* Russian Boys' Hair Styles








Russian Boys' Hair Styles


Figure 1.--This photograph is undated, but HBC would estimate was taken in the 1900s. Presumably the children are brothers and sisters, Note that even the girl's head is shaved. THe girl appears to be wearing a striped pinafore. Surely the child is a girl as her little brothers wear knee pants. At least one is a pre-school child.

HBC has little information on Russian hair styles. We note many Russian boys with shaved heads in the late 19th century. We know that Tsar Nicholas I who succeeded Alexander II and preceded Alexander III was enamored of all things Prussian, this may have been a factor. The shaved heads seem to have been even more common in Russia than Germany. This seems paruicularly common with school-age boys. It probably as in Germany and other European countries primarily a sanitary measure at school. I'm not sure to what extent this was a style popular with the parents or enforced by the schools. We also do not know what the children themselves thought of it. We notice that in the early 20th century before World War I, this sryle was especially prominent. many Russian boys even quite young boys had shaved heads. In this respect the Russians were similar to the Germans. Not all boys had shaved headsm but it was certainly very common. HBC at this time is unsure as to why shaved heads were such a popular style. We thouht at first it may have been a school rule, but we have noted images of even young pre-school children with shaved heads. One image even seems to show a girl with a shaved head, but this was not common. Sanitation was one reason that children's hair was sometimes shaved. With the Russians, however, ot seems to be more a style than a sanitation measure. We notice many cabinent photos of prosperous families where the children's hair is shaved, including very young pre-school children. After World War I and the Russian Revolution, these shaved ahir styles did not disappear, but became gradually less common. We rarely see images of Young Pioneers, for example, with shaved heads. School age boys, however, did generally have short hair. This continued through the 1960s. The Soviet Union was affected by Western fashions long before Western politcal and economic thought was successful. First it was jeans in the 1960s. Next long hair styles became popular in the 1970s. I have few details, but assume that Soviet school adkinistrators had the same difficulty over hair length that administrators in America had in the 1960s and 70s. The boys apparently won the contest od wills and longer hair styles were actually being shown in Soviet movies by 1979--presumably meaning that longer hair was being accepted in the schools. Soviet boys even in the 1970s, however, rarely wore shoulder-length hair. We have few details, but do not beliece that this was tolerated by Soviet school authorities.

Chronology

HBC has little information on Russian hair styles. We note many Russian boys with shaved heads in the late 19th century. We know that Tsar Nicholas I who succeeded Alexander II and preceded Alexander III was enamored of all things Prussian, this may have been a factor. The shaved heads seem to have been even more common in Russia than Germany. This seems paruicularly common with school-age boys. Shaved or close-cropped heads in Russia, was probably as in Germany and other European countries. primarily a sanitary measure at school. After World War I and the Revolution, shaved heads became less common. After World War I and the Russian Revolution, these shaved hair styles did not disappear, but became gradually less common. We rarely see images of Young Pioneers, for example, with shaved heads. School age boys, however, did generally have short hair. While shaved heads becme lss common, short hair was almost universal except for younger boys through the 1960s. I am not sure to what extent these were parental values or enforced at at school. This continued through the 1960s. The Soviet Union was affected by Western fashions long before Western politcal and economic thought was successful. First it was jeans in the 1960s. Next long hair styles became popular in the 1970s. I have few details, but assume that Soviet school administrators had the same difficulty over hair length that administrators in America had in the 1960s and 70s. The boys apparently won the contest od wills and longer hair styles were actually being shown in Soviet movies by 1979--presumably meaning that longer hair was being accepted in the schools. Soviet boys even in the 1970s, however, rarely wore shoulder-length hair. We have few detaild but do not beliece that this was tolerated by school authorities.

Styles

We have noted Russian boys wearing a range of hair styles. We have noted many boys with cropped hair in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some was extremrly cloes cropped hair. This seems to have still been comonly after the Revolution, but after World war II became much less common. We note many other styles suchbas bangs. Some younger boys from well to do families had long hair.

Gender

The general pattern in Europr and other countries is for biys to have short haior stylrs anf girls longer styles. There have been many exceptions over time and periods on which various styles persisted. And Russia has the further pattern of two distinct groups. First the urban oopulation was influenced by Eurioean styles. Rge aristicracy in particy=ular was influences bt French styles and actually commonly spoke French. The great bulk of the population lived in rural mreas--the peastanttry. Mich of the peasantry were serfs and even after Tsar Alexander II emancipated the serfs (1861), their life style and dtss cghanged relativel slowy. Biys's hair styles in Western Europe varied from country to country. For ther most part boys in Western Europe has enough hair to comb, In Rweasrern Eurioe inckusing Russia, it was nore common to crop their hair. Younger boys in Western Europe might have longer haoir than the ilder boys. In some vcases theu even eore style more common for girls like ringlet curls. This was mich less common in Eastern Europem grom Germany eastvto Russia. This was much less common for girks, but we do see some girls with cropped hair. We are not sure if this was an actual style ir a sanitatioin measure id lice were oresent.






HBC






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Last updated: February 7, 1998
Created: 10:16 PM 3/18/2020