Cherished for over a century, the legendary Russian hats now aren’t quite as hot as they are warm.
I almost never buy souvenirs, but if I do, they are usually something that I’d have a practical purpose for. That was the case when purchasing my Ushanka in Russia. In preparation for the New York City winter, I bought a my fur hat, which has proven to be an astute purchase.
What is a Ushanka?
The iconic Russian hat, the ushanka, is a national symbol. Ushanka, or Ушанка in the Cyrillic alphabet translates to “earflaps”, at least according to Google Translate. Worn by Russians for centuries, ushankas were once used by Soviet soldiers, and nowadays by the older generation of Russians, armies, police forces, postmen, neophiles and pragmatic people who want their heads to stay warm.
Ushanka are primarily associated with Soviet rule, according to Wikipedia. Strangely enough while walking around New York City in my ushanka, I noticed that NYPD officers wear similar winter hats.
Ushankas can cover the head, back of the neck, sides of the face and chin, making them much warmer than most beanies. Depending on how cold it is outside, they can be worn either with the ear flaps up or down.
The fur hats are usually made of sheepskin, mink fur, or rabbit fur. The prices for ushankas can range greatly, depending on the quality and the type of fur used. You can find cheap ones made of faux-fur for under $20 and some ushankas on the more expensive side, like this mink one for $800.
My Ushanka:
In tourist gift shops all over Russia, you can find ushankas. Most are low quality and non-traditional, such as this neon orange one which I tried on.
I passed on the neon orange hat, and eventually came across a hat vendor in an outdoor market in Moscow. The atmosphere of the outdoor market reminded me of somewhere out of South America. I had previously bought a Chullo in a similar market in Bolivia.
Vendors called out to us in what ever language they assumed we understood: Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and finally English. I guess they don’t understand the concept of an Asian American, although it was amazing how they could speak so many languages, albeit brokenly.
The hat vendor had a rack full of ushankas, meticulously organized by fur type. He was middle aged and looked to be around 5’6” with a thick accent. He was darker skinned than most Muscovites and according to our tour guide, probably from Central Asia.
While trying on a few ushankas, the vendor tried to convince me to buy a mink hat. He explained how rabbit fur would fall out and how mink was warmer, more durable and even fire resistant, not that I’d ever need it to be fire repellent.
I wanted a white ushanka, but apparently those are only for women. 🙁
Eventually I narrowed my options down to 2 hats, a grey rabbit fur ushanka and a black mink fur ushanka. The mink was about USD $40 more than the rabbit one and in the end, I took the vendor’s advice and chose the more expensive one. After some intense bargaining, I handed over USD $80 and got my mink ushanka with both parties satisfied.
I guess the vendor was right about mink fur being really warm, because according to Wikipedia:
Mink fur ushankas are widely used in Arctic region of Russia, keeping ears and chin safe even in the “deep frost” (−40 to −70 degrees C).
I kind of wanted my ushanka to have the Soviet hammer and sickle, or at least a star, just to give the hat a bit more Russian flare, but it turns out that usually it is the cheap touristy hats that have those insignias.
It turned out that my hat was quite traditional and pretty high quality.
You can get a ushanka here on Amazon.com.
Are Ushankas Dying Out?
Ushankas seem to be the baseball caps of Russia – except that they seem to be dying out.
When our tour guide in Mongolia saw me wearing my Ushanka, he let out a subdued laugh, then said “Only my grandfather wears one of those.”
Even when wearing the ushanka in Moscow, I had a group of school kids laugh at me, I guess I’m more Russian than they are. Prior to going to Russia, I assumed everyone wore them. I guess the ‘new generation’ has deemed ushankas a novelty item.
A few years ago, even the Russian Army has decided to stop using the fur caps according to GlobalSecurity.org.
It’s a shame to see this iconic and historical yet practical hat die out. At least I’ll keep the legacy going here in New York City.
What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below.
Hi,
Great article. It’s true that the Russian army is removing them and that young people in Russia aren’t wearing ushanka’s like there grand parents. At the moment, fur hats aren’t in mainstream fashion, especially in youth fashion. I’ve made an internet thread linking to other articles from the 90s about the proper “wear” of the ushanka.
According to these “articles” from the 90s, it is considered not manly to put the “ear flaps” down on a traditional shapka.
Also, Mink ushanka’s are considered the peak of social hierarchy and prestige in Russia. It was a good choice indeed to get the mink hat rather than the rabbit one =).
AND HOW did you get a full mink ushanka for less than $100?
I’m from Chicago and I also love wearing my $20 faux fur ushanka. I get even get compliments once a while. It’s it’s sad to see so many old traditions dying out.
I love my Ushanka hats. I’m near the Lake Eerie, and boy does it get cold and wet. Wonderful hats they are, very useful in varying degrees (with their three possible ear-flap positions).
I’ve gotten a handful of compliments by strangers, sadly, you don’t see Ushanka’s every day! Seeing someone in a silly Russian hat is good and all, but what they don’t realize is how toasty it is.
I’m very fond of the hat, I’ve always liked how things work rather than how things look, and the Ushanka is probably a good example of that.
Best of luck to you and your warm ears!
I live on the North side of Chicago and I bought my ushanka about a year ago. It’s perfect for that late December-mid February weather. I get compliments on it all the time and it traps heat perfectly. I feel like, although the fur clothing trend may be dying out in Russia, it seems to be making a comeback in North America. I’ve seen people out and about wearing these things in Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, and Detroit. And they were quite common when I visited my friends in Canada. And, though it does hurt to see old traditions die out where they came from, it is always good to see them start to make a comeback somewhere else.
Ushankas are actually still used by the Russian police and military forces from October until April. Those are usually made of mouton blends or sheepskin. Much better versions, made of Persian lamb or Astrakhan fur, are worn by the Guard of Honor Company. You can learn more about the most famous Russian hat style at https://russianlegacy.com/ushanka-hats-c-45_337.html
Stylistically speaking, the ushanka looks so much better than the goofy looking beanie worn for so long in America. The beanie doesn’t even look like a hat but more like an oversized sock stretched out over the head.
How about you left the fur to the mink, who needed it more than you do, and went for a faux fur? Would that be too compassionate?
?
I think they are saying that you shouldn’t have bought the real fur because it was from an animal, and instead bought a faux fur hat.
I also own an ushanka and I found it practical living in the hellhole named “Denmark” and I saw alot of students wearing the ushanka to keep warm (Mine is a bearskin ushanka with a removable star) I like to put a “Mask” on with my ushanka to keep my mouth and nose warm and I also put the flaps down so I wont freeze to death.
Nice – that bearskin ushanka sounds warm! What’s the story behind “Denmark” being a hellhole?
Anywhere can be a hellhole, depending on your mindset. I was born in Paris, after living in various places, I am now in Australia… I now realise the hellhole was in my head. Not saying it wasn’t real. Take what a place has to offer, and work at changing what you don’t like.
Having said that, you can have a look at mink farming… no worse than many other forms of abuse, but still rather horrendous.
Ear flaps are cool by the way…
Nice article. I like the style of ushankas. It’s a pity to see traditional items fading for modern universal styles. I’ll be wearing ushanka this winter and hopefully inspiring some interest with it for others here in New Zealand – I don’t have mink though, I have a black mouton and a karakul ushanka. Keep honoring the ushanka 🙂
That’s for sharing the experience! My experience with the ushanka is has been mixed. Either people or jealous or they make fun of me or russian people. I don’t regret it as it’s veey warm and I don’t have to freeze to death because I don’t have a lot of hair on my head. As for white is for a girl I personally wouldn’t buy a white one. Mostly for the fact that I think it get dirty quickly. When I work outside I sport a black one so it doesn’t look bad while it gets dirty.
hi.
i like in the moutains of Virginia and it gets really cold. mainly December through march. so I bought a ushanka. everyone thought I was weird for wearing one but when I let them try it on they said this hat is very warm and I might get one. i bought a 1980 soviet ushanka another camo last year. I’m so glad I bought one. there way better looking and more useful that a beanie