A bogatyrka is the hat that was created as part of a new uniform for the Russian army by Viktor Vasnetsov. Vasnetsov is a Russian painter, who was inspired by the Kyivan Rus' helmet (fig. 1).
The hat was designed by Vasnetsov for the Russian imperial army for their victory parade in Berlin and Constaninople (fig. 2). Russian businessman Nikolai Vtorov produced the new uniform at his factories in Siberia and brought it Petrograd.
When the Russian revolution happened, communists retooled the uniform for their new army--the Red Army. The creator of the Red Army, Leon Trotsky, disliked the uniform because it invoked medieval Russia, rather than the new communist utopia. However, he had little choice. He used the new uniform available at the Petrograd warehouses. It was first used by Ivanono red guards in 1918. The unit was led by Mikhail Frunze and the hat came to be known as Frunzevka. Later it was named after Semen Budennyi, the commander of the First Red Cavalry Army. Its name ended up to be budenovka (буденовка) (fig.3).
