The weight of equipment and uniforms that each Red Army soldier carried on his own shoulders could reach could reach up to 30 or even 40 kilograms. The easiest way to carry most personal belongings and equipment was to use duffel bags, which were part of the soldier’s equipment since imperial times. However, despite the simplicity of the design, duffel bags were inconvenient and unaesthetic.
Until the first half of the 1930s, the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army used duffel bags, mainly due to the shortage of funds for any kind of modernization of army equipment. In the mid-1930s, rucksacks began to arrive in the supply of the Red Army. These much more convenient and practical items made it possible to place far more equipment on the fighter’s back.
In 1939, the so-called lightweight rucksack appeared, resembling a tourist backpack in structure and appearance. The soldiers of the Red Army carried all their basic necessities in these bags: soap and shaving accessories, spare underwear, a towel, a blanket, and other personal items. A rolled greatcoat, elements of an anti-chemical protection kit were attached to the outer part of the rucksack, a cloak-tent was attached from below, and a steel helmet was attached to the front part. All this allowed the soldier to carry their equipment with greater comfort.
In 1941, a new version of the lightweight rucksack appeared, which came bundled with a dry (grocery) bag. It was required to wear it exactly under the rucksack on the waist belt. It contained rations, an oval 1936 model bowler cooking pot, a spoon and a mug.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the vast majority of personnel units of the Red Army were given these rucksacks. However, by 1941, the army returned to duffel bags. Under the pressure of continuous battles, evacuation of the entire industrial complex and mobilization of millions of people, it became difficult to produce such expensive and complex items as rucksacks. However, on some especially stable fronts, like the Karelian, rucksacks continued to be used up until the end of the hostilities in 1944–1945, military units there still had pre-war equipment.
