I have some myself. Our tattoos are not just tattoos, they are art:






















And my favorite:


'Nikto krome nas' 'Nobody but us' VDV motto.

BTW, in many of those, first number and last number means the years in service; second/middle number is division (unit). We do this so years later, when we reunite on VDV Day, we can all reckognize each other, who served with whom.

Not bad. Very Macho!

Never been much of a fan of tattoo's but they look rather cool.

Those shirts are pretty

Originally Posted by SigJohnson

Those shirts are pretty

It's called telnyashka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telnyashka

A telnyashka (Russian: Тельняшка) is a dark color and white striped, sleeveless or not, undershirt worn by sailors of the Russian Navy, the Soviet and Russian Airborne Forces (the VDV) and the Russian Naval Infantry (Marines). It is a symbol of great pride for its bearers, perhaps best exemplified by the famed Soviet sniper Vassili Zaitsev. Zaitsev was a petty officer in the Soviet Pacific Fleet who volunteered for army duty in the Battle of Stalingrad, but despite transfer to the army he refused to give up his Navy telnyashka because of the pride it engendered. General Margelov who was later to modernise the Soviet airborne forces had served with a Naval Infantry unit in the Great Patriotic War and procured telnyashkas for the airborne forces as a mark of their elite status.
The official uniforms of mentioned troops include no shirts and a specially crafted jacket thus making telnyashkas a visible part of it (not just underwear).

Soviet marines in full dress consisiting of black jacket and telnyashka.


There is a popular saying that ironically presents telnyashkas as an attribute of "real men": "Нас мало, но мы в тельняшках!" (Nas malo, no my v telnyashkakh — We are few in number, but we wear telnyashkas!).

Nice to find out the history, I was under the impression that they were only for Spetnaz - I should read up on my subjects a bit more.

Thanks for the education!

I think my point was missed!

Originally Posted by SigJohnson

I think my point was missed!

Yes, yes, the telnyashka is pretty. I guess. I would not think of it that way... But, okay.

And again my point is missed.
I am trying in a round a bout way say it looks a bit gay, when you think about it

Originally Posted by SigJohnson

And again my point is missed.
I am trying in a round a bout way say it looks a bit gay, when you think about it

Well, to be fair, goluboi or blue is the color of homosexuals in Russia. But it has been OUR color for far longer. And noone would call a paratrooper a faggot to his face: that's how you get your teeth kicked in.

And Paratroopers not only love the ladies, we get the best ones



These are all from Paratrooper Day celebration, each August. Just for information lol

Nothing Russian girls love more than guys in telnyashkas