Lamps are what? History of Appearance and Purpose

Lamps are insertions from strips of fabric on the side seams of uniform trousers of officers, generals and marshals, and also representatives of the Cossack army, and differing in color from the basic tone.

The first lamps

The history of the appearance of lamphas starts from ancient times (VIII century BC). It is believed that then the Scythian wars began to use leather bands that cover the side seams on the pants, as a distinctive sign.

The Scythian society had a clear division according to the genus of life: from cattlemen and artisans to soldiers-swordsmen and "royal" Scythians. The latter wore leather trousers, often decorated with gold ornaments, on their pants. It was a sign of belonging to a high class.

Lamps for Cossacks

The tradition of the Scythians to wear a lamp, according to one of the historical versions, was adopted by the Cossacks. But in the Cossack circles there is another version-a legend in this respect, according to which the lamp-posts on the Cossacks' pants appeared like this:

One day the Cossack messengers, returning from Moscow after the negotiations, brought the salaries given to them by the emperor, paid with money, bread and cloth, with a special indication of the cloth ordering the scarlet karmazin to give the best atamans, and everyone else a blue kitdyak. However, the Cossacks refused to comply with this instruction, believing that among them there are no better or worse - they are all equal. Therefore, it was decided to divide the entire fabric equally. There were more blue fabrics, so each Cossack was cut off in a large piece, which was enough for chekmeni and trousers, and scarlet was scarce, but it was still divided into equal parts. Each got on a narrow strip, which was sewn on the side seams of pants.

Pants with stripes in Cossacks became not only a distinctive feature that speaks of belonging to the Cossacks, but also a kind of symbol of the national identity, independence and liberty. And by the color of the lanterns it was possible to determine approximately which army the Cossack belongs to.

Amur, Astrakhan, Trans-Baikal and Ussuri Cossacks wore pants with yellow stripes. In the Don and Yenisei Cossacks, the color of the lanterns was red. In the Kuban and Urals - crimson. The Cossacks of Orenburzhye wore light-colored light-blue colors. Siberian Cossacks flaunted in pants with scarlet scarves. From the Terek Cossacks, the lamp posts replaced the light blue edging.

The more precise belonging to this or that army was determined by the color of the uniform, the shoulder straps and the color of the cap of the cap.

The appearance of the lamp in the Russian army

For the first time, the lamps decorated the outfit of the Russian army in 1783 during the reform conducted by Field Marshal GA Potemkin, who determined that the lamp-posts are an additional attribute for uniforms, which makes it possible to establish the military's belonging to a command post in peacetime. For the duration of the war, the lamps were abolished, as they unmasked the commander on the battlefield.

However, Paul I, who took the royal throne in 1796, decided to again carry out reforms in the Russian army, and first of all they touched the command staff. The existing image of the officer's life, which was quite free during the reign of Catherine II (the officers spent most of their time in public events), changed radically under Paul I. The new military regulations he adopted forced the officers to take up their direct duties. Changes have affected and uniforms. In particular, the emperor decided that the lamps are "not modern", like the whole form adopted after the Potemkin reforms, while disguising the entire Russian army in outfits in the likeness of the army of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, while making officers wear powdered wigs.

In 1803, Alexander I, who took his seat on the throne instead of the one killed during the palace coup of Paul I, returned the lamps to the army. At first, changes touched uniforms of lancers, and later on other troops.

Lamps in the Red and Soviet Army

In the workers 'and peasants' military unit, trousers with stripes were introduced for higher officers, beginning with the general. Initially, the color of the lanterns depended on the kind of troops:

• Red wore army generals of all arms.
• Blue is aviation generals.
• Crimson - generals of communication troops, technical and quartermaster service, engineer troops.

After some time, the crimson lamps decorated the uniform of the generals of the legal service and doctors. But soon the colors were discarded.

Since 1943 for generals of the NKVD have introduced cornflower blue cornflowers. For the internal troops it is a maroon, and for the border guards it is green.

But in the year of the Great Victory (1945), the different colors of the lamp were replaced by a single one - red.

For the generals of the modern army nothing has changed. Red double lanterns (photo below) still remained their "visiting card".

The growing military generation of the Suvorovites and Cadets has been taught from the childhood to the lamas. On uniform trousers they are presented in the form of a single strip of blue or red flowers.