It turns out that Soviet leaders were even more hardheaded than the world thought. Their big fur hats were lined with steel.
On Soviet holidays, members of the ruling Politburo used to stand rigidly on Lenin's tomb in Red Square, watching tanks and missiles stream by in military parades.Maybe they looked so stiff because of the weight of their armored headgear, a Russian newspaper suggested Friday.
The special hats were custom-made on orders from the Central Committee of the Communist Party by a defense factory that also manufactured standard-issue army helmets, the daily Segodnya reported.
The hats, called "shapki" in Russian, usually were made from the prized fur of baby lambs, Siberian muskrats or young reindeer. Metal plates hidden under the fur were meant to protect the Communist bigwigs from assassination.
Segodnya said the helmet factory now is offering similar hats to Russian entrepreneurs who fear attacks from gangsters. Last year, about 100 Moscow businessmen were killed in mafia hits, according to the business newspaper Commersant.