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White Tights
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"White Tights" (also "White Pantyhose" or White Stockings;[1] the beliye

kolgotki, Russian: белые колготки; Latvian: baltās zeėbikses) is a Russian Contents
urban myth surrounding the alleged participation of female sniper mercenaries
in combat against Russian forces in various armed conflicts from late 1980s.[2] 1 Origins
2 Later conflicts
The myth describes these women as blond Amazon-like nationalistic biathletes 3 In popular culture
turned anti-Russian mercenaries. They come predominantly from the Baltic 4 References
states, but subsequent variations of the myth have diversified the ethnic
composition of the snipers, including Ukrainian, Russian and even black women
in their midst.

The name "White Tights" originates from the white-coloured winter sports attire these snipers were wearing and
was first coined during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.[3][4]

Origins
The phenomenon was first reported during the late 1980s, with female Baltic irregulars being rumoured fighting
with the resistance in the Soviet war in Afghanistan.[5] It appeared first in the English-language media only in
conjunction with the post-Soviet First and Second Chechen Wars.[1][6][7] Attempts have been made to link the
alleged presence of the "White Tights" in Chechnya, not only with the special forces and intelligence services of
the Baltic states, but also to the positive relations Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev enjoyed with both the
government of independent Estonia and Lithuanian politician Vytautas Landsbergis.[8] Sergey Yastrzhembsky,
the chief spokesman of the Kremlin during the early phase of the Second Chechen War, argued that female
Baltic snipers actually existed based on evidence from GRU military intelligence, who "don't make mistakes".
The government of Estonia has asked for the evidence behind the claims and sent diplomatic notes twice to
Russia without receiving an official answer.[9]

Later conflicts
In November 2008, Aleksandr Bastrykin, head of the Russian Federation Prosecutor-General's investigative
committee, has suggested that mercenaries from the Baltic states were among those known to have participated
on the Georgian side during the 2008 South Ossetia war,[10][11] including a female sniper from Latvia.[12][13]
Earlier during the conflict, Russia Today TV had reported the South Ossetian authorities as saying that "there
was a group of women snipers operating in the city [i.e., Tskhinvali]", and that "Ukrainians and citizens of the
Baltic countries have been among the prisoners they have detained."[14] These reports have resurrected the
rumours of "White Tights" operating in the Caucasus.[13][15][16] A spokesman for the Latvian Ministry of
Defence, Airis Rikveilis, commented Bastrykin's statements as follows: "We had thought that the ghost of the
'White Tights' had died in the Russian press, but now we see that it still roams Russia."[17]

In popular culture
White Tights have also appeared in the Russian popular media, such as in Aleksandr Nevzorov's 1997 film
Purgatory (Russian: Чистилище). In the film, two Lithuanian "biathletes" are portrayed as sadistic mercenary

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White Tights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
snipers fighting for the Chechen rebels.[18] A much more sympathetic character of a Lithuanian female sniper
appeared in Andrei Konchalovsky's 2002 film House of Fools, portrayed by Cecilie Thomsen.
The character Sniper Wolf in the PlayStation game Metal Gear Solid shares many of the characteristics of
White Tights. Whether this is a conscious decision from the creators is unclear.
References
1. ^ a b Whitmore, Brian (9 October 1999). "Myth of
Women Snipers Returns"
(http://internal.moscowtimes.ru/indexes/1999/10
/09/01.html) . The Moscow Times.
http://internal.moscowtimes.ru/indexes/1999/10
/09/01.html. Retrieved 7 December 2008. (alt. link
(http://internal.moscowtimes.ru/stories/1999/10
/09/002.html) )
2. ^ Абдулаева, Майнат (13 April 2000). "Где шьют
белые колготки? Мифы второй чеченской"
(http://2000.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2000/13n/n13n-
s17.shtml) (in Russian). Новая газета.
http://2000.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2000/13n/n13n-
s17.shtml. Retrieved 2 January 2009. See Myth no.
3.
3. ^ Янченков, Владимир (1 April 2000). ""Дикие
гусыни" в белых колготках" (http://www.trud.ru
/issue/article.php?id=200004010600202) (in
Russian). Tpyд. http://www.trud.ru/issue
/article.php?id=200004010600202. Retrieved 2
January 2009.
4. ^ Маетная, Елизавета (6 April 2001). "Волчицы в
белых колготках" (http://www.mk.ru/blogs
/idmk/2001/04/06/mk-daily/32983/) (in Russian).
Moskovskij Komsomolets. http://www.mk.ru/blogs
/idmk/2001/04/06/mk-daily/32983/. Retrieved 2
January 2009. (alt. link (http://www.memo.ru
/hr/hotpoints/N-Caucas/ch99/010406/mk0406a.htm) )
5. ^ Rislakki, Jukka (2008). (http://books.google.com
/?id=yXANj6Y_7goC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&
dq=baltic+%22white+tights%22) The Case for
Latvia. Disinformation Campaigns Against a Small
Nation: Fourteen Hard Questions and Straight
Answers about a Baltic Country. Amsterdam; New
York: Rodopi. p. 27. ISBN 9789042024243.
OCLC 237883206 (http://www.worldcat.org
/oclc/237883206) . http://books.google.com
/?id=yXANj6Y_7goC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&
dq=baltic+%22white+tights%22.
6. ^ Higgins, Andrew (11 March 1995). "Document
check on the borders of madness"
(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158
/is_19950311/ai_n13970807) . The Independent.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158
/is_19950311/ai_n13970807. Retrieved 4 December
2 of 3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Tights
2008.
7. ^ Faurby, Ib; Magnusson, Märta-Lisa (1999). "The
Battle(s) of Grozny" (http://www.bdcol.ee/fileadmin
/docs/bdreview/07bdr299.pdf) (PDF). Baltic Defence
Review 1999 (2): 77. ISSN 1736-1265
(http://www.worldcat.org/issn/1736-1265) .
http://www.bdcol.ee/fileadmin/docs/bdreview
/07bdr299.pdf. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
8. ^ "Другая эстония" (http://cineplexx.ru/9/838-
drugaja-jestonija.html) (in Russian). Канал
«Совершенно Секретно». http://cineplexx.ru
/9/838-drugaja-jestonija.html. Retrieved 4 December
2008.
9. ^ "Are foreigners fighting there?"
(http://www.economist.com/world/europe
/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_QSQR) . The
Economist. 6 June 2000. http://www.economist.com
/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=E1_QSQR.
Retrieved 7 December 2008. "The blonde Baltic
snipers, who are called beliye kolgotky (white tights)
by the Russians, after their supposed favourite
costume, are even more puzzling. Estonia has twice
sent diplomatic notes to Russia, asking for the
evidence behind the claims. So far, no answer. "They
exist. Military intelligence says so, and they don't
make mistakes," says Mr Yastrzhembsky's office."
(alt. Google Books link (http://books.google.com
/books?lr=&ei=TJo7SbJQg8wznvaxvAs&
id=Gs22AAAAIAAJ&q=%22White+tights%22&
pgis=1#search) )
10. ^ "Russia says U.S. mercenaries, others fought for
Georgia" (http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews
/idUSTRE4AN2S020081124) . Reuters. 24
November 2008. http://www.reuters.com/article
/topNews/idUSTRE4AN2S020081124. Retrieved 4
December 2008.
11. ^ "Украинцы планируют убийства в Грузии?"
(http://www.km.ru/magazin/view.asp?id=
{5CE15A8F-9F1E-4C36-A007-0C818963B6CD})
(in Russian). KMnews.RU. 13 August 2008.
http://www.km.ru/magazin/view.asp?id=
{5CE15A8F-9F1E-4C36-A007-0C818963B6CD}.
Retrieved 4 December 2008.
12. ^ LETA (24 November 2008). "Krievija: Gruzijas
pusē karoja NATO algotĦi, arī Latvijas snaipere"
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White Tights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Tights

(http://www.delfi.lv/news/world/other (in Latvian). Diena. http://www.diena.lv/lat/politics

/article.php?id=22473299) (in Latvian). Delfi.lv.
http://www.delfi.lv/news/world/other
/article.php?id=22473299. Retrieved 4 December
2008.
13. ^ a b Winiarski, Michael (30 November 2008).
"Kallblodiga baltiska kvinnor går igen"
(http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=3561&
a=858176) (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter.
http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=3561&
a=858176. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
14. ^ "‘Not enough coffins’ as rescuers restore war-torn
capital" (http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news
/29043) . Russia Today. 15 August 2008.
http://www.russiatoday.com/news/news/29043.
Retrieved 4 December 2008.
15. ^ Hodge, Nathan (25 November 2008). "The Return
of 'White Tights': Mythical Female Snipers Stalk
Russians" (http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/11
/return-of-white.html) . http://blog.wired.com/defense
/2008/11/return-of-white.html. Retrieved 4 December
2008.
16. ^ OzoliĦš, Aivars (26 November 2008). "Zeėbikses
galvā" (http://www.diena.lv/lat/politics
/dienas_komentari/aivars-ozolins-zekbikses-galva)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Tights"
Categories: 2008 South Ossetia war | Female military personnel | Fictional mercenaries | Foreign volunteers in
Chechnya | Snipers | Military snipers | Soviet war in Afghanistan | Urban legends | Propaganda legends
/dienas_komentari/aivars-ozolins-zekbikses-galva.
Retrieved 4 December 2008.
17. ^ "Krievija: Gruzijas pusē karoja NATO algotĦi, arī
Latvijas snaipere" (http://www.nra.lv/zinas/12442-
krievija-gruzijas-puse-karoja-nato-algotni-
ari-latvijas-snaipere.htm) (in Latvian). nra.lv. 24
November 2008. http://www.nra.lv/zinas/12442-
krievija-gruzijas-puse-karoja-nato-algotni-
ari-latvijas-snaipere.htm. Retrieved 4 December
2008. "Mēs jau bijām domājuši, ka "balto zeėubikšu
rēgs" Krievijas presē ir miris, tomēr tagad mēs
redzam, ka tas joprojām klīst par Krieviju[.]"
18. ^ Коняхов, Сергей (4 April 1998). "Пекло
"Чистилища"" (http://www.moles.ee/98/Apr/04/a-
10.html) (in Russian). Молодежь Эстонии.
http://www.moles.ee/98/Apr/04/a-10.html. Retrieved
7 December 2008. "Это как бы и не чеченцы:
хладнокровно за доллары убивают
биатлонистки-снайперши из Литвы - такая "у
белых колготок" работа, отрезают головы
пленным боевики из Афганистана - дикий
народ, в отряде - непонятно откуда взявшееся
черномазое отребье - наемники выглядят просто
недоумками."

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