Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Reuters correspondent took pictures of the production of felt boots at the Smilovichi felting factory, which is located in the town called Smilovichi not far from Minsk, Belarus. They have been felting boots here for the third century already.
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Back in 1928 there were almost only men to work there. They used to comb the hair on special machines powered by horses. Then the hair was pressed and felted in boilers heated on the fire. In summer felt boots were drying in the sun, in winter – on the home furnaces.
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
In 1930 the first building of the factory appeared. They didn’t need horses anymore to power the production. They started to use an oil engine instead. Later it was replaced by a steam portable engine and special machines. The output of the production rose several times: in 1920s they made 80-90 pairs of boots daily, in 1969 – more than 650 pairs.
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters
They are perfect for severe winter cold!
Location:Smilovichi, Belarus
That guy with the cigaret is so riped look at those arms!
That was my immediate reaction as well. An old man’s face with a lean muscular body of a younger man. Though, the cancer stick in his mouth (and a quart of vodka at night) will probably cancel out the positive benefits of his physical work style.
Time machine to the late 1940s. You just gotta love the Soviet spirit on the workers’ faces.
How mant felts do they kill a day to make these boots? 😉
I would really appreciate a link to where I might be able to buy some of these boots!
i would rather wear this in winter than any other modern synthetic crap