Russian Barvikha CAMO

Although developed in the late 1980s (following an eight-year test period during which the early designs were known as barvikha), the camouflage designs most commonly known simply as VSR (for Vooruzhennyye sily Rossii or Russian Armed Forces) or dubok (little oak) did not enter service until 1991, and then only initially by specialized units such as the Airborne Forces (VDV). By 1994, the pattern was being distributed universally to most ground units of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as many units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). The VSR 3-TsV is a three-color pattern consisting of vertically aligned irregular shapes in two darker colors over a lighter colored field. As with the Soviet TTsKO three-color "woodland" patterns, the number of color variations of the VSR 3-TsV is quite high. Initial production runs released a green and a brown dominant version, but over time quite a number of variants have been documented. Summer and winter weight uniforms, aviation uniforms, and several accessories have been produced in these patterns. The VSR pattern has declined in usage with the Russian Armed Forces since the introduction of Flora pattern in 1998. Illustrated below are several examples we have collected, although more are known to exist.