Patches, Badges, and Insignia
of the Soviet Union
(1988-1991)

 
In 1988 the Soviet Union began another series of uniform changes in an effort to make the Soviet military appear more professional.  This section covers some of the many service patches and chevrons that were worn from 1988 until the end of the Soviet Union in 1991.  

     

      

Soviet Military Specialty Patches

The 1969 series of patches continued to be used by the Soviet Navy even after the reforms of 1988.  The only change was the addition of the Naval Aviation patch which was added as part of the 1988 regulations.  All of these patches are made of thermally molded plastic and cloth.  Officers of the naval infantry would often purchase embroidered versions of their service patch for their personal uniforms.

The patches below denoted the military specialty of the sailor who wore them.  They came in two colors.  The red patches were worn by conscript sailors, while the yellow bordered patches were worn by extended servicemen and officer cadets.
Military Specialty Conscript Patch

Extended Service Patch

Naval Artillery

Torpedoes

Boatswain (Coming Soon!!)

Signals (Coming Soon!!)
Engineering

Navigation

Naval Aviation (Coming Soon)
Naval Infantry

 

     
Wound Stripes

These small 40mm long stripes were awarded to those who had suffered wounds in action.  They came in two variants: Red for light wounds and Yellow for serious wounds.  Naval versions of these stripes are all on dark blue backgrounds.  They were worn on the right side of the uniform above the pocket and decorations.

 

Light Wound Stripe Heavy Wound Stripe

Third Wound

Second Wound
First Wound

  

 

Length of Service Chevrons

On 4 March 1988 the new Uniform Regulations were introduced by the Soviet Ministry of Defense.  This decree was known as Order #250, and mandated that the length of service stripes worn by warrant officers since 1971 would now be worn by enlisted extended servicemen as well.  They would be worn on the left sleeve 16mm above the lower cuff edge on both the tunic and the greatcoat. 

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Three Years

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Ten Years

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Two Years

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Five Years

One Year of Service


Four Years of Service

 

         

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Insignia of the late Soviet Union