Kirz boots are very popular among our compatriots. It doesn't matter how many years ago they were invented. Many people still believe that these are comfortable and practical shoes for all occasions. It remains only to understand where this versatile product came from.
The creator of the legendary tarpaulin boots is Ivan Plotnikov. He deservedly received the Stalin Prize for his invention. And the most interesting thing is that after decades, when the USSR no longer existed, we did not forget about the existence of this type of footwear. Moreover, today it is no less popular and in demand than in the last century.
Before the First World War, when the question was what to choose for the soldiers - boots or boots, it was the latter who won the victory, respectively, and stopped at them. Despite the fact that the servicemen used to wear low boots, they still wrapped their legs regularly. It is much easier, more comfortable and more practical to put your feet in windings into taller boots. So footcloths do not unwind when it is completely unnecessary (although this moment is never desirable at all). It also happened that there was not enough material for the windings in a number of parts, and then all the means that were at hand were used.
For comparison: the British army spent all of the war in windings, while Russian soldiers had the opportunity to feel more comfortable thanks to high-toed leather boots.
1. The history of the emergence of tarpaulin boots and their names
Many people even now believe that they are called "kirzachi" solely because of the name of the manufacturer - Kirovsky Zavod, where they were produced in huge batches. But this opinion is wrong. The sonorous and memorable name came from the English fabric of coarse wool Kersey, which became the basis for the kersey, which is well known to us.
And if everything is more or less simple with this question, then the authorship of this product is shrouded in speculation and contradictions, and the personality of the discoverer causes a lot of controversy. Basically everyone thinks that this invention belongs to Mikhail Pomortsev. He was able to bypass a lot of serious obstacles and overcome a huge number of difficulties. The result was a material similar in appearance and properties to natural leather, and patented in the fourth year of the last century. The material was tarp, but the fabric was unusual. It was impregnated with various substances, which included paraffin, rosin and, oddly enough, the yolk of eggs. Most interestingly, this material was almost analogous to a natural material - leather. The genius was that she did not get wet under the influence of moisture and, moreover, did not "choke".
This practical and versatile fabric was first used during the Russo-Japanese War. They used it for a variety of purposes, but not to create shoes that protect the feet of the military. Before that it was still far away. But many of the necessary items were sewn from it, for example, ammunition for horses or special bags in which ammunition was stored and not only.
Both in the literal sense and in the figurative sense, Pomortsev's invention during the front-line deserved gratitude and praise. But that's not all - the material got to several important exhibitions, where it received flattering reviews from expert experts. The author received an offer to make a limited batch of boots. The need for them was enormous, but the time had not yet come for mass production. The business was then curated by tanners, who slowed down the whole process. You can understand them, they were afraid that they would lose their jobs and, accordingly, their income. In the sixteenth year of the last century, Pomortsev died and at the same time the production of unique tarpaulin boots was suspended. They will remember the universal material two decades later.
Two scientists from the Soviet Union, Sergei Lebedev and Boris Byzov, took up production only in 1934.
They invented another way to create rubber, moreover, it was more economical than the previous one. They impregnated the material with the resulting substance, which, as a result, resembled natural leather in quality and properties. After some time, Plotnikov, a Soviet chemist, joined the work. It was he who began to be considered the discoverer and eventually became the owner of the Stalin Prize.
The first test, one might say - baptism, kirzach received in the Soviet-Finnish war. At that time, they did not become a panacea for all problems. The material hardened in severe frost, cracked, and after some time broke. When the chemist was asked the appropriate question, he replied that cows and bulls are not in a hurry to share their own "selfish" secrets. For that time, this was a rather daring statement. However, the scientist was not punished for his answer. Moreover, he was instructed to improve the material for the manufacture of boots. Since the war gave its "results" in relation to Soviet developments, in the USSR, footwear was in great shortage. Under the personal supervision of Kosygin, Plotnikov coped with the task with a bang.
As a result, Plotnikov shod ten million Soviet citizens in kirzach, for which he received the Stalin Prize on April 10, 1942.
2. Everyone's envy
During its existence, boots made of tarpaulin received many praises and immense popularity, which was especially pronounced during the war years. They served faithfully in the most extreme conditions, withstood any weather conditions, long hikes and off-road conditions. And it was not for nothing that Soviet boots were considered the best, especially when compared with the shoes of the forties of American soldiers. They excelled foreign footwear in all respects.
General Bradley, in his notes, indicated that twelve thousand trained soldiers left the American army in one month, many of whom could no longer return to service. The reason for this was the constant cold and dampness, which caused rheumatism. He noticed that the disease spread much faster than the plague in the old days. The disease reached its peak in winter, in January. The problem was that the American army was not prepared for severe frosts and high dampness. Well, when the soldiers began to receive instruction on foot care, it was already too late. The US military did not have footcloths or high-toed boots, which caused a lot of problems at the front, given bad weather conditions. Unfortunately, the Americans did not have such unique scientists as ours.
3. Briefly about footcloths
If you think carefully, ordinary footcloths played no less important role than kerzachi in soldier's life. The fact is that the traditional socks, to which we are all so accustomed, cannot be combined with tarpaulin boots. They just become dust and this will be confirmed by those people who have had time to experiment. Well, if you wear socks in boots for a long time, then you can ditch your legs - bloody calluses will not allow you to live in peace.
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Since footcloths were sometimes in short supply, the Russians came up with a universal way to wear them. When they got wet, they were unwound and replaced with the other side, that is, the part that was wound on the bootleg moved down. Our people have come up with other interesting, and most importantly, useful ways to wind foot wraps. A person could wind up a few of these "rags" or insert a newspaper inside. So the warmth in the winter remained longer.
Canvas boots have earned nationwide love and recognition. For all the time to this day, more than one hundred and fifty million copies of pairs of boots have been produced from this amazing material. And when it comes to changing the shoes of our army into ankle boots, the soldiers defiantly use the old, but so practical in the conditions of soldier's everyday life, shoes - kirzachi. The old-fashioned demobilization is done so-called "screws". This is when the tops of the boots are folded in the form of an "accordion".
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Kirz boots have come a long way and definitely played an important role during the Great Patriotic War, providing irreplaceable assistance in the fact that it was our army that won. Continuing the theme of the Second World War, read why did Soviet tanks need wings on the sides.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/250420/54267/