From the Wall Street Journal Europe's Emerging Europe blog:
Russia to Order Socks by the Million
The Russian army’s strategic push to replace footwraps with socks may put a strain on the country’s textiles industry as well as state coffers.
The Russian military will retire footwraps, or portyanki, according to recently appointed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. After some three centuries, Russian soldiers are supposed to be putting on socks from this year on.
Russian news agency Interfax said this week, citing an unnamed military official, the change would lead to a six-fold increase in the number of socks the army orders. According to the official, every solder, of which there’s almost a million, gets 12 pairs of socks a year. Conscripts are each entitled to four pairs of summer socks, four pairs of warm socks, and two pairs of cotton socks. To substitute a pair of footwraps, a soldier needs three to four pairs of socks....MORE
