[DesertRhino]

I agree with you about those giant hats. You see them there, North Korea, etc. Ive always wondered what the back story is on those.
Military hats often have backstories. I just recently learned that the spike on WWI German helmets was there as a mounting point for those long horse tail manes they wore on parade back then. Brits still wear them. If you think about it, an Indian war bonnet is also fairly commical too. But these ridiculously large Russian hats, I have no idea where or when those began.

[Alas Babylon!]

Here's one from the USA. Army Artillery Corps, 1872:

[noiseman]

If you think about it, an Indian war bonnet is also fairly commical too.

Don’t let the lefties hear you say that; you’ll be canceled as fast as they can shriek “Safe Space!”

[ProtectOurFreedom]

The gorget is another interesting piece of military dress. It started off as a steel or leather protector for the neck and chest and, as guns got more powerful, was reduced in sized and worn as a symbol of rank. It also effectively communicated "kill me first" on the battlefield. Here's George Washington wearing one during the French and Indian War.

[TheDandyMan]

I always assumed it developed as an evolution of the shako hat that gradually become lower and wider, but apparently those hats appeared and were used somewhat concurrently with shakos, were abolished and reinstated in various services over the 1800s and 1900s. They’re that large simply because the Russians thought it looked good. Varieties of the hat used by other countries don’t appear to have been so disproportionately large. I’ve read that red army grunts had various derogatory nicknames for the hats, including some that basically implied that their officers were in a fashion war with the Germans, vying to have the most outrageously fabulous uniforms.

The Russian military started using a redesigned cap a few years ago that is of a more normal size.

[Boogieman]

“But these ridiculously large Russian hats, I have no idea where or when those began.”

The larger the hat, the more you can smuggle out of the military base when you leave for the day...