Balaclava is a type of headgear that covers most of the head but keeps the face exposed. The word originates from the town of Balaklava in the Ukraine. In British history the town is famous as being the location of a kamikaze mission, the Charge of the Light Brigade, during the Crimean War, which pitted the Russians against the British, French, Turks and Sardinians in the 1850s.
Dedicated women at home knitted the “woollen helmets” to protect the British forces from the bitter Russian winter.
It did not take long for the balaclava to find its way into general and recreational use. Balaclava caps are advertised in England in 1881 and only ten years later it was recommended in a book on mountaineering as something very useful for sleeping out.
Nowadays the balaclava is an accessory for those involved in winter sports and firefighters to provide protection against cold and is a must for car racing drivers as a flame retardant. But of course it is also simply a garment to conceal one’s identity. The most famous wearers of the balaclava were the member of Pussy Riot – the famous Russian band. The identity of military men wearing military uniforms but no insignia but a balaclava was a typical feature of the current conflict in the Ukraine – with the balaclava now being used at the same place as it was invented – by a different nationality, for very different reasons.
