What Happened To The Pointy Communist Hat?
What Happened To The Pointy Communist Hat?
The rise and fall of the Red Army's "budyonovka" cap.
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It was once the spiky icon of Russia's communist militants...
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...but just a few years after being adopted by the Red Army, the budyonovka hat (named after Bolshevik military commander Semyon Budyonny) disappeared from use.
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A motley lineup of hat- and helmet-wearing communists at a rally in 1920. Although there is debate over its origins, most Russian historians today agree that the cone-like cap was initially produced for the tsar's army.
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The hat was designed by artist Viktor Vasnetsov (shown in this 1873 self-portrait) near the end of Russia's tsarist era. The floppy felt cap was made to be worn -- possibly only in parades -- by the Russian soldiers of World War I.