The helmet of a Russian officer of the guard infantry of the sample 1874

The predilections of the Emperor Alexander II to the uniform of his 26-year reign can be divided into two periods:the "French" and "Prussian". The first of these lasted from the reign in 1855 to the beginning of the 1870s, and uniforms of the Russian army in these years can be traced many gallicisms: generals red pants, cloth caps (cap), attempt to replace a non-commissioned officer's braid on his Prussian type shoulder stripes, like the French, and more. Most of these innovations soon went away, but some (in particular, cap in army troops) lasted until the end of the reign. No one knows why the Emperor was disappointed in the French military fashion. Presumably, the reason was a General cooling in diplomatic relations with France did not want to renegotiate the terms of the peace of 1856 forbidding Russia to have a fleet on the Black sea. By 1870 Alexander II belonged to France, with outright hostility and openly sympathized with Prussia during the Franco-Prussian war 1870 – 1871 In the same row, you can mention the award of the king of Prussia, the future German Emperor Wilhelm I, the order of St. George, 1st century in honor of the 100th anniversary of this award, in 1869, one way or another, in the early 1870s, a French military fashion in Russia has been replaced Prussian. One of the manifestations of the latter was the introduction in 1874 for the entire guards corps a new main entrance headgear – helmets, almost completely repeats the Prussian Pickelhaube helmet.

Helmet black patent leather were very low, was oval in plan shape (shape of the head) and two sew-on visor – front covered with a metal bezel, and back. A fundamental difference from the helmets of the reign of Nicholas I was that the hood was not stitched, and seamless. The top was fastened a notched pommel with screwed-on decoration: either a blazing Grenada (under common forms) or Sultan horsehair, the edges of which hung down to the brim of the helmet (when on parade and holidays). Front prisonersa State emblem (double headed eagle) a characteristic hemispherical shape, on the chest which was attached the star of the order of St. Andrew, by the way, one of the differences sostvenno Russian helmet from the Prussian prototype are different mounting points for the accessories. Podbrozny belt off with metal scales in two and three festoon, under the right eye scales was fastened a metal badge that mimic the pleated fabric outlet. Petulant, made of thin leather, cut the lining silk. The metal tool was covered with gold leaf, but the latter was thin and in our time is often lost. Particularly rapidly worn off the coating on Grenada, as it was for her helmet kept a hand in the suede glove when removing. Such headgear lasted less than seven years and was repealed in 1881 one of the first orders of Emperor Alexander III. The only exception was the corps of pages, where the pages and officers of the permanent staff kept the helmet as a ceremonial headdress until 1917; the Sultan remained only a chamber-pages in the court form. Perhaps this is a subject for helmets it the corps of pages, but in any case it is a very great rarity.