Podvorotnichok
Podvorotnichok (Russian: Подворотничок, lit. Undercollar) is a narrow piece of white fabric sewed onto the flip side of the collar of the kittel in the Russian Armed Forces as well as in some of the former Soviet republics' militaries. Podvorotnichok is used in order to prevent a collar from quick drabbling and to protect soldier's neck from rubbing. Undercollars are only used with field uniforms.
Sewing on an undercollar is somewhat of an old tradition in Russian military. Usually, it takes no less than an hour to do it for the first time and most often it's done in a wrong way. After some time an experienced soldier is able to sew his undercollar on within 2 or 3 minutes.
Undercollars are changed daily. As usual, this procedure takes place in the evening before taps. Before sewing on, an undercollar and a collar itself should be ironed. A 70–100 cm long white thread is used for sewing. The stitches should not be seen from the outer side of the collar. A correctly sewed undercollar visibly overhangs a collar for 1-1.5 millimeters (match head thickness).
Senior conscripts might sometimes pile an undercollar up 2, 4, 6 or even 8 times. Right before discharge from the army they often use black threads. There are traditional weaves for conscripts with different length of service: usually, senior conscript's weave is more complex and snazzy, while junior conscript's one is simple.
Undercollars are being checked every day during a morning inspection. In case if a soldier's undercollar is not snow-white or sewed on incorrectly, he'll receive penalty and will have to re-sew it on.
Sources
- Soviet Uniforms and Militaria 1917-1991 by Laszlo Bekesi
- Inside the Soviet Army Today. Osprey Elite Military History Series No. 12 by Stephen J Zaloga