'Looks Like Funeral Wear': Russians Slam New Government-Issued School Uniform

The Russian Ministry of Education has unveiled a new standardized school uniform governed by GOST regulations, aiming to promote equality among students regardless of income or religion. The announcement was made by Alexander Reut, Director of the Department of State General Education Policy and Preschool Education Development, as cited by TASS.

According to Reut, “school uniforms help erase psychological boundaries between children from families of different incomes and religious backgrounds.” He stressed that the importance of school uniforms “cannot be overstated.”

Based on images released by TASS, girls are expected to wear a dark red outfit consisting of a skirt, blazer, and a white ruffled blouse. Boys are to wear a dark blue suit with a tie and a white shirt.

Public Reactions: 'Looks Like Funeral Wear'

The public response has been overwhelmingly negative. Many Russians took to social media, especially the Telegram channel “Moskvach”, to voice their disapproval of the uniforms’ aesthetic and practicality.

“My God, what horror,” wrote a user named Yulia.

“What is this? What century are we living in? The 21st, supposedly. I don't understand why they did this,” added another user named Daysha.

Others likened the design to funeral attire, calling the uniforms “depressing” and “soulless.”

Political Commentary and Historical Comparisons

State Duma deputy Evgeny Popov also joined the debate. In his Telegram channel, he drew comparisons to Soviet-era school uniforms, noting the distinctions that used to exist between clothing for younger, middle, and senior students.

“Why reinvent the wheel? This new school uniform is too strict and boring. Childhood is meant to be joyful! Don’t turn kids into office plankton from the very beginning,” Popov wrote.

First-Ever GOST on Uniforms Now in Effect

This marks the first time that a national GOST (state standard) has been applied to school uniforms in Russia. The standard officially came into force on July 1. According to Yana Lantratova, First Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee on Education, the adoption of GOST could lead to a significant rise in uniform prices as production shifts toward compliance with the new regulations.

Details

GOST (Russian: ГОСТ) refers to a set of international technical standards maintained by the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC), a regional standards organization operating under the auspices of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). GOST standards were originally developed by the government of the Soviet Union as part of its national standardization strategy. The word GOST (Russian: ГОСТ) is an acronym for gosudarstvennyy standart (Russian: государственный стандарт), which means state standard or governmental standard.