 A man wears a blue-white sleevelesstelnyashka at the 2012Victory Day celebration inDonetsk. | |
| Type | Undershirt |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Russia |
Atelnyashka (Russian:тельняшка,pronounced[tʲɪlʲˈnʲaʂkə]) ortelnik (тельник) is a type ofundershirt worn withmilitary uniforms of theRussian Armed Forces. They traditionally feature blue and whitehorizontal stripes, and can come in varying thicknesses and may be sleeved or sleeveless. Other variations oftelnyashka with different colour schemes have been adopted based on aunit's affiliation.
Telnyashkas originated in theImperial Russian Navy and spread from theSoviet Navy to the otherbranches of the Soviet Armed Forces. They have become acultural icon of both Russia and the Soviet Union, especially their militaries, and are widely featured inpopular culture.
The uniforms of Russia's Naval, Airborne and Naval Infantry personnel do not include conventional collaredshirts. Open-frontedjackets of various designs make the distinctively striped telnyashka a conspicuous part of the clothing of branches of the Russian armed forces.
Telnyashkas are also available to civilian customers and may come in a variety of knittings. Single-stranded knitting is the standard military-issue variant, but double- and quadruple-stranded knitting for increased warmth can be produced. A quadruple-stranded telnyashka is thick enough to keep the wearer warm with nothing else on, even at 5 °C (41 °F), as it was originally developed to be worn by military divers under adry suit.
The Russian telnyashka originated in the distinctive stripedmarinière blouse worn by merchant sailors and fishermen ofBrittany,[1] who adopted this style to distinguish them from other sea-going nationalities. The fashion was later adopted and popularized by theFrench Navy and other navies of thepre-dreadnought era. Sailors of the modern French Navy still wear these garments in certain orders of dress.
TheImperial Russian Navy adopted the blue and white striped telnyashka blouse during the 19th century. The tradition of Russian or Soviet ground troops wearing a naval uniform comes fromSoviet Navy sailors who fought as shore units duringWorld War II. It is exemplified by the famed Soviet sniperVassili Zaitsev, apetty officer in theSoviet Pacific Fleet who volunteered for army duty, but refused to give up his telnyashka because of the pride it engendered.
Vasily Margelov, who was later to modernize theSoviet Airborne Forces (VDV), had previously served with aNaval Infantry unit in World War II, and procured telnyashkas for the VDV as a mark of their elite status.
Although the blue and white striped telnyashka is the best-known, other colors are in use.[2] The colored telnyashka stripes usually match the beret, except for the Marines, who have a blue striped shirt and black beret.
The RussianMinistry of Emergency Situations wears an orange and white striped telnyashka, introduced bySergei Shoigu when he was its Minister. The Ministry is mostly in charge of civil defence and firefighters and uses army-style ranks.[11]
The telnyashka is worn by a number of popular non-military characters ofcinema and children'scartoons, notably The Wolf inNu, pogodi and Matroskin the Cat inTroe iz Prostokvashino.[citation needed]
Telnyashkas serve as part of the "image" and the attire of the art groupMitki.[citation needed]
There is a popular saying: "We are few in number, but we are in telnyashkas!" (Russian:Нас мало, но мы в тельняшках!,romanized: Nas malo, no my v telnyashkakh!), alluding to the reputation of troops who wear the shirt as ferocious warriors.[12][13]
a long-sleeved version of the ubiquitoustelnyashka striped vest, a legacy of Major-General Vasily Filippovich Margelov's appointment as head of the VDV...Margelov had served in the Naval Infantry during the Great Patriotic War and brought thetelnyashka across from them to his new branch of the service as a sign of the VDV's elite status
Magelov indeed introduced thetelnyashka, the blue-and-white striped t-shirt that was to become the trademark of the VDV.
"The expression first appeared in the Great Patriotic War amongst sailors who, together with the infantry, took part in combat operations on land and were famous for their fearlessness and heroism. The expression means: we are few, but we are serious opponents for the enemy and it is not easy to defeat us.
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