The uniform changes of the 1980's were heavily influenced by the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, and as such were much more selective in what was redesigned.  As followed the usual practice, the VDV uniforms were the first to change.  The paratroopers of the VDV were the first to be issued the new M85 'six pocket' field uniforms in 1980.  It was a design that would be adopted by the entire Soviet Army five years later.  When that finally occurred the VDV was given a camouflaged version of that uniform that better matched the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan.  Soviet pilots were also issued camouflaged flight suits for the first time.  Virtually all of the new uniforms were influenced by the Afghan war.

As with everything on this site, more uniforms will be added as they are acquired.  In any case we will attempt to have detailed descriptions of each uniform along with a photograph of the uniform being worn.

Further Research

From this section you can also see earlier and later period uniforms by clicking the appropriate links below.  We have found that this is quite useful for tracking the modifications and changes in a particular uniform.