Russia's too thin 'designer' uniform leads to pneumonia and flu

Telegraph ^ | 12/16/10 | Andrew Osborn

[TigerLikesRooster]

Russia's too thin 'designer' uniform leads to pneumonia and flu

The Russian army's expensive new "designer" uniform has been criticised for being too thin after hundreds of young conscripts in Siberia kitted out in it fell ill with pneumonia and flu.

By Andrew Osborn, Moscow 6:00AM GMT 16 Dec 2010

Parents of the sick conscripts blamed the army's new uniform which was created, amid much fanfare, by the flamboyant Moscow fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin.

Mr Yudashkin, who is famous in Russia for dressing Kremlin wives, won a multi-million pound tender to give the Red Army's successor a fashion makeover in 2007 after soldiers complained that their old uniforms made them look like they were serving in a poor developing country's army.

But parents said that the uniforms, which were debuted at a grand Red Square military parade in 2008, had put fashion before practicality.

"On the street they (our boys) literally felt naked," a relative of one of the soldiers told the government daily newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.

"They gave our lads army boots made from fake leather with cardboard inner soles, socks, and light clothing clearly not suitable for winter."

[Allegra]

Oh, baby!

[Lazamataz]

By the way, that's me modeling the new uniform.

Seriously.

[calex59]

While cold doesn't actually cause colds, flu ect(any idiot knows that especially an old idiot like me)the lower resistance does help bring on disease. Cold weather does make germs more inactive but it doesn't kill them and in fact makes it easier to spread them as they are carried from warm place to warm place without danger to themselves.

The fact that cold does make germs inactive is borne out by the low amount of colds caught in an artic environment.

[Hootowl99]

From what I could tell, those are pretty slick dress uniforms and not BDU or other utility type gear. I can't see any troops wearing these in any other situation other than formal, much less as winter or foul weather gear.

The folks blaming the uniforms for elevated pneumonia and such are probably full of BS. Heck, I doubt if conscripts are even issued this uniform on any general basis.

Opinion!

[paulycy]

[Chickensoup]

The fact that cold does make germs inactive is borne out by the low amount of colds caught in an artic environment.

Or is it that there just are not so many people in the Artic environments

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Zardoz!

[DesScorp]

Ironic they now have the same problems the Germans had in WWII: snazzy uniforms that couldn’t stand up to the Russian winter.

[dagogo redux]

Correlation does not equal causation, as this entire article may demonstrate.

[Yo-Yo]

Those last three pics are far superior to your first pic for two reasons:

1) The model in your first pic is more appropriate for a DADT thread, and

B) The uniform in your first pic was USMC, when the thread was about Russian uniforms.

You admirably and fully compensated for the first image with your last three postings.

My eyes thank you!

[catbertz]

I’d let her pat me down anytime. “Comrade, is that an ICBM in your pocket?” “No, I’m just happy to see you :)”

[klpt]

[Billthedrill]

In Soviet Russia uniform puts you on.

[Ditter]

I have heard it said that in winter we stay indoors, possibly in close quarters with sick people and that is the reason for more sickness in winter. But I know from personal experience that getting chilled will open you up to upper respiratory virus infections. I think the study is bunk.