Soviet soldier wearing the winter Afghanka uniform and ushanka (January 1992). Both the Afghanka collar and ushanka are made from fish fur.
Fish fur (Russian: рыбий мех, romanized: ryby mekh) is a Russian-language ironic expression used to describe poor quality of coats and other clothes worn for warmth.[1] In modern times, it is also used for fake fur, especially of poor quality. The term traces back to a Russian proverb "A poor man's fur coat is of fish fur." (Russian: У бедняка шуба на рыбьем меху, romanized: U bednyaka shuba na rybyem mekhu).
The expression has often been used to describe the uniform of the Soviet Army.[2] In particular, elements of winter uniform (ushanka, collars, mittens) of ordinary soldiers and lower ranks were made of wool pile, which has been a popular cheap material for civilian clothing as well.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in his Gulag Archipelago records the expression "Stalin's fur" in the meaning of no fur of any kind, in reference to the dress of Gulag inmates, supposedly derived in an analogy with "fish fur".[3]
^Lubensky, Sophia (1995). Random House Russian-English Dictionary of Idioms. Random House Reference. ISBN 978-0679405801.
^Zaloga, Steven J. (1987). Inside the Soviet Army. Bloomsbury USA. p. 53. ISBN 0-85045-741-6.
^Solzhenitsyn, Alexander (1974). The Gulag Archipelago, 1918–1956. Translated by Willetts, H. T.; Whitney, Thomas P. Harper & Row. p. 534. ISBN 0-8133-3291-5.
Fishfur (Russian: рыбий мех, romanized: ryby mekh) is a Russian-language ironic expression used to describe poor quality of coats and other clothes worn...
furs. Artificial fur hats are also manufactured and are referred to as "fishfur" since the material is not from any real animal. The simplest "fish fur"...
Army, fishfur is a derogatory term for low-quality winter clothing and ushanka hats, from a proverb that "a poor man's fur coat is of fishfur".[citation...
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern...
brown fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus), also known as the Cape fur seal, South African fur seal and Australian fur seal, is a species of fur seal. The...
The original Fish and Fur Club building is at Main (NY 301) and Pearl Streets in Nelsonville, New York, United States. It is now used as Nelsonville's...
Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-932098-70-9. Fish, Fur & Feathers: Fish and Wildlife Conservation in Alberta 1905-2005. Fish and Wildlife Historical Society and...
Antarctic fur seals, Galapagos fur seals, Juan Fernandez fur seals, New Zealand fur seals, brown fur seals, South American fur seals, and subantarctic fur seals...
crucial effects on the ecology of wetlands, and is a resource of food and fur for humans. Adult muskrats weigh 0.6–2 kg (1+1⁄4–4+1⁄2 lb), with a body length...
The northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) is an eared seal found along the north Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk. It is the largest...
the liners. The jacket liner bears the fur collar of the jacket, usually in fishfur but occasionally in real fur (officer's uniforms). The jacket and trousers...
differences in local oceanographic conditions. Antarctic fur seals feed primarily on Krill, Fish, and Squid. Birds are eaten occasionally outside the breeding...
lifestyle. Food was almost entirely marine-sourced — protein and fat from fish, fur seals, and the fatty young of sea birds. The islands supported about 2...
original on 2022-10-09. Fish, fur & feathers : fish and wildlife conservation in Alberta 1905-2005. Federation of Alberta Naturalists., Fish and Wildlife Historical...
subantarctic fur seals at Marion Island from 1996 to 2000 concluded that Myctophid fish constituted the largest part of the seals' diet, with fish from the...
Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly...
name derives from the insect's silvery light grey colour, combined with the fish-like appearance of its movements. The scientific name (L. saccharinum) indicates...
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams...
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a U.S. federal government agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior which oversees...
bustline and often paired with a belt. Fur coats made a comeback, although many women used "fishfur" due to real fur's association with animal cruelty. The...
species of fish in the Fur Formation. Antigonia- Small Eocene fish from the Fur Formation, Denmark. Polymixiid - Early Eocene fish from the Fur Formation...
water vole populations. It is the animal most frequently farmed for its fur, exceeding the silver fox, sable, marten, and skunk in economic importance...
). University of Toronto Press. Griffiths, N.E.S. (1994). "1600-1650. Fish, Fur and Folk". In Phillip Buckner; John G. Reid (eds.). The Atlantic Region...
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