Combat Equipment of the Russian Infantryman: from Chain Mail to the "Warrior"

Relevance. The study of military affairs and combat equipment can be considered in direct dependence on the state and development of the social, political, economic and technological spheres of life of Russian society in a particular historical period of time. The combat equipment of an individual warrior makes it possible to judge the capabilities of industry and various crafts, the peculiarities of its manufacture, the development of trade relations, and the susceptibility to technological innovations, both their own and others'. The combat use of equipment during direct clashes exacerbates the competitive struggle of the warring parties and opens up new opportunities for its improvement. Therefore, the appeal to the historical experience of the evolution of the combat equipment of the Russian infantryman seems very fruitful, since the researcher is presented with exciting illustrations of battlefields, heroism and exploits of specific people, our victories and failures, the competitive struggle of technologies.

The purpose – o conduct an excursion into the history of the combat equipment of the Russian infantry and outline ways to improve it in the future.

Objectives: to reveal the historical evolution, logic and patterns of improving the combat equipment of the Russian infantry; to present modern developments of the combat equipment of the Russian army, defining its prospects.

Methodology. The general scientific methodology using the method of periodization, systematic and retrospective methods allowed us to recreate from the standpoint of modern knowledge the evolution of the combat equipment of the Russian infantry in the unity of historical events and phenomena of the past.

Results. The historiography of the combat equipment of the Russian infantry confirms the validity of the arguments of the scientific community that it is based on age-old traditions and the cultural matrix of the people, permeating all spheres of activity of the military organization of society. The main characteristics of the modern warrior's combat equipment are: reliability, functionality, versatility, lightness and low cost.

Conclusions. The combat equipment of the Russian infantryman has passed a complex evolutionary path and acts as part of the material culture, which has its own national features.

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