The best leather in the world is Russian reindeer. It is coveted for its rugged appearance, strength, and functionality.
Novgorod shoemakers developed four main types of footwear. In this period there was a close relation between the artisans and their market. The shoes were well-balanced and wide in front. They were narrow in the heels.
Traditional Russian footwear
The Valenki boots (also known as volnushechki or vykhodki) are heavy, wool-filled winter boot that are provided to Russian street police and soldiers. These rugged boots that literally mean “made by felting” are an ancient Russian heritage of the Mongol tribes and were once so expensive that they covered the feet of the tsars and empresses.
Hand-made valenki are extremely long-lasting however they are also very time-consuming and labor intensive. Craftsmen roll and form the felt into a boot shape, then place it in an ice bath where it’s repeatedly dipped into hot water in order to shrink it. It takes several hours to make the valenki boot, which can run into the hundreds.
Despite their expensive price, the traditional boots remain in style throughout Russia’s long history of winters. Over the past two years, however, they have been losing popularity as people opt for lighter and more waterproof footwear.
Yet, many young Russians are finding a way to revive their passion for old-fashioned shoes. Olga Shantseva and Galina Shantzeva, twins based in Moscow are creating birchbark footwear that are decorated with Soviet art, making them extremely popular with young artists. The Russian brand of valenki has also gained popularity internationally. The boots are enjoying an influx of popularity in Russia.
The past Russian leather shoes
Detailed study of archaeological evidence, ethnographic and written documents helps to trace the development of shoe styles in the early Rus’. The abundance of leather footwear found during the excavations of different periods in Novgorod’s history suggests that shoemakers of all types were involved in making footwear for both artisanal and nobility classes.
Lapti, soft shoes made from thin tree bark, usually made of birch. They were worn by common people in the countryside. Rawhide laces were used to fasten them. They wrapped around the foot and then passed through the side slits of the sole. Additionally, they were laced over stockings and windings.
The oldest Russian boots are made of reindeer hide. They feature a distinctive pattern of the hatch grain, hand-embossed. The finest Russian reindeer hide is tanned by machine to make it tough and durable. The best reindeer leather is frequently compared with it, but it is not as stiff and therefore more suitable for making shoes.
The very first felt boots were referred to as valenki. This name is derived from the process of making them. Felt was compressed with the help of a specially-designed tool known as “valenka”. The block of wood features a flat surface as well as multiple holes, on which the wool was rolling. In Russia, the process is known as “valyat”, which means rolling. After a specific time, felt boots were created out of other materials, too. For added insulation they could be filled with animal hair or hay. The quarter of the heel would then be sturdier using layers of leather or birch-bark the lining.
Medieval Russian shoe designs
The medieval Russian leather giay luoi nam design was inspired by the birchbark footwear worn by peasants. They were adorned with nogavits and windings. Obory strings were long and used to fasten the shoes. They were passed across the side of the lapti, then wound them around. Additionally, the shoe was a sole that was made of the larch or fir bark. This shoe was extremely comfortable for walking, and also very durable.
The craftsman who created the shoe had to be exceptionally skilled in order to produce an excellent product. It’s not a surprise to find so many fragments from the same type of shoe in archeological layers dating to the 10th-13th centuries.
According to the First Novgorod Chronicle, at that time there were already distinct groups of leatherworkers and shoemakers. It is proven that only a person with an atelier at which they sewed footwear could be called a shoemaker.
One of the most well-known varieties of Russian leather shoes was bakhily (also called bredni, brodni, butyli, lovchagi and ostashi) – men’s working and hunting boots made from soft leather. The boots were high-top jackboots which reached to the knees and thighs. These boots were very durable, and people wore them in the woods for long durations of time. They were also used by fishermen and hunters.
Soviet-era Russian footwear
The Soviet period saw the decline in traditional Russian shoemaking because an influx of new artisans was drawn to modern shoes imported from Western countries. This was due to a combination of reasons, including the lack of interest in handmade products among the youth, the increased production of factory-made footwear, and a change in taste.
Galoshes were the shoes of preference during that period. The boots were made of felt and were worn over other footwear to shield against snow and ice and ensure that feet were warm. The leather pieces were placed face-to-face and abutted each other and then sewn using invisible or blind stitching.
The Kazan Khanate, which inherited the Volga Bulgarian culture, customs, and crafts from the Mongol conquest, also wore footwear made of bast. They were similar to normal boots, but they had shorter bootlegs and did not come with a lined. The shoes were fastened with long strings, called obory, which passed through the sides of the lapti and wound around the legs.
Novgorod leatherworkers were known to specialize in short bootlegs with straight sides. They were referred to as golenishcha or golenicha, and their heights were 17-22 centimeters. Iron adzes were found in the layers of this time period. They were used to remove subcutaneous tissue and flesh from the leather.