"Russian uniform WWI vs WWII" Topic

Comparing images of the uniforms from WWI and WWII, Russian infantry dress seems to have changed very little, other than the adoption of the helmet of course.

This isn't literally true, is it? I assume at least minor tweaks were made?

Shoulder boards disappeared then reappeared in 1943, and the 1943 tunic went back to the standing collar and breast pockets of the Tsarist era in an attempt to restore pride and tradition, communist fervor having been found wanting ;)

Here is a little info on tunics for you. Note the above mentioned "czarist" style tunic further down the page.

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As above, there are some fairly significant differences on an individual level, but overall it is indeed pretty much identical – gymnastorka, trousers, sapogi, some sort of hat and plash/greatcoat/blanket roll.

And wasn't the WWI uniform basically the one issued originally in 1881?

The uniform after 1943 is similar to the WWI tunic, but not exactly the same. On a WWI tunic, the button placket and collar closure is usually offset to the wearer's left, and for enlisted men there are no buttons on the cuffs. The Tsarist army did adopt the Adrian helmet and a Russian-designed variation of it, but neither were widespread before the Revolution. Even in WWII, officers spoke about having trouble getting men to wear the helmet, as it was thought to be "unmanly."

There is a great difference in equipment between early and late WWI troops. During the earlier part of the war, the troops were issued with a haversack/knapsack that could be worn either under the arm or on both shoulders by varying the straps on the gear. Later on, the bag-type knapsack (don't remember the Russian name) was issued as it was simpler to manufacture. This same type knapsack is brought back in WWII as a simpler solution to the other types of gear.

The gear that was supposed to be issued at the beginning of WWII (Y-straps, bread bag, spare ammo pouch, knapsack, and etc) was in reality rarely seen, and pretty much extinct by 1942 or so.
BWW

Yes, most WW2 Soviet infantry were pretty lightly equipped.

The rucksack pack thing is a Veschmeshok, they were used postwar too in various patterns. iirc the WW2 ones didn't generally have external pockets.

Some pictures for you:

WWI uniform:

link

WWII 1941 uniform
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WWII 1943 uniform
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Those two selections are somewhat mixed, those without shoulder chevrons are 1941-style, those with them are 1943

Veshmeshok survived till 80s, and I had one. Light weight, not too convenient as it is basically a piece of canvas with straps,

Here's a related question: when did the infantry switch from puttes to boots? I had thought that the puttees were standard early in the war, switching to boots later (because they got millions of pairs through Lend-lease). But a lot of the pictures I have, and that Barin1 gives, shows boots in WW1 and WW2.

So were the puttees used due to a shortage of boots, personal preference, or what?

Checked the question on our local forum. Early war, most of the soldiers were wearing puttes, most of the officers were wearing boots.
My grandfather was wearing puttes till mid 1942, but I guess at that time he was promoted to his first officer's position.
Lend lease supplied lots of puttes and wraps, it seems. There were supplies from UK and Canada, canadian stuff was favoured by soldiers for durability and comfort. Puttes were widely used during 1945 operation against Japanese – they were better for hot climate. Regular Soviet army had puttes up to mid 50s, however at that time wrap-ups were black, so the soldiers wearing them were not looking too different from their boot-wearing comrades.