Caps of Educational Institutions

To provide free and universal education to all citizens, the government operated a vast network of learning institutions, including preschools, general and specialized secondary schools, vocational-technical schools, trade schools, and special education schools, as well as universities and other institutions of higher learning.

There were roughly three levels to the general secondary program of study, incorporating differences in curriculum and total time spent in class. Prior to 1984, the "primary" grades were one (starting at age 7) through three (elementary school); "secondary" was four through eight (middle school); and "upper secondary" were grades nine and ten (high school). The reforms of 1984 added a year at the beginning of the program (for students age 6), modifying these grade groups as follows: one through four, five through nine, and ten through eleven. Completion of Secondary school (8 or 9 years) was compulsorily. After completing the secondary program of study (which was compulsory for all children) at around age 15 - students could either quit for work, complete two years of "upper secondary" schooling to prepare for entrance into universities, or (for those less academically minded) attend a professional technical school (or PTU) to learn a technical trade, such as plumbing, machining, carpentry, construction, etc.

Two levels of "post-secondary" education existed - universities which offered a variety of 4-5 year degree programs, and "institutes" or "technicums" (often associated with particular Government ministries such as Railways and Civil Aviation), which offered higher-level technical and managerial training lasting usually 2-3 years.

Returning to the purpose of my site - to display uniforms: Over most of this period, although secondary school students did wear uniforms of a sort (like catholic school uniforms), these did not include headgear. However, during the 1940's and 50's, school uniforms were quite military in appearance and included caps. In contrast, students at many professional technical schools did wear uniform caps (at least on special occasions) over the entire Soviet period.

Also included on this page are caps worn by cadets at military boarding schools. First established during World War II, these schools continued to provide free care and education to war orphans of military personnel and to train future officers of the armed forces. With enrollments of between 150 to 500 students, the eight Suvorov military schools and the Nakhimov Naval School offered a regular, general school curriculum supplemented by a heavy load of mathematics, political and military training, and physical education. Most graduates of these schools entered higher military institutions.

Please note that caps on this page are only those unique to certain educational institutions (such as professional training schools). If the same cap and insignia were worn by graduated workers of their respective organizations - they will not be shown here. You will have to go to the appropriate page dedicated to that organization to view those caps (such as with Aeroflot which had no unique cadet caps and the military officer schools, whose caps are found on the appropriate branch of service page). p>

The Suvorov schools were military high schools established to prepare graduates to enter military commissioning academies. Admittance to these schools was very competitive, with priority given to children of serving or deceased military officers. Selected students entered the two-year school program after completing their first 8 years of public education. There were nine of these schools in 1991, although a number have been closed since then. Uniforms of Suvorov cadets changed little in the years following WWII. Winter uniforms were black, piped in red and white. This cap is part of that uniform, which was used for both classroom (service) and parade wear. The saddle shaped black crown is piped in white, as is the red band. A post 1969 star & wreath cockade is worn with a black plastic chinstrap and regular Army buttons. The visor is plastic. A white summer version of this cap also exists (see below). I found this cap irritatingly difficult to acquire, despite its logical availability. Available

Suvorov School
Summer Service
1970-1991

A 1986-dated summer version of the above Suvorov cadet cap. What sets this apart from its winter counterpart is the crown that has a removable white cotton cover without colored piping. The rest of the cap design remains the same - red cloth band, black plastic visor, black plastic chinstrap held in place by gold "Army" buttons. The standard enlisted parade cap badge is pinned to the band. Collectors should note that this cap is identical in all respects to the summer Militia (police) cap except for the badge and the strap/cords. As a result - these are easily created from disparate pieces. Most original Suvorov caps should be small (this is size 55). Sizes 58 or larger are probably Police caps. Available

Primary Flight School
Winter Service
1989-1991

This cap was part of the uniform first authorized in the 1989 regulations for students attending primary pilot preparatory schools. These were similar in concept to the Suvorov schools - which essentially prepared high-school grade students for entrance to military commissioning academies. I "believe" these schools (and their unique uniforms) were consigned to history following the breakup of the USSR (unlike the Suvorov schools which continue to this day). This 1990-dated cap is very similar to those worn by Suvorov cadets - with a black crown matching the winter uniform jacket, piped in white. Just the azure blue band identifies its aviation connection. A standard "star in wreath" emblem is pinned throught the band and a black plastic chinstrap is held by two army-style gilt buttons. The visor is plastic. For those that are interested - the size is 52; the smallest I have seen on a military-style cap. Scarce

Railways Tech School
Student Service
1970-1991

This cap was worn by students at Soviet Railways technical schools. As with other Railway caps, it was manufactured according to the same standards as the military services. It has a dark blue crown and black velvet band with medium blue piping (I have also seen an identical one but with a dark blue band). A black chinstrap is secured with standard Railways buttons - with crossed hammer and wrench. Its relatively "late" manufacture is indicated by its saddle form and plastic visor. The winged emblem on the crown and the cockade are unique to Railways' technical schools. Available

Ministry of Coal Mining
Student/Worker
1977-1990's

Another coal mining industry cap - this one was worn by students of mining institutes and technical schools from 1977 and also probably by workers/miners on those rare occasions that called for it. As is standard for coal industry caps, this one has a black cloth crown with bright blue piping. Unlike the "higher" supervisor's caps described above, this one has a plain band of black wool (rather than velvet). Army-style buttons secure a black plastic chinstrap; although the crossed hammers of coal mining were no doubt prescribed, standard army buttons were probably used by most workers. Hard wear has worn away interior markings, but the black plastic visor dates this probably to the late 80's. Along with the plain band and chinstrap, the simple cockade displaying crossed hammers within a wreath identified the wearer as a low-ranking individual in the industry. Scarce

Professional Technical School
Student
1968-1991

This 1986 dated cap would have been worn on formal occasions by a student at one of the USSR's many "Professional Technical Schools". The combination of colors used in this cap was repeated throughout a number of non-military organizations - and is easily the most common of the non-military uniform color schemes. Both the crown and band are sewn from dark blue cotton fabric piped in medium blue (similar in color to KGB piping). This is darker than the azure blue used on the otherwise similar colored Aeroflot caps. The remainder of the cap is typical for one of this period - it has a plastic visor and chinstrap held in place with standard gilt "army" buttons. Note these schools did not have a special design on these buttons. The only element that separated this cap from other similar ones worn by other organizations was the one-piece cockade of the technical schools pinned through the band. Common

Professional Technical School
Student
1990s

A variant of the above cap, this 1992 dated cap was clearly intended for wear by students at the same Professional Technical Schools. However, the meaning of the seldom seen color combination of gray and medium blue is unknown to me. It "may" represent an attempt to develop a color combination unique to these schools - since the all-blue caps apparently worn by most PTU students were also used by other organizations with different insignia. But this is merely conjecture on my part at this time. Other than the attractive color scheme of a gray gabardine top and band with "cornflower" blue piping, the cap is unremarkable. It has the standard PTU/PTO badge, late black plastic chinstrap held by Army-style buttons, and a small black plastic visor. Scarce

Secondary School
Intermediate Student
1940s-1950s

This cap is an example of a secondary school cap worn by male students during the 40's and 50's. It appears that at least the emblem and piping colors varied according to school grade level (primary/intermediate/upper). This cap is overall gray with yellow piping, reportedly indicating an intermediate grade student (age 11-15). The brass emblem is a design common to all secondary schools during this period, although both materials and colors varied. The shape and design of the school cap as a whole is very similar to military or government visor caps of the period - and was no doubt made in the same or associated factories. The crown is teller-shaped and the visor is black enameled fiberboard. The black oilcloth chinstrap is held in place by two plain brass buttons. Secondary school caps are the only Soviet "uniform" caps I have found that did not have an embossed symbol on them. Although clearly many of these caps were made and worn, they are quite rare in Western collections, perhaps because no one else but me is interested in them! Scarce

Secondary School
Primary Student
1940s-1950s

A counterpart to the above cap, this one would have been worn by the youngest students in the Secondary School system - those in the "Primary" grades of 1-3 (ages 7-9) during this early period. As previously mentioned, there was certainly variance in the colors and materials used in these caps, but this one can reportedly be identified as a "Primary" schooler both by its size (about 53) and its silver fittings. Both the crown and band are made of black wool with white piping. A cheap stamped aluminum school emblem is pinned through the band and the black oilcloth chinstrap is held in place by two small plain silver buttons. A black fiberboard visor completes the cap. Also shown here is the schoolboy's jacket matching the cap. It is nicely made of black wool with the second grade signified by the two gold bars beneath the magenta star on the sleeve. Scarce