The novel of the writer Alexander Dumas “The Three Musketeers” begins with the scene of the arrival of a young Gascon named D'Artagnan in Paris, who decided to become a soldier of the king. On the head of the provincial, who lived in the middle of the seventeenth century, he flaunted, causing the laughter of others, a huge black beret. In the twentieth century, such berets became part of the uniform for military personnel, which is no longer recommended to joke. This is especially true for blue or blue berets.
Mark of distinction
Over time, multi-colored military berets became not just a replacement for caps and caps, but also an indicator of some elitism of their owners. After all, the marines and airborne soldiers who wore them, as well as various special forces, were considered the elite and even the most respected caste in the army.
Until recently, Russia was no different, where only eligible and specially trained military personnel had the right to a prestigious take. Now the situation has changed a lot. Beret became a familiar headdress not only for paratroopers and marines, but also for representatives of other military branches, even for policemen (riot police) and rescuers. And to the blue and black colors were added raspberry, speckled, green, gray, cornflower blue, orange
.No blue!
The most prestigious in the Armed Forces of the USSR and Russia is blue, and not blue, as it is sometimes incorrectly called the paratrooper takes. That is, a soldier and an officer of the Airborne Forces (Airborne Forces). He was introduced into everyday life in 1968 by the then commander of the "winged infantry" General Vasily Margelov. And after the publication in July 1969 of the order of the Minister of Defense Andrei Grechko, such a beret became official for the paratroopers.
It is curious that military historians claim that initially the color of the airborne forces was crimson. As, in fact, among the paratroopers of many other countries of the world. But after the tragic participation of the Soviet troops in the suppression of the uprising in Czechoslovakia, Margelov proposed a sky color for parachute connections - blue.
By the way, the vests and berets of the GRU commandos (Main Intelligence Directorate), whose service functions are often similar to those assigned to the paratroopers, have the same color.
