For a person who just joined the topic of Soviet military history, its uniform and equipment, many things feel unusual. But nothing comes even close to the foot wraps. The "portyanki" was the only type of foot cover available in the Red and later Soviet Army for the whole history of its existence.
History of Soviet foot wraps - Portyanki
The history of this now unusual footwear goes back in centuries, if not in millennia's. They were used in slavic and Finnish tribes and others in the region, usually with bast shoes and portyanka being tied around the foot and then secured with a thread.
It is believed the Peter First has ordered for the Armed Forces to wear footwraps as part of the official equipment. Since then, Russian, Red, Soviet and then Russian Army again never let them go. Other Armies used them too, but by the XX century they became mostly obsolette. After the Second World War, East German Army (NVA) and Finnish Army used them for some time, before disbanding them in 1968 and 1990 respectfully.
Portyanki in Afghan War
Since this blog is mostly about Soviet-Afghan conflict, it is worth mentioning how portyanki were used there. After all, it is well known that Soviets were not particularly keen in following manuals and protocols there, especially when it comes down to clothing. Yet, portyanki were used there and on a large scale. This was still an issued item and jackboots were still used on the largest scale.
Pros and cons of Soviet foot wraps
Before listing the pros and cons it is important to remember the historical situation when portyanki were used. Red Army never really had any other footwear apart from jackboots. And these were some really roguh boots - made from thick leather or fake leather known as "kirza" (essentially, toughened, kind of rubberized cotton cloth, which imitated fake leather). Both types of boots are not comfortable to wear with socks - and I am telling this from experience.
Pros:
Longer service life, compared to socks
With thicker footwrap it is possible to comfortably wear oversized shoes
Easier to wash for the whole unit - no need to pair them for size
Because of the material, they can be washed in hottest water without shrinking
Dries quicker than socks, and when wet it can be rewrapped with the dry part (the one that goes up the leg)
Cons:
It takes time and practice to wrap them correctly. At least 30-40 wrappings before mastering
When badly wrapped, bruises are possible
Hard to wear them without the boots
Much bigger in size and volume, than socks , take more space
Takes longer to put shoes on - wrapping portyanky takes a good minute
Practical use today and personal experience
Interestingly, although hard to get used to at first, these foot wraps are really comfortable when you become familiar with them. I wore them for the first time for my very first Soviet-Afghan War reenactment, back in 2008, with officer's field jackboots. Thanks to my Dad, who did serve in the Soviet Army, they were wrapped correctly, so I suffered no injuries or callus. But since I was not sure if I could wrap them myself, I decided not to take shoes off during the event, and had them on for almost three days. Bere in mind that these were winter wraps, from warm and thick material. And it was an event in mid summer, so it was hot. Well, this was a good sign that I need to learn how to wrap them portyanky myself.
Since them I've been using them for most winter events, or those that required jackboots. Apart from that, I would wear them for fishing and hiking in winter, as they do much better job keepeng feet worm. Later in my reenactment "career" I shifter towards thick winter knitted socks, which worked almost as good but were more practical.
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