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Soviet Kirza boots, surplus
A one-off lot of Soviet enlisted men's Kirza boots called Sapogi! The crudeness makes these rather charming, but the boots are no joke.
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Reviews (11 pcs)
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A one-off lot of Soviet enlisted men's Kirza boots called Sapogi! The crudeness makes these rather charming, but the boots are no joke.
Oh joy! We got another lot of these, found from some guy's garage or something.
While the model was taken into use during World War 2, they wore these officially up to the 90's and unofficially even beyond. We heard the Mongolians are keen on Soviet surplus boots these days, who knows if they're planning a reunion tour across Europe or something.
Half vegan, half Russian
The outsole is rubber, which is nailed on leather midsoles. The lower is made of surprisingly good quality, thick unlined leather and the shaft comprises of Kirza with a leather support strip on the back. Kirza (or some call it Kersey) leather was one of the most important developments during the war, saving hundreds of Roubles when they made soldiers' boots. The inventor, a chemist named Plotnikov, was given a truck ton of roubles and the hallowed Stalin State Prize medal for his efforts, a ticket for NOT (likely) being transported to Siberia. Kirza leather is still made today. It looks very much like the real thing and keeps water out pretty well.
The shaft height and circumference are size-dependent, but these are not at all humble in appearance, as they reach almost to the knee. The shaft can also be flipped over at the point of your choice to make it shorter - this is what many Soviet soldiers seemed to do in warzones.
We got a couple with the WW2 type dimple sole. These boots are sold separately. The boots haven't been made during the war, they are later produced.
Size info
Sizes in the Soviet system, which is first the recommended foot length in millimeters, then EU/French size. These are designed to be used with footwraps, so if you wear socks, wear thicker ones.
The last is sorta human-shaped, but not excessively wide.
Here's a little chart with comparable US and UK sizes.
| Russian/EU size | US size | UK size |
|---|---|---|
| 240 (38) | US 6.0 | UK 5.0 |
| 247 (39) | US 7.0 | UK 6.0 |
| 255 (40) | US 8.0 | UK 7.0 |
| 262 (41) | US 9.0 | UK 8.0 |
| 270 (42) | US 9.5 | UK 8.5 |
| 277 (43) | US 10.5 | UK 9.5 |
| 285 (44) | US 11.5 | UK 10.5 |
| 292 (45) | US 12.5 | UK 11.5 |
| 300 (46) | US 13.5 | UK 12.5 |
Care
Care for your boots and they might care for you! Clean the boots with a moist rag and/or a brush. Apply grease and polish to the leather. Kirza does not need to be treated.
Condition
Although there are some slightly used pairs, usually these are in unworn shape, however, A) old and B) of Soviet manufacture. A means they might be a bit stiff and dirty on the surface, B means they are cobbled together with some hearty dosage of vodka. So these might not be too pretty, but they are pretty strong.
The story
So, how did this stuff find its way in Finland? Well, when the Soviet Union collapsed, the former satellite states gained their independence. There was a huge leftover stock of Soviet stuff still in the old army bases because the Russians left in a hurry or didn't just care to take their shit with them. Most are gone, but these leftover stocks are still occasionally unearthed, like these Kirza boots dug out from some garage in Estonia or Lithuania (both countries used to be unwilling parts of the Sovietosphere). That's how secure the availability is in the future.
Remove Russia
Our old product descriptions include ironic praise of our eastern neighbor and it used to be good fun. Does it piss you off? We understand and agree. However, we won't whitewash the old product descriptions. Instead, we have decided to stop buying Russian products. We sell what we have in stock and that's it.
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recommends
does not recommend
11 ratings
Suomi (2)
English (9)
Hiroki A. 07.09.2019 Verified purchase
I'm going to replace the insoles as the ones that came with it make a popping noise as I walk, but no dramas; they're perfectly usable as is.
The best bit? Considering that Hunter wellies made in China cost ~£100, these boots are an absolute steal. They do the job better, look better and have the blessings of uncle Joe.
0
Albin K. 11.09.2019 Verified purchase
These boots don't shape themselves with time to fit your feet, they reshape your feet to fit the boot. For the greater good of the industrial proletariat of the world I suppose.
When you have used the for some time you will kind of feel like marching to Berlin and back, maybe even to the hills of Manchuria.
The nails in the soles though.. you definetly will need a pair of extra soles in them otherwise the boots will carve new holes in your feet.
..and they smell like an old soviet warehouse. Big time.
0
JC M. 10.10.2019 Verified purchase
Edit: According to all other size charts Russian 41 should be a size 9 equivalent to a European 42 so Im not sure whats going on but the chart listed here is out to lunch. I have also been told that these boots come in multiple widths so I am wondering if I was simply sent a narrow? Any information would be a blessing.
Edit: my boots are indeed marked y, narrow. A C would denote medium and W is wide. Be aware that these boots come in different widths!
0
Erik M. 11.12.2019 Verified purchase
If I could eventually find these in the perfect size, then they would be worth it.
1
Juuso K. 09.08.2021 Verified purchase
3
Alex M. 12.08.2021 Verified purchase
0
Albin S. 27.09.2021 Verified purchase
Also; the soles that come with them, or at least some pairs, do look to be made of fiberboard and are hard as rocks. They are not fiberboard, but leather, and can be treated just like any other part of the shoe. Give it enough leather balm and it will soften up quickly.
I had to wash the boots twice though. Whatever shoe polish they used back then in the soviet union gives off a lot of blue coloring. I just put them in the bathtub, brushed them with leather soap and sprayed them off. They're still as black as before, but they don't give my hands a blue tint anymore.
Like another reviewer said, mine do slip at the heel, but boots with no laces are supposed to have lift until they're broken in. Rather unintuitively, contrary to lace up boots, with laceless boots you'll get chafing if the heel sits too snuggly at the heel. As long as your foot sits in place and doesn't move forwards and backwards in the shoe itself you should be fine. How much your heel should lift is mostly up to what you're able to tolerate. As the boot softens it will stop happening.
Edit: I've been walking in these a couple of times now on different surfaces. I took my first longer walk on asphalt which I kind of regretted since the boots weren't worn in at all. The shape of the sole has meant that the insole was shaped like a little mound and that made keeping your balance pretty difficult. Since then I've walked around in them some more, and they've evened out a lot since.
The whole sole is very hard, and with time it softens up a bit and the heel lift I talked about does decrease as this happens. I would say that if you feel like the boot is still hurting your foot after walking some miles you might have the wrong fit.
Don't pack too many socks in there. Instinct tells a person who wears lace up boots that it needs to fit tightly everywhere (especially the heel) but some slipping is better than none. I'd say the cowboy boot scene has the best documentation about boot fit out there.
Conclusion: Good boots, good price, smell like a wet bog and a museum at the same time, hard to wear at first but easy to break in, with the wrong fit you'll like them but with the right fit you'll love them. Buy a pair when they're available if you want high jackboots. Buy a pair if you want a pair of boots that look like potatoes when they're off, and look nice when they're on.
0
Pablo G. 28.09.2021 Verified purchase
0
Henri L. Varusteleka employee 18.11.2021 Verified purchase
Kun perustoimenpiteet, eli puhdistus, rasvaus ja pohjallisten kehittäminen on hoidettu, alkaa sisäänajaminen. Nämä ovat "uutena" helvetin jäykät sillä niitä on varastoitu vuosikymmeniä, mutta saappaat pehmenevät käytössä ihan huomaamatta. Jalkaterän osion nahka on muuten yllättävän laadukasta ja se imee itseensä hoitoaineet loistavasti. Kirza-nahkaista vartta voi yrittää ehkä huoltaa silikonilla, mutta pääasiassahan sille ei tarvitse tehdä mitään, kait.
Joissain ovat kantakupit painuneet varastoituna sumppuun. Tämä tekee sen, että ne hiertävät sivuilta ikävästi. Vanha kikka on asettaa joku tarpeeksi leveä asia pystyyn saappaan sisälle muotoilemaan kantakuppia hieman suoremmaksi.
3
Comments
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Size 7 is the only one available at the moment. We don't know when we'll get more sizes. The availability of the surplus products is a bit hard to estimate, unfortunately. Contact our customer service for more information!
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