Kirza facts for kids
Kirza is a special type of artificial leather. It's made from many layers of fabric. These layers are treated with special substances. Kirza looks a lot like pig leather. It was mostly made in the Soviet Union and Russia.
Contents
What is Kirza?
Kirza is a strong material. It is a type of artificial leather. This means it is not made from animal skin. Instead, it is made from many layers of cloth. These cloth layers are covered with special chemicals. This makes the material tough and waterproof. Kirza was mainly produced in the Soviet Union and Russia.
How Kirza is Used
This special material is mostly used for making military boots. It is a good choice because it is much cheaper than real leather. It also works very well for tough conditions. Kirza is also used to make belts for machines and cars.
The Story Behind the Name
Some people think the word kirza comes from kersey. Kersey is a natural fabric. It has been around since the Middle Ages. But this idea is not correct. Kersey was used in the very first kirza. However, the two materials are different.
There is a popular story about the name. People thought kirza was short for Kirovskiy zavod. This means "Kirov factory" in Russian. This factory made artificial leather near the city of Kirov. But this story is also not true. The factory's real name was Iskozh. This was short for "iskusstvennaya kozha," meaning "artificial leather." This kind of mistaken story is called folk etymology.
How Kirza Was Invented
The first idea for a leather substitute came in 1904. A person named Mikhail Pomortsev invented it. He used a mix of egg yolk, rosin, and wax. He put this on kersey fabric. His new material won awards. But it was not used much. This was because companies making real leather boots did not want it.
After the Russian Revolution, the Red Army needed cheap boots. But Pomortsev's material was still too costly. Then, in the early 1930s, a new material called synthetic latex was invented. This made kirza much cheaper to make.
In 1939, two engineers developed a new kirza. Their names were Aleksandr Khomutov and Ivan Plotnikov. They worked at a factory in Moscow. They called their new material Kirza SK.
Mass production of Kirza SK started during the Winter War. This was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. At first, the material did not work well in winter. So, production stopped. But the technology was quickly made better. Mass production started again in 1941. This was during the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The army needed many boots.
On April 10, 1942, Aleksandr Khomutov, Ivan Plotnikov, and seven others received an award. It was the 2nd Degree Stalin Prize. They got it for their new kirza invention.
Kirza Today
The way kirza is made has not changed much since 1941. It is still produced in the Soviet Union (now Russia) and other countries. About 85% of the kirza made in Russia is used for military boots. This includes modern combat boots.
Most modern kirza boots are made from two materials. They use 85% kirza and 15% special natural leather. This natural leather is called yuft or Russia leather. So far, about 150 million pairs of kirza footwear have been made.
