a reinforced heel, which was important for cavalrymen, and dense pads protected the inside of the ankle joint - at that time the Romans did not yet have spurs, and what in the language of cavalrymen is called “give leg” was associated with the possibility of injury for the rider.
Here it is appropriate to recall the nickname of Gaius Caesar Caligula - Gaius Caesar “Boot”: it was the “caliga”, a small boot, that was sewn for the future emperor when he was taken by his father, Germanicus, on campaigns against the rebellious Germanic tribes.
Nomads also brought stirrups to Europe. The domino effect that occurred after the defeat of the Huns by the Chinese, the movement of this warlike tribe to the West, pushing other tribes from their homes, led to the fact that the West was not only “whipped” by God’s scourge, Attila.
The booted barbarian warrior, who, thanks to the stirrups, was able to throw a rein and shoot with a bow or fight with a sword, while covering himself with a shield, defined military equipment for many centuries.
To whom are Jorviks, to whom are pistons?
Nomadic boots were primarily made from goat skins and dyed with the juice of sumac, a plant currently used as a seasoning for meat. This is how they acquired a “rich” red color and in Rus' were called morocco. Soft, with graceful folds, such boots became the footwear of the nobility.
Morocco of the lower grades, also suitable for making boots, was obtained from sheep and calf skins, and it was tanned with willow or oak bark, and the boots turned out black.
The main feature of morocco boots, in addition to softness and strength, was the absence of a heel. This could result in the rider's leg becoming stuck in the stirrup. When falling from a horse, a foot stuck in the stirrup almost always meant death, especially on the battlefield.
The infantrymen of the Slavic army were shod either in bast shoes or in pistons, ancient leather shoes Slavs Researchers derive the word “pistons” from the old Russian word “fluffy,” that is, loose or soft. The pistons were “slippers” cut from a piece of horse or pork skin. They were not sewn, but sewn directly to the leg, after fitting, and attached to the leg with long straps.
The shoes of the Vikings or Varangians, around the same time as the steppe nomads who began moving to Russian lands, only from the West, were called “jorvik”. Jorviks were made from two pieces of leather, sole and upper, had a pointed toe and heel, and different shapes depending on the purpose.
With a short upper part, similar to modern slippers with a backdrop, they were worn while sailing on longships; with a high upper part, which was sometimes reinforced with additional leather or metal plaques, they were worn when landing on the shore, before a military skirmish.
The luxury of morocco boots seduced the first Varangian princes. It is quite possible that Rurik himself quickly took off his Jorviks and pulled on his morocco boots. In any case, in Russian chronicles, starting from the 10th century, boots are consistently contrasted with all other types of shoes (especially bast shoes) as a sign of belonging to the aristocracy.
From morocco to yuft
Boots in Russia became traditional shoes for many reasons. Bast shoes remained the shoes of the “mean” class; all other classes, including those far from the aristocracy, wore boots whenever possible. Practical, safe, and plenty of skin.
Morocco continued to be the footwear of the highest aristocracy, but even the princes, before getting into the saddle, preferred to change into cowhide boots, which were more durable and much cheaper. Such boots were made from the skin of cows that had not yet given birth, and rarely of yearling bulls, and the skin of younger or older animals was not suitable - it was either not strong enough or too rough.
If cowhide was processed especially carefully, with seal fat or blubber and birch tar, then yuft was obtained. Yuft has become one of the main export goods not only Ancient Rus', but also medieval Rus'.
The word “yuft” itself, according to historians, which came into the ancient Russian language from the Bulgars, inhabitants of the eastern bank of the Volga, penetrated into European languages, although usually Europeans simply said “Russian leather”. Most likely, over the knee boots and boots with wide bells were also made from “Russian leather,” both soft, for the French musketeers, and hard, but narrow, like for the English cavalry.
Supplies of yuft to Europe remained a profitable business until the beginning of the twentieth century. According to statistics, the annual offspring of calves in Russia amounted to more than 9 million heads, which made it possible to fully satisfy the needs for leather suitable for the shoe industry and also fully provide cowhide or yuft boots for soldiers and officers of the one and a half million Russian Imperial Army
Shoe crisis
Nevertheless, the search for leather substitutes from which it would be possible to sew military shoes has been going on for centuries. One of the reasons why they became especially intense at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was the forecast of the size of armies in wartime, as well as the forecast of the need for boots.
Despite the small cost of one pair of soldiers' boots, the army, which moved mainly on foot, required millions and millions of boots.
In 1914 prices, soldier's boots cost 1 ruble 15 kopecks (another 10 kopecks for the first lubrication with shoe polish), officers' boots were ten times more expensive. Expenses on shoe polish in peacetime exceeded half a million rubles, and the total expenses of the tsar's treasury on soldiers' boots before the First World War exceeded three million. Shoes, ammunition and small arms were the most consumable materials; statisticians and economists preferred not to even remember about human lives.
For the first time, the Russian army encountered a “shoe shortage” during the Russo-Japanese War. The forecasts were disappointing - it was believed that in the future the army would need more than 10 million boots, but even with the huge number of cattle in Russia there was nowhere to get that much leather.
In addition, army contracts, although taken by large industrialists, were distributed among small manufacturers. There was no large shoe production united by a single order, standards and technology.
A significant role in the emergence of the “shoe” crisis was played by the fact that after the outbreak of the First World War, many soldiers sold a second pair of boots while moving to the front, which is why, according to General Brusilov, by 1917, “... there were hardly any people walking in soldiers’ boots.” not the entire population of Russia.” Punishments for such offenses - even flogging - had no effect.
Buying soldiers' shoes from the Allies was difficult on the budget. In addition to economic ones, there were contraindications for it, so to speak, of a cultural nature: the allies could only supply boots, shoes that were unusual for many. And the supply of army boots did not cover the needs of the army. Changing soldiers' shoes to bast shoes meant undermining prestige...
Aztec technology
It was necessary to find a substitute for cowhide, as well as to organize a large shoe production, completely subordinated to the needs of the army. In other words, it was necessary to find a fabric that, after being impregnated with a certain composition, could be used for sewing boots.
The task was simplified by the fact that only boot tops were supposed to be made from this non-existent fabric, while the boot itself was supposed to remain raw: preliminary experiments showed that shoes made entirely of substitute material were uncomfortable, chafed the foot, which reduced the combat effectiveness of the troops .
Impregnated materials have been used since ancient times. By oiling fabric, the Vikings gave sails water-repellent properties. Even in pre-Columbian times, the Aztec Indians impregnated raincoats and shoes with a latex solution.
In 1763, Nathan Smith first patented the technology for the production of oiled canvas, describing it as follows: “... on the fabric there is a covering mass of a mixture of oleoresin (resin from coniferous trees), dye, beeswax and linseed oil, which is applied hot.”
In Russia, 140 years after Smith, Mikhail Pomortsev began experimenting with fabrics.
Born in 1851, Mikhail Mikhailovich Pomortsev became the one to whom we owe the appearance of the “tarpaulin”. However, this officer, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Artillery School, a scientist who graduated from the geodetic department of the Academy of the General Staff, an employee of the observatory in Pulkovo and a teacher at the Engineering Academy, was not a combat officer at all.
For Pomortsev, boots were not the meaning and essence of life, as for the famous cavalry lieutenant, Chichikov’s neighbor at the hotel in the city of N. Pomortsev was distinguished by the breadth of his scientific interests and for his long life was able to manifest himself in a variety of areas.
His designs of military rangefinders and aeronautical instruments, research in the field of glider aerodynamics, rocket science, attempts to build an aircraft with variable wing geometry, a parachute of an original design - everything he did and proposed carried an element of innovation.
In the course of, unfortunately, unsuccessful attempts to obtain synthetic rubber in 1904, Pomortsev received a waterproof tarpaulin, and soon, using an emulsion from a mixture of egg yolk, rosin and paraffin, he obtained a material impervious to water, but permeable to air - a combination of properties characteristic of natural skin and determining its hygienic qualities. Pomortsev called this material “tarpaulin”.
Where did this word come from?
A common version says that this is an acronym for the words “Kirov factories” - allegedly, during the Great Patriotic War, it was there, in Kirov, former Vyatka, that mass production of both the tarpaulin itself and tarpaulin boots was established.
This version is incorrect, as is the one according to which the name of the fabric came from the surname of the English Prime Minister, Lord Curzon. Pomortsev experimented with the English multi-layer fabric "Kersey", named after a small town in Suffolk.
He replaced one letter in the word, clearly based on a word from Olonets dialects given in Dahl’s dictionary. In the lands adjacent to Lake Onega, kirza was the name given to the upper, dense layer of earth, through which, due to mosses and organic remains, water could hardly seep through.
Pomortsev’s “Kirza” was presented at international exhibitions, awarded with prizes and medals; for the development of methods for producing leather substitutes, Pomortsev was awarded a Small Silver Medal at the All-Russian Hygienic Exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1913.
After the outbreak of the First World War, Pomortsev offered tarpaulin free of charge for the manufacture of the tops of soldiers' boots, but the contractors who supplied boots to the army saw in the tarpaulin a serious threat to their profits, in every possible way prevented the formation of an order for the tarpaulin, and after the death of Mikhail Mikhailovich In 1916, his brainchild was practically forgotten.
We reached Berlin
It is customary to talk about the continuity of history. It's probably empty. History is not a frozen block of facts and events, but a tangible, concrete thing. The tarpaulin that is known to us now - not only to those who wore tarpaulin boots on duty, but also to millions and millions of compatriots - is not at all the tarpaulin that the outstanding Russian scientist Mikhail Pomortsev received.
Kirza experienced a rebirth, and this happened thanks to Boris Byzov and Sergei Lebedev. These outstanding Russian scientists worked together on the problem of producing synthetic rubber since 1913.
Having achieved outstanding results, both of them, by a strange coincidence, died within a month and a half of each other. Soon after the first Soviet artificial rubber factories went into operation in 1934.
The production of Soviet tarpaulin was headed by Ivan Vasilyevich Plotnikov, a chemist and inventor, a peasant son, who was at one time persecuted as an alleged descendant of kulaks. Plotnikov began supplying his tarpaulin during the Soviet-Finnish war, but it burst in the cold. According to the recollections of Plotnikov’s daughter, they were going to accuse him of sabotage.
The chairman of the government commission asked about the reasons why his tarpaulin “doesn’t breathe,” and Plotnikov replied: “The bull and the cow have not yet shared their secrets with us.” Contrary to expectations, Plotnikov was allowed to continue his work, and in 1942 he received the Stalin Prize for high-quality tarpaulin.
True, by this time the problem with footwear for the army was so serious that army boots began to be received under Lend-Lease. In total, 15.5 million pairs of army boots were supplied to the USSR, but soldiers tried to get boots at the first opportunity - in off-road conditions and trench life, only they provided at least minimal comfort.
In addition, we must take into account the fact that socks were required for boots, and foot wraps for boots, the ideal “underwear” for this type of footwear. Therefore, despite the fact that boots played a significant role in the Victory, tarpaulin boots were still “ours”. So much so that front-line correspondents-photographers had a clear instruction - when photographing soldiers, avoid putting those wearing boots in the frame.
The tarpaulin boot became business card Soviet army. Kirzachs were durable, comfortable, retained heat well, and did not allow moisture to pass through.
Total in the USSR, and later - in Russian Federation, almost 150 million pairs of tarpaulin boots were produced.
Millions of boots are still stored in warehouses, although Russian military personnel have long been converted to so-called ankle boots. However, some types of army boots are still made using “tarpaulin”. Apparently, we can’t escape it. So many things are connected both with the “tarpaulin” itself and with the “kirzachs”. In Russia it is more than fabric, and “kirzachi” is more than shoes.
Not chrome, not leather, but not bast shoes either. Tarpaulin boots walked half of Europe during the Great Patriotic War, but even decades later, these now historical shoes are not written off in museum archives. The history of tarpaulin boots was studied by Natalya Letnikova.
Peter Zhigimont. Soldier's song
1. The Vikings used oiled fabric for their ships; the Aztec Indians sewed capes and shoes from it; invention of the 19th century - raincoats made of fabric impregnated with rubber, mackintoshes. They also looked closely at the technology in Russia - in attempts to replace expensive leather: three million rubles were spent annually from the treasury on boots alone.
2. Tarpaulin fabric soaked in a mixture of paraffin, rosin and egg yolk. Invention of 1904 by Mikhail Pomortsev. The material looked like leather, it did not allow water to pass through and “breathed.” The novelty saw its baptism of fire during the Russo-Japanese War: it was used to make bags and covers for artillery. And Pomortsev was awarded a gold medal at an exhibition in Milan.
3. After 30 years, Soviet scientists Boris Byzov and Sergei Lebedev obtained cheap artificial rubber, impregnation with which also made the fabric look like genuine leather. Ivan Plotnikov established the production of shoes on an industrial scale. Just before the war, when it was urgently necessary to put on shoes for the army - at least in bast shoes. This is where chemists helped.
Marat Samsonov. Soldiers of Stalingrad
4. The name “tarpaulin” is associated with the manufacturer - Cyrus ovsky behind water; then with the name of the Kersey fabric, from which the material was initially made; then with an English village where there were sheep, from whose wool they made fabric. But for almost a century now there has been one association - with soldier’s boots.
5. The history of the creation of shoes for the military is kept in the documentary collections of the Polytechnic Museum. One of the nine developers of tarpaulin, chemist Alexander Khomutov, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War donated his memoirs, photographs and a document on awarding the Stalin Prize to the museum.
6. High state award for the development of the material. In 1942, along with the designers of the legendary Katyusha, Il and Yak aircraft, chemist scientists and the creators of tarpaulin boots received the Stalin Prize of 100 thousand rubles. The Soviet Union became the world's largest producer of tarpaulin. 85% of all production is for the needs of the army.
Leonid Golovanov. “Let's get to Berlin!”
7. “Let’s get to Berlin!” In 1944, Soviet artist Leonid Golovanov painted one of the most famous wartime posters. A smiling soldier adjusts his tarpaulin boot. The artist depicted the sniper Vasily Golosov, who was responsible for more than 400 Nazis. The fighter himself fell in battle, but the poster retained the image of a war hero in the post-war years.
8. “Durable and easy to use.” The peaceful history of tarpaulin boots goes back decades. About 150 million pairs came off the assembly line to put on construction workers, grain farmers and... the most daring fashionistas. Thus, Vyacheslav Zaitsev drew attention to tarpaulin boots. The couturier painted rough soldier shoes orange in one of his first collections.
9. Tarpaulin boots in the 21st century are becoming part of museum exhibitions. In one of the oldest museums in Russia - the Tula Museum of Weapons - there is an entire collection dedicated to the history of soldier's shoes. In the Kimry Museum of Local Lore, tarpaulin boots are side by side with a film relic - boots specially sewn in 1961 for the filming of the film "War and Peace".
10. Soldier's boots in bronze. The monument by sculptor Dmitry Baykov was installed in the military town of Zvezdny Perm region. The 40-kilogram tarpaulins unite generations of artillerymen who served in these places and residents of the village, most of whom also took steps on the parade ground, as usual, in tarpaulin boots.
