Gymnasterka (also spelled Gymnastiorka; Russian: гимнастёрка) was a Russian military shirt-tunic comprising a pullover style garment with a standing collar having double button closure. In addition two upper chest pockets, with or without flaps may have been worn. It had provision for shoulder boards (epaulettes or shoulder straps) and sometimes reinforced elbows and cuffs. The M35 version had a stand and fall collar which was replaced with the standing collar in the M43 version. The Soviet Army M35 version had hidden buttons, as had the original Tsarist model.
The gymnasterka was originally introduced into the Czarist army about 1870 for wear by regiments stationed in Turkestan during the hot summers. It took the form of a loose fitting white linen "shirt-tunic" and included the coloured shoulder-straps of the green tunic worn during the remainder of the year. The gymnasterka was taken into use by all branches of the Imperial Army at the time of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Originally intended for working dress during peace-time and patterned on the traditional Russian peasant smock, the gymnasterka was subsequently adopted for active service and worn as such during the 1890s and early 1900s. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 the white gymnasterka with its red or blue shoulder boards proved too conspicuous against modern weaponry and the garments were often dyed various shades of khaki. The smartness and comfort of the white gymnasterka enabled it to survive for a few more years of peacetime wear until a light khaki version was adopted in 1907-09 and worn during World War I.
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