Papakhi

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The famous Georgian poet Vazha-Pshavela wearing a Georgian Papakha

Papakha (Georgian: ფაფახი pʰɑpʰɑxi; Ukrainian: папаха; Russian: папа́ха ; Azerbaijani: papakh papakha) is a male wool hat worn throughout the Caucasus.

For example, Georgian papakhi are made of wool and have a circular shape.

The Russian papakha, called a kubanka, is a high fur hat, usually made of karakul sheep skin. The hat has the general appearance of a cylinder with one open side, and is set upon the head in such a way as to have the brim touch the temples.

Papakhi are mostly worn in mountainous Georgia: the regions of Pshavi, Khevi, Mtiuleti and Tusheti. Papakhi are also donned by the Chechens and other Caucasian tribes and were introduced to the Russian army following the campaigns in the Caucasus mountains, becoming an official part of the uniform in 1855 for the Cossacks, and, later, for the rest of the cavalry.

Russian Cossack officers wearing papakhas

Shortly after the Russian revolution of 1917, papakhas were removed from the new Red Army uniform because of their association with the old Tsarist regime and the fact that many Cossack regiments of the Tsarist army fought against the Bolsheviks. During the Russian Civil War, many Bolshevik cavalrymen and officers (like Vasily Chapayev) wore papakhas because many of them were cossacks and the hat had become a customary part of a cavalryman's costume.

Papakhas became part of the uniform again in 1935, but in 1941, were reserved exclusively for generals and marshalls, thus becoming a symbol of status and high rank. In 1994, they were once again removed from military use, allegedly upon the request of the wearers, who found the hat inefficient since the papakha is a relatively short hat that does not protect the ears well - this might have been acceptable in the mild climate of the Caucasus, but not in lower temperatures - and is not very wind-proof.

The act of removing the papakhas was seen in some quarters as an attempt of the Yeltsin regime to abandon earlier Soviet traditions and symbolically demonstrate the country's commitment to a new political course. In 2005, papakhas were reinstalled.