Flora (Russian: Флора, sometimes erroneously called VSR-98, which stands for Vooruzhennyye sily Rossii or Russian Armed Forces 1998.)[1] is a military camouflage pattern formerly used by the Russian Armed Forces.

The pattern has some design similarities with the Butan and Tiger stripe camo.[2]

History

A. Kolmakov, commander of Russian VDV forces (right), in Flora camouflage receiving a report from a soldier in Dubok camouflage. The soldier on the left and the troops in the background are wearing Zabralo armor in Barviha camouflage. 2004.

Flora came as a replacement for the "Barvikha" camouflage - the name of the R&D program. The pattern did not have an official name, so popular nicknames like "vertikalka" (vertical), berezka (birch), VSR-93 and so on appeared.[3]

Flora was adopted into the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 1998.[2]

The camo was last seen with so-called pro-Moscow Crimean auxiliaries during the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation[4] and with some Russian troops in the War in Donbas.[5]

Design

Flora is optimised for an environment typical of central Russia and is effective at silhouette dissolution.[6] Because of the characteristic stripes, "Flora" was nicknamed "Arbuznyj" (watermelony; арбузный) camouflage.

The overall color scheme can vary widely depending on the fabric used by the manufacturer.[7]

"Flora" consists of the green Flora pattern and the Mountain Flora pattern, which has dark yellow, sand or khaki color.[8]

Users

Former

Russian paratroopers wearing Flora camouflage
  •  Belarus: Replaced by EMR.[9]
  •  Russia: Formerly used by all branches of Russian Armed Forces.[10] Replaced by EMR by 2011.[11][12] However, some are still used by military educational institutes,[2] Russian soldiers in parades[13] and in Ukraine.[5]
  •  Tajikistan: Adopted EMR to replace Flora.[14]

Partially-recognized states

Donetsk's Vostok Battalion wearing Flora during the rehearsal for the 2015 Victory Parade in Donetsk

References

  1. ^ Galeotti (2019), p. 14.
  2. ^ a b c "Камуфляж Флора - Виды камуфляжа".
  3. ^ "Флора (камуфляж)". Archived from the original on 10 July 2021.
  4. ^ Galeotti (2019), pp. 14–15.
  5. ^ a b Galeotti (2019), pp. 32–33.
  6. ^ "Камуфляж - виды и расцветки стран мира | Интернет проект Я выживу". i-survive.ru. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  7. ^ "Russia - Camopedia". camopedia.org. Retrieved 2024-02-04.[better source needed]
  8. ^ "Russian Camo: what camouflage does Russia use?".
  9. ^ "Камуфляж ЕМР - Виды камуфляжа".
  10. ^ https://kula-tactical.com/military-camouflage-patterns/russian-camouflages/flora-camo
  11. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20150122121359/http://function.mil.ru/news_page/country/more.htm?id=10371371@egNews
  12. ^ "Europe's Official Camouflage Patterns | UF PRO Blog".
  13. ^ Galeotti (2017), p. 46.
  14. ^ Larson (2021), p. 328.
  15. ^ Crowther (2022), p. 67.
  16. ^ Crowther (2023), p. 43, 45.

Bibliography

  • Crowther, Edward (2022). War in Ukraine: Volume 1: Armed Formations of the Donetsk People's Republic, 2014-2022. Helion and Company. ISBN 978-1915070661.
  • Crowther, Edward (2023). War in Ukraine: Volume 3: Armed Formations of the Luhansk People’s Republic, 2014–2022. Helion and Company. ISBN 978-1804512173.
  • Galeotti, Mark (2019). Armies Of Russia's War In Ukraine. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1472833440.
  • Galeotti, Mark (2017). The Modern Russian Army 1992–2016. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1472819086.
  • Larson, Eric H. (2021). Camouflage: International Ground Force Patterns, 1946–2017. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 9781526739537.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_camouflage
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