Russian army foot wraps

Factual Questions
1

On tonight’s The Amazing Race contestants had to don Russian army foot wraps. These are cloths wrapped around the foot (obviously) that serve the function of socks.

Are these wraps generally used in the Russian army? Or are they just worn in boot camp? I can see the practicality of being trained to use a cloth for a sock, but not the practicality of using one all the time.

2

I seem to remember reading a news article about a year ago which said that the Russian military abolished foot cloths.

Ah, here’s a cite: Russian military adopts a modern touch: socks

3

Amazing.

Thanks for the informative link.