Komandirskie watches began to be produced in the Vostok factory in Cistopol in 1965.

These were military watches commissioned by the Ministry of Defence to the factory, initially as premium watches. In fact, the Soviet Army used to reward its soldiers, especially those of lesser rank with items of this type. Awards were given to officers who showed particular punctuality or ability to complete a mission. It was an informal practice that involved awarding prizes with items such as wristwatches instead of common medals and orders.

This custom had very ancient roots, since the Middle Ages when in Russia it was customary to give watches (at the time pocket watches) even to the ambassadors who came to visit Russia.

Military’s needs were to have watches of a certain level and that met certain characteristics, especially an adequate waterproofing. Over the decades the Komandirskie model will undergo several changes and variations: for this reason there are watches very different from each other both in shape and movement.

Since these watches were not produced for free sale on the market, Vostok did not engrave the inscription “manufactured in the USSR” but “order of the Ministry of Defence of the USSR“, in most cases at 6 o’clock (заказ Мо – Министерство обороны). It’s from these Komandirskie watch models that in 1967 Vostok started producing the famous Amfibia watch that was so successful.

At the beginning the cost of the Komandirskie started from 45 rubles. They appeared for the first time in the “Voentorg” stores and were sold out after a few hours from the sale. In several cities there was even speculation on sale so much that it was impossible to find them for less than 100 rubles. In the 1980s, Komandirskie was produced with the symbols of the Army, Air Force and Navy troops and immediately began to become a real object of worship. In particular, Komandirskie watches were produced dedicated to the Russian airborne forces, the border guard, the Ministry of Civil Emergency Affairs and many others. Already from the early 1980s the Komandirskie began to be exported under the brand name “Russian Military watch“, especially in Western Europe, Japan and the United States. The great export success caused the Chistopol factory to double its capital in a few years.

According to some sources, in 1991 the Pentagon ordered Vostok 40000 watches for its soldiers engaged in the Gulf War. The Americans particularly appreciated the work of the Russian watchmakers and commissioned further orders in the following months. For the occasion, Vostok created the special watch “Desert Shield” dedicated to the US mission in the Gulf: it was the first Russian clock in which the American flag appeared on the dial. Subsequently, in collaboration with the American company “Capital Trading” the Komandirskie watch is modified and improved especially with regard to packaging to make it more attractive to potential buyers and is marketed under the brand “Century Time“.

The success of the Komandirskie model was such that it also generated numerous fakes that were found in Cyprus and the United States. In the case of the specimens found in the shops of Cyprus it was then ascertained that they did not have a waterproofing of more than 2 atmospheres. The Gruing factory, which in the United States had reproduced the Komandirskie, declared bankruptcy before Vostok could take legal action against it.

In Italy the company Time Trend in 1989 officially imported the Komandirskie which were advertised as “the watches of the Red Army“. Among the most famous we find the Komandirskie with the submarine drawn on the dial, the one with the tank and the one dedicated to parachutists. In October 1992, two Italian companies, AC Milan football team and Fiat, commissioned Vostok to produce a lot of 30,000 ‘company’ watches, which were not produced.

To counteract the counterfeiting phenomenon, Vostok decided to conclude an agreement with the Swiss BN Trading factory, giving it the exclusive right to sell Vostok watches in the European market.

On 8 September 1994, Vostok began production of a Komandirskie watch dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the victory in World War II. For the first time a Komandirskie was produced on the initiative of the factory and not at the behest of the Ministry of Defence.

In the early 2000s a first Komandirskie with quartz mechanism was produced. Compared to the previous clocks externally the inscription “quartz” was reported instead of “17 rubies”.

In 2007, production of Komandirskie case 340 began. It was a series of 10 different models with the writing in Latin characters, stainless steel case and mineral glass. These were also fitted with luminescent hands and hour markers.

Starting in 2014, Komandirskie began to be produced in 350 case with straps not only in metal but also in nylon, the so-called Zulu.

In 2016, the 390 case Komandirskie are released, which have a larger case size (45 mm) and a new technology for the illumination of the dial.

Today the production of Komandirskie watches presents a wide variety both for characteristics and for cases and materials. In addition to the successful Komandirskie reissues of the 80s and 90s, there are many new models that are periodically proposed on the market by the designers of Vostok