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Thepapakha (Adyghe:паӀо,romanized: pa'o;Russian:папа́ха,romanized: papakha,IPA:[pɐˈpaxə];Chechen:холхазан-куй,romanized: holhazan-kuy;Georgian:ფაფახი, papakhi,[pʰapʰaχi];Armenian:փափախ,romanized: p‘ap‘akh,Armenian pronunciation:[pʰɑˈpʰɑχ];Azerbaijani:papaq, پاپاق,lit. 'Hat'; ) is a wool hat worn by men throughout theCaucasus and also in uniformed regiments in the region and beyond. The wordpapakha is ofTurkic origin (papakh).[1][2][3]
The wordpapak is also a component of the ethnonym of a Turkic group of uncertain relation: the "Karapapak" (literally "black papakh" in theAzerbaijani language).
There are two differentCaucasian papakhas. One, called apapaha, is a high fur hat, usually made ofkarakul sheepskin. The hat has the general appearance of a cylinder with one open end and is set upon the head in such a way as to have the brim touch the temples. Some examples have ear-flaps which can be folded up when not in use. The other style is called akubanka, and is similar to the papaha, but shorter and without ear-flaps.
Papaqs are very important to mountainous peoples' of the Caucasus, where a man's hat is considered a very important part of his identity. Papakhi are donned by theCircassians,Chechens,Dagestanis, and other Caucasian tribes. Papakhas are also donned in Georgia mostly worn in mountainous regions ofPshavi,Khevi,Mtiuleti, andTusheti. In 1855, after the campaigns in theCaucasus Mountains, the Papakha was introduced in theRussian army as an official part of the uniform for theCossacks, and later for the rest of the cavalry. Papaq is also very common inAzerbaijan,[4]Armenia,Turkmenistan,Uzbekistan, as well as among theUyghurs.
Shortly after theRussian Revolution of 1917, papakhas were removed from the newRed Army uniform because of their association with the oldTsarist regime and the fact that many Cossack regiments of the Tsarist army fought against theBolsheviks. During theRussian Civil War, many Bolshevik cavalrymen and officers (likeVasily Chapayev) wore papakhas or kubankas because many of them were Cossacks and the hat had been part of the cavalryman's uniform.
Papakhas became part of the uniform again in 1935, but in 1941, were reserved exclusively for full colonels, generals and marshals, thus becoming a symbol of status and high rank. Much later, duringAndrei Grechko's tenure as a Defence Minister, the Navy followed suit, introducing their own distinct version resembling a smallish "kubanka" with a visor, which was nicknamed "шапка с ручкой" ("the hat with a handle") by the troops.
In 1994, they were once again removed from military use. Allegedly this was by request of the wearers, who found the hat inefficient. (As the papakha is a relatively short hat that does not protect the ears well, it might be well suited to the mild climate of the Caucasus, but not to lower temperatures elsewhere. The act of removing the papakhas was seen in some quarters as an attempt by theBoris Yeltsin regime to abandon earlier Soviet traditions and symbolically demonstrate the country's commitment to a new political course. In 2005 however, papakhas were reinstated.[citation needed] Papakhas have also been used by the Russian backedLuhansk People's Militia in both theWar in Donbas[5]
The Papakha's heritage comes from Central Asia and the Caucasus and is worn across the entire region, including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, and North Caucasus, as well as Russia and Ukraine, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan (calledtelpek) and also Persia.[6][7]
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