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Russian boys skirted garments -- tunics 20th century chronology
Russian Tunics: Chronology--20th Century
Figure 1.--The Russian tunic, often called a blouse in the West, rapidly disaapeared in the Soviet Union after the Revolution (1917). This is interesting because the Russian Revolution was ideologically a workers/peasant revolution. You would think that peasant fashions would become popular, but this did not occur. This boy we think in the 1990s wears a tunic as some sort of school costume. The decoration of these tunics varied regionally. A Russian reader tells us that this one looks southern Russian or Ukranian. We are not sure what region is represented here.
We see Russian boys wearing tunic garments through the early-20th century. We believe they were still very commonly worn by peasant children and estate workers throughout rural Russia. Is at this time that the term Russian blouse appears in the West. We see German boys wearing them and they were a major style in America. It is no clear to us why Russian fashions suddenly became popular in America. It was a style for fashionable city boys. We also see Russian boys from affluent families wearing these tunics, but it seems more like a nostalgic style than a major fashion style as in the West. I think the idea was to dress up like the country people who were seen as the soul of the country by many nationalists. The same dynmic was at play with cossock outfits. Our Russian archive is limited, but we do not see these tunic outfits after World War I during the Soviet era, at least in the cities. This is interesting because the Russian Revolution was ideologically a workers/peasant revolution. You would think that peasant fashions would become popular, but this did not occur. The tunics appeared to have declined in the country-side, but did not immediately disappear. After World War II, you no longer see these tunics in Russia, except at festivals, folk dancing, and school dress up occassions.
The 1900s
We see Russian boys wearing tunic garments through the early-20th century. We believe they were still very commonly worn by peasant children and estate workers throughout rural Russia. Is at this time that the term Russian blouse appears in the West. We see German boys wearing them and they were a major style in America. It is no clear to us why Russian fashions suddenly became popular in America. It was a style for fashionable city boys. We also see Russian boys from affluent families wearing these tunics, but it seems more like a nostalgic style than a major fashion style as in the West. I think the idea was to dress up like the country people who were seen as the soul of the country by many nationalists. The same dynmic was at play with cossock outfits.
Our Russian archive is limited and we do not hasve a lot of information on the 1920s. Of course with the rise of Communism, vurtually everything changed. Weare not even sure about wht happened go photographic studios. Some may have become state-owned, bu some may have remained in orivate hands as a reesult of Lenin's New Economic Policy. The economy declined. Many people could not hsve afforded studio portaits and even fewer people had cameras and could afford to take family snapshots. As a result we have found few photigraphs from the 11920s in comparison to other European countries, inmcluding much smller countries. And we we do not see these tunic outfits nearly as commonly after World War I during the Soviet era, at least in the citiesewhere mosdt portraits ewere taken. This is interesting because the Russian Revolution was ideologically done in the mane of the country' workers and peasantsn. You would think that peasant fashions would become popular embleamatic of the Revolution. Worker fashions did, but not peasant fashion. Marx was primasrily ciomcerned with workers. In fact, Marx and even Lenin believerd that the Revolution would break out in industrial nations, not backward agricultural Russia. But it did come in Russia. And from the beginning, the more politically orinted workers (proleterit) had a privlidged status. In fact Stalin would noy only finance the industrialization of the Soviet Union on the backs of the peasantry, but he would seize their land and murder about 5 million peasants (including the best farmers in the Soviet Union (Kulaks) in the process. So it is understandable that
the tunic was not as we might say today not politically correct. So these tunics appeared to have been discouraged. At least the tunic as a Rissdian garmrent clearly dclined in the country-side, but did not immediately disappear. We see a few examples in the photographic record. They were not very common, but they do exist. As far as we can tell, the tunic continued to be a boy's garment.
The 1950s
After World War II, you no longer see these tunics in Russia, except at festivals, folk dancing, and school dress up occassions.
