When two generals meet

Gen Mark Milley and Gen Valery Gerasimov, 
Helsinki, 22 September 2021,
Photo: Master Sergeant Chuck Burden,
DoD USA

As the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Gen. Mark Milley and Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces Gen. Valery Gerasimov held lengthy negotiations in Helsinki on Wednesday 22 September all eyes were on their tunics.

It is believed that the main agenda was the likely resumption of the US military presence in the countries of Central Asia, the former Soviet republics.

But of course, the generals had more to talk about.

Gerasimov in the West is considered to be the author of the doctrine of hybrid war, and the meeting itself coincided with the British authorities' announcement of identifying "the third man", an employee of the GRU of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, who allegedly led the operation at the Salisbury spire. (GRU — Main Intelligence Department, the Russian military intelligence)

And note: the American general showed up in a single-breasted tunic! As opposed to the proper double-breasted tunic of Gen.Gerasimov. 

In the West, you may not be aware of the reference. Yet, as every Russian knows, you don't fight a war in a single-breasted suit, not in our days. It follows from the film 'That Very Munchausen' ("Тот самый Мюнхаузен", 1979), a witty paraphrase on the stories of the great Baron, written by Gregory Gorin and produced and directed by Mark Zakharov.

In this scene the actor Leonid Bronevoy gets all excited by the prospect of a war with England that the Baron declared in support of the American colonies. 

However, the chief is more worried about the uniforms than the logistics. Shall we fight it in single-breasted or double-breasted uniforms? What an affront! Nobody fights a war in a single-breasted tunic, not in our time!