In olive canvas, an early WW2 version with canvas shoulder straps and quilted back portion. Leather tabs and secondary straps; leather- reenforced edges of the flaps. The metal hardware is in zinc-plated steel. The inside of the main flap has the maker mark of the Leningrad's Karl Marx Factory of the NKLP (Narkomat of Light Industry) and the factory quality control stamp. Note that the reference to the Nakromat, i.e. People's Commissariat could appear on a factory stamp only until early 1946, at which point all Soviet Narkomats were renamed ministries.

In outstanding condition, virtually unheard of for a piece of RKKA equipment from the early WW2 - pre -Patriotic War period. Comes complete with all the leather slings, straps, original hardware and the apparently original drawstring under the top flap. The canvas is remarkably well-preserved and sound; there are only a couple of very small, nearly unnoticeable tears near the edge of one of the exterior pockets that are not affecting the appearance or usability of the backpack. The leather parts are in great shape overall and albeit dry, still pliable; the only exception is a small strap at the bottom that is partly torn and needs to be handled with care. The leather panel on the back has an inscribed name of the original owner, now partly worn out and illegible. The buckles and clips are free of significant oxidation.

A very rare and interesting part of a Red Army soldier's kit from the early WW2 period, an unlikely survivor of the German Blitzkrieg of 1941. It is especially uncommon to see one of these in as great a shape as the example offered here. During the Patriotic War, production of the rucksack was abandoned in favor of the simplified Sidor sack.

See pages 62-63 in the classic Field Equipment of the Infantry, 1914-1945 by Robert Fisch, probably the most authoritative book ever written on the world's field gear, for the basic information about this model of rucksack.