Russian Diplomats To Wear New Uniforms

Russian diplomats holding the ranks of Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Envoys Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Classes 1 and 2, will soon wear new dress uniforms. The Department of Governmental Information said that Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov issued an instruction regarding this on Thursday. The ambassadorial dress uniform consists of a double-breasted black wool jacket and trousers. The collar and cuffs are decorated with gold stitching, lapels have Russian state emblem patterns stitched with gold thread on them, and above the emblems there are two intersecting palm branch patterns. The dress uniform also includes a white shirt, grey silk tie, and black wool cap with a lacquered peak and an emblem on the cap-band. For diplomats working in countries with hot climates, there is a white uniform. Instead of uniforms, women diplomats will wear outfits for special occasions. The dress uniforms will be issued to the members of the diplomatic core free of charge. The money to make the uniforms will be allotted by the federal budget of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The regulation to issue the new uniforms follows the presidential decree of March 14, 1995.