Rubashka

A soldier once came to me in Little Russia in a clean rubashka (shirt, belted and worn as a coat), and boasted that soldiers change their rubashki once a week.

Like Berl [Katznelson], he [Eliyahu Golomb] wore a sort of uniform—a rubashka that buttoned down the side and a pair of creased khaki trousers. I don’t remember ever having seen him in a suit.

‘Ivan the Whisker’ slapped his thigh and then reached down into the deep pocket of his rubashka and drew out a bottle.