An USHANKA is a special type of hat used to keep warm in the winter cold. It is usually made of fur and round. It means “ear hat, because of its flaps for ears usho=ear, and shapka=hat “ushanka”. Ushankas usually come in black, beige, light or dark grey, and white. The ushanka unfolds and folds to change to the conditions. Open the ear flaps to keep your ears warm, or fold it up to just wear it on your head, and tie the flaps together to keep your chin and jaw warm.

Here’s a video with some more information on ushankas:

They are commonly associated with Russians, and WW2s eastern front, and that’s somewhat true, they were heavily used by the soviet army. But their origins came from long before the soviet era. The ushanka originated in northern and central Russia in the 1600s to protect themselves from the freezing Russian winter. Soon, they were commonly used in most of the Slavic countries, including, Croatia, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, Macedonia, and even parts of Finland and Eastern Germany.

Similar types of hats are worn around the world, like in China, the “Lei Feng”, and the Trapper hat.

This ushanka will be used for our 3D printer and custom ushanka and flag project to decorate our rooms with. we will use the 3D printer to print out some coat of arms and other medallions, then attach them, or pin them to the ushanka. We are also going to 3D print a hammer and sickle for the flag. and maybe add some more decorations to it. perhaps have it play the USSR anthem when someone opens it up?

Here’s a video of an ushanka review:

https://youtu.be/JBmy5FFAk2s