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[[File:Кирзовые сапоги российского солдата .jpg|thumb|200px|right|Kirza boots.]]

'''Kirza''' ({{lang-ru|Кирза}}) is a type of [[artificial leather]] based on the multi-layer textile fabric, modified by membrana-like substances, produced mainly in the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Russia]]. The surface of kirza imitates the [[pig leather]].

The material is mainly used in production of military boots, where it is a cheap and effective replacement for natural leather. It is also used in production of the belts for machinery and automobiles.

The name ''kirza'' is an [[acronym]] from ''Kirovskiy Zavod'' (''Kirov plant''), a fabric producing artificial leather, located in the city of [[Kirov, Kirov Oblast|Kirov]] in [[Russia]], which was the first place of the mass production of kirza.<ref>В. И. Шмакова Комбинат «Искож» // Энциклопедия земли Вятской / отв. В. Ситников. — Киров: «О-Краткое», 2008. — Т. 10. Книга вторая. Промышленность. Энергетика. Строительство. Транспорт. ISBN 978-5-91402-040-5 {{ru icon}}</ref> Sometimes English dictionaries translate ''кирза'' as ''kersey'' into [[English language]], which is a mistake, since [[Kersey (cloth)|kersey]] is quite a different material known from the middle ages.<ref>[http://sokr.ru/card/21108scc97c4fa/ Kirza] {{ru icon}}</ref>

The technology was invented in 1935 by [[Ivan Plotnikov]] and his fellow engineer Khomutov. The mass production began during the [[Winter War]] of the [[Soviet Union]] against [[Finland]]. Initially the material proved to be unfit to the winter conditions, and the production was halted. However, very soon the technology was improved and the mass production was resumed in the autumn and winter of 1941 during the [[German invasion of Soviet Union]], since the large numbers of footwear were badly needed for the [[Red Army]].

For the invention of kirza, Ivan Plotnikov was awarded the [[Stalin Prize]] the size of 100,000 [[ruble]]s on 10th of April, 1942, as ordered by the [[Council of People's Commissars]] of the [[Soviet Union]].

Since that time kirza has been continuously produced in the [[Soviet Union]] and then [[Russia]], as well as in some other countries. Basically the technology didn't changed much from 1941. About 85% of kirza produced in Russia goes for military boots (including the modern [[combat boot]]s). Most of the modern kirza boots are produced from a combination of 85% kirza and 15% of specially prepared natural leather (the so called ''yuft'' or ''Russian leather''). About 150 million pairs of kirza footwear has been produced up to this time.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Footwear]]
[[Category:Materials]]
[[Category:Fabrics]]
[[Category:Leather]]
[[Category:Soviet Army]]
[[Category:Russian inventions]]
[[Category:Soviet inventions]]

[[ru:Кирза]]
[[uk:Кирза]]
[[Category:2Fix]]