The problems derived from the war in Ukraine accumulate to the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin. After the Ukrainian attacks on those in the Baltic Sea, the Russian president has now recognized that the country is having difficulties in producing enough uniforms for their soldiers.
On January 1, 2026, a decree that obliges the Russian army to equip itself only with fabrics and uniforms that have been manufactured in Russia. With the implementation of this measure, it was intended to reduce foreign dependency to clothe members of the army.
However, the results are not as expected. As reported by the French media Vladimir Putin himself has admitted, in a meeting with the governor of the Russian region of Ivanovo, Stanislav Voskresensky, that “Not everything that should have been done in this regard has been done.”
According to reports from The Moscow Times, By 2024, up to 30% of Russian military uniforms will be made abroad.. For this reason, the new decree requires that, by 2027, 100% of the fabrics worn by soldiers come from the Russian textile industry.
Reconversion of the civil textile sector into military uniform factories
The increase in demand for military clothing in Russia as a result of the new standard has caused part of the civil textile sector has been converted into military uniform factories.
“Gloria Jeans, Russia’s largest clothing manufacturer, sold its factories in the Rostov region to Bulava, a military equipment company of which the Kalashnikov group is co-owner,” they say from The Parisian.
One of the main problems of this productive sector in Russia is the lack of enough workers. “Some go to the Special Military Operation (the Kremlin’s name for the war in Ukraine), and others go to sew monotonous clothes with large orders and higher salaries,” explains Vladimir Melnikov, founder and CEO of Gloria Jeans.
