''French'' ( rus, френч) was the designation of a particular type of military jacket or tunic in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire, . commonly referred to as Imperial Russia, was a historical empire that extended across Eurasia and North America from 1721, succeeding the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad that ended the Great Northern War. ...

and later in the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a Federalism, federal socialist state in Northern Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. Nominally a Political union, union of multiple national Republics of t ...

(USSR). In the years immediately preceding the start of

World War I World War I, often abbreviated as WWI or WW1, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war A world war is "a war engaged in by all or most of the principal nations of the world". The term is usually reserved for ...

, several new models of khaki-grey uniform jackets were adopted in Russia for service wear by Imperial Army officers. In most cases these were related to (and influenced by) the latest creations in the armies of

France France (), officially the French Republic (french: link=no, République française), is a transcontinental country This is a list of countries located on more than one continent A continent is one of several large landmasses ...

France

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,Usage is mixed. The Guardian' and Telegraph' use Britain as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Some prefer to use Britain as shorth ...

. These loose-fitting and practical garments received the collective designation ''french'' in tribute to the supreme commander of the British Expeditionary Force to France,

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space force ...

John French

. The main features of the ''french'' were as follows: * soft collar – turndown version or standing version with button fastening, * variable half-belt and changeable sleeves * four big pockets (appliquéd, with buttons) with flaps (two upper chest, two below). In the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army,) frequently shortened to Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR; rus, links= ...

of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a that spanned during its existence from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a of multiple national ; in practice and were highly until its final years. The ...

it was usually worn by commanding officers, chiefs and political officers and from 1924 to 1943. In the air force there was a limited number of ''frenches'' regularly worn by British officers. It was characterised by an open collar, to be worn with tie or scarf.

Evolution to the ''Stalin tunic''

The ''French'' tunic eventually evolved in the 1920s to the Stalin tunic, which was adopted by several political leaders, such as

Joseph Stalin ( – 5 March 1953) was a Georgians, Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who governed the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power both as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922–1952 ...

References

Френч
// Крысин Л.П. Толковый словарь иноязычных слов. — Эксмо, 2008. — 944 с. *

Evolution to the ''Stalin tunic''

References

See also