The history of boots does not begin in Russia. Felt boots are the traditional shoes of nomads whose tribes moved across Eurasia. Archaeologists claim that they wore such shoes already 1.5 thousand years ago. Felt shoes have appeared in Russia since the time of the Golden Horde, the Mongols called them Pimes.
The first Russian boots
Fellers, like all craft people, were reluctant to share their secrets. Therefore, the first woolly bats made it easier: hats, caps, horse saddles. Later they began to make short bots, similar to modern galoshes. They were called chuni, cats or kengi.
The history of the origin of felt boots states that for the first time felt boots are mentioned in the "Word on Igor's Regiment", that is, in the 12th century. Such shoes were not whole, the back was a connecting seam. And the whole valenki, familiar to us, with a high top appeared only in the 19th century in the Volga region. The right of superiority to the production of such shoes is disputed by Yaroslavl and Myshkin, which today belongs to the Yaroslavl region.
Who wore boots?
Hand-made felt boots lay on a specific leg. Shoes were considered expensive, and for the future they didn’t. In a wealthy family that allowed itself such shoes, they were treated with care, passed on by inheritance, by seniority, put aside in a dowry. The groom in felt boots was considered enviable and desirable.
The history of boots says that they were also worn by noble people. In winter, sometimes nobles did not shun shoes in boots, and even more so in the countryside, in a remote estate.
Valenoks were not neglected in the palace either. There is documentary evidence of the habit of Emperor Peter I after a steam room and bathing in an ice hole to get into warm boots and demand hot cabbage soup. The empress did not lag behind the first emperor. Catherine II wore felt boots because of sore legs, and Anna Ioannovna allowed this liberty to her court ladies, taking care of their health in the poorly heated premises of the palace.
Who felted boots?
The first boots were lying in pieces. Shoes, chuni, pima were made separately, then shafts were sewn to them. Whole shoes appeared at the end of the 18th century in the Nizhny Novgorod province. Seamless, solid boots immediately became an integral part of the Russian costume.
Felting was handled by single peasants in the winter, when field work was completed. The areas where sheep breeding developed were considered the most convenient for this purpose. Resellers walked through the villages, buying up shoes not made to order.
The history of the appearance of felt boots, accessible to the general population of the city and the village, began only a hundred years later, when they began to be manufactured industrially. Felting and rolling factories appeared in Russia.
How were felt boots?
Throughout the history of the creation of boots, their production has not changed significantly. There was some relief in the implementation of certain stages using technical means, but the order of the work remained the same:
- Cleaning. Sheep wool is cleaned of debris, thorns, and dirt. Then it is thoroughly washed with detergents.
- Combing out. This is also the preparatory stage, which was previously carried out manually. Today, for this work, machines are used that form coils of combed wool.
- "Modeling" felt boots. This step is done by hand. A boot is formed from raw wool, significantly larger in size than necessary. The master ensures that the thickness of the layer of wool throughout the boot is the same.
- Felting and drying. Felting can be done manually or using special equipment. Influencing the shoes with steam and hot water, the master adjusts it to the required size. Then it is dried under the influence of high temperature.
Russian felt boots - medalists
In the XIX century, the whole of Europe learned about felt boots and the history of Russian national shoes. In 1851, they became participants in the first international exhibition in London. Winter shoes along with down scarves aroused great interest among visitors.
Felt boots were exhibited in 1873 in Vienna, and in 1893 in Chicago, and in 1900 in Paris, receiving gold and silver awards. Participation in international exhibitions continued after the revolution.
Soviet felted shoes
In the USSR, felt boots were indispensable in villages. It is hard to imagine how the collective farmers would do without them. After all, these are shoes suitable for comfortable wear on winter terrain both on weekdays and on holidays.
Soviet children in the village and in the city ran in felt boots. They were worn in Siberian exile by Stalin, Khrushchev always warmly remembered the felt boots. Komsomol members mastered the virgin lands, built factories and roads in these shoes.
Felt boots were life-saving shoes at the front, they were given out to soldiers as winter uniforms. The collective farm chairmen received special felt boots made of white felt. They were called burkas. For durability and moisture resistance, they were made on leather soles and trimmed with leather bottom.
Do boots wear today?
Of course, many people need felt boots today. The story of boots continues. Of course, the demand for them decreased, light, comfortable and warm shoes made of modern materials appeared. But they are still “in service” in military units, in the organs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergencies, and in security structures.
Civilians are also in no hurry to abandon warm and comfortable shoes. They are acquired by residents of villages, small towns, hunters, fishers, summer residents. Many centuries ago, shoes were invented, very suitable for the harsh Russian winter. So early to refuse boots.
Couturier felt boots
So far this story is short boots. For the first time, Russian girls walked along the catwalk in felt boots in 1963. The collection was prepared then by a novice fashion designer Vyacheslav Zaitsev. Models showed clothes of the Mosoblsovnarkhoz factory, so colored boots were very suitable for bright quilted jackets.
After the debut, the shoes were repeatedly used in the collections of Russian masters in order to emphasize the national flavor of the things on display.
Our athletes walked in felt boots at the opening of sporting events: in 2002 at the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, in 2009 - at the Universiade in China.
Now a rare season does without new design options for boots. They no longer look like the gray or black shapeless wire rods worn by our ancestors. On the models they are exquisitely decorated, put on heels, equipped with waterproof soles.
Moscow Museum "Russian boots"
The history of boots is carefully preserved in the museums created in honor of them. So far there are three of them: in Moscow, in Kineshma, in Myshkin.
The Moscow Museum has a rich collection of felt shoes, from old designs to designer ones. Of particular interest to visitors are comic crafts from boots: mouse, plane, house, train. Here you can see firsthand boots, sewn to order for noble ladies who flaunted them several centuries ago.
But it’s even more interesting to get acquainted with the process of making felted shoes. Here it will be shown both manual and factory rolls. And after watching a brief documentary, you can dive deeper into the topic: to find out what happens to the fleece after shearing.
The museum is also interesting because everything here can be touched, photographed and even tried on. For especially interested visitors, master classes work.
I would like to add that the Russian felt boots, as an unusual product, appears in the "Book of Records of Russia". Valery Sokolov made the smallest boot on the foot of 0.9 millimeters by wet felting. Here is such a “Lefty” from Kineshma.