naval infantry impression

"Our naval infantry is one of the most respected crowd in Armed Forces of Russian Federation. I would have to say even in Soviet times. Morskaya Pehota was always respected a lot. "Black Death" is what the chechens called our black berets during the Dudaev's regime.

When the Caspian regiment was taking his palace in 1995, most of the Chechens chose death instead of fighting our legendary Naval Infantry. There is evidence, some of which recorded on video, showes chechen mudj jumping off the buildings. They chose death instead of face to face combat with Black berets. The anchor emblem is what is the most important in their LIVES. Black beret and the anchor !!!

So remember when you do their impression is that you know about them. What they went through, what their fathers went through, what their grandfathers went through.......... "

The preceeding quote was taken directly from a private message from the Red Alliance boards from my freind, Mr Roman Stepanov. Romans dedicated research in the area of Russian and Soviet military history is quite impressive and his assistance and inspiration for this impression has been most helpful and appreciated. Thanks, man - hope I did a good job!

Since this impression was to be targeted for a very specific season, I opted to wait till most of the foliage was off the trees and it was cold enough to wear heavy clothes and this modern type of body armor.

Unfortunately, I don't know the specific designation yet for this heavy vest but it is one of seen on most fronts and certainly used by the Naval Infantry at this time.

Today's Menu:

VSR BDU - dark "mountain" colors
Body Armor - heavy type
AK74S - Modded Marui
Black Leather Gloves
Black Watch Cap
Black Insulated boots (non Russian)

This is most certainly NOT a definitive impression for Russian Naval Infantry. In fact, there are so many choices for gear and uniforms that I wasn't sure which items to use. After careful study of photos and my comms with Roman, I decided on this combination.

Not much I know about this wonderful vest. I can tell you at this time that it is made from a cotton/polyester blend (mostly cotton) and I had to modify it a bit. The bottom front portion was sewn up a bit to allow the use of padding to represent the plates. If left as is, I wouldn't be able to crouch down at all. The following photos show my own vest and a few are of actual soldiers wearing the same thing. Also, I added some pics of how I added the "plates" which are made from closed cell foam. I sacrificed a US GI style sleeping pad for this.

I chose this old style VSR pattern BDU in "desert/mountain" colors. I love the coloration of this variant and I am particularly fond of the subdued look given from the extra dark mustard yellow base and the raspberry brown shapes. This is indeed a very well made uniform and my only complaint is that I had to sew each button with nylon thread as all the buttons were about to fall off. This is not uncommon with Russian made uniforms.

Anyway, the cut is the old style 6 pocket type. The pants have cargo pockets on the sides and that wonderful seam that runs up the center of the pants legs. Reinforcements on the seat and elbows are standard for this style and the drawstring in the jacket and pleated back make for a sharp look.

Love it!

A few views of the basic look. The black watch cap is standard and very common in the field. This can be seen in photos from both combat and training. The vest holds 8 mags and I managed to get a US style 1 quart soft type canteen in the back pocket. The small grenade pouches on the lower back were used for small items.

Other possible uniforms for a Marine impression are the M21 style uniform in Flora, as well as LES camouflage. The latter being far more rare in occurance but by research suggests that is is indeed used. Also, the KLMK one piece and two piece uniforms are used as is the KZS burlap uniform as seen here on the left. (You'll also note the use of the RD-54 which makes these guys, at first glance, look like VDV). The Gorka BDU is also worn and is very common among almost every branch of the Russian armed forces. I have found that the VSR and Flora BDU are, without question, the most common for both combat and garrison wear. I still see the occasional M88 uniform in the old Soviet woodland pattern but this has become almost extinct. The Bushlat (Afghan era heavy winter uniform) is also worn in colder months and the flora and VSR heavy winter combinations are common as well. Old style Soviet wool gloves and newer black leather gloves of all types are generally worn and the black beret is undoubtedly the one thing that truly defines the Naval Infantry. This is mostly worn during excersizes and the black watch cap is favored for the field.

These photos show only a few of the uniforms favored by the Naval Infantry. Gorkas (hooded mountaineering uniforms) in many shades of khaki, flora BDU, and KLMK worn over winter combinations. I would also say that based on my observations, the wide range of rainsuits used by Russian Armed Forces are probably used by these guys as well.

As previously mentioned, the Russian Naval Infantry wear black berets and it is their symbol that defines them. I chose a Bancroft beret that I've had for years as I like it's trimmed down and sharp look. The Russian model is splendid as well but after seeing photos of Marines wearing the slimmer type like the one pictured, I opted for this instead. I added the Naval Infantry Red Star oval cockade in the center and used the double headed eagle offset to the side. I'm not sure if this unit has the "Guards" designation but if so, then the red flash would be appropriate.

This is the patch used for the right sleeve. No matter which patch(es) adorn the left sleeve, this one is always on the right. For an older, more Soviet impression, the placement of this patch is different and the whole uniform is different - at least when ALL BLACK uniform were worn. For the left sleeve, I chose the simple Naval patch without any specific fleet. The Naval Infantry breast patch goes above the right chest pocket and the blood group patch resides above the left. Again, the study of many photos confirms these locations.

Here are few more photos displaying the placement of patches. A detail I found very intriguing was that while looking for photos of Marines, I happened upon a few that showed Bushlat winter parkas with the anchor patch sewn onto the right sleeve. This is very uncommon in the Para regiments and the other branches, it's usually the Russian Federation patch that adorns the left sleeve.

Just about any Russian made AK variant is fine for this impression. I chose my AK74S which is still an in-progress modification from the Tokyo Marui AK47. The 74S is probably the most common but the AKM and AKMS, RPK-74, PKM, AKSU, and SVD would be perfectly acceptable. Also, additional weapons-mounted accessories like GP25 or GP30 grenade launchers are common. The use of supressors like the PBS-1 and PBS-5 has been witnessed in photos but these are rare items in any branch of the Russian military. Various grenades and rocket propelled grenades are used. I really have to get more free time to start scratchbuilding projekts!

The 2 photos below show how the sling of the AK74 can be adjusted so that it stays seated close to the side of the rifle. This practice is common as it forbids the sling to swing around. This prevents the sling to get caught on things like branches and such and also keeps the soldier safe: when on patrol, a swinging sling can be seen at a fair distance. Movement like that can comprimise a soldier - especially when he is trying to move slowly.

Since I started this page, I have gotten some intel regarding the vest. It's designation may be one of the "Kazak" series. I am not 100% positive on this so I guess more research is needed. The AK74S originally had realsteel furniture that was colored black. After reviewing soooo many photos I decided to paint the handguards and pistol grip with a plum color which closely matches this nice G&P mid cap magazine.

These are some of the photos I downloaded while researching this branch of the Russian military. The look of the Naval Infantry that I had in my mind turned out to be quite different once my eyes saw these photos. These photos are here simply as reference for anyone looking to do a Russian Marine impression and I did not get permission to use all of them. I am not looking to take credit for any of them - just trying to supply extra information through photos. If any of these pics belong to you, please contact me.

Good choices for load bearing equipment are: The 6Sh92 assault harness, V95 assault vest, RD-54 assault harness, any of the "M" series vests made by Splav, Kompakt vest, Grad-1 or Grad-2 vests, and of course, just about any armoured vest available.

I chose an area of my local airsoft AO that I felt was truly very safe. It was... relatively. It was a secluded part away from any firing and I could feel free to remove my goggles since it was also lunch and no weapons were being fired anyway. Once I got about half way to my objective, I realised that I was surrounded by thorns - THOUSANDS of thorn branches everywhere. I somehow managed to get myself and camera kit through it all but getting back was a bitch! Figured you'd enjoy a quick laugh at my expense. Ha!

Hope you found this one enjoyable... more Naval Infantry impressions to come!

camo - out.