White Tights
White Tights, White Pantyhose or White Stockings is a Russian urban legend about female sniper mercenaries fighting against Russian forces in various armed conflicts from the late 1980s. The legend describes these women as blond Amazon-like nationalistic biathletes turned anti-Russian mercenaries. They come predominantly from the Baltic states, but subsequent variations of the legend have diversified the ethnic composition of the snipers, including Ukrainian and Russian 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 First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Origins
The phenomenon was first reported during the late 1980s, with female Baltic irregulars being rumoured fighting with the resistance in the Soviet–Afghan War. There also were legends of them participating in the Transnistria War, but Russian author Yulia Shum argues that there is no evidence for this and that these rumors appeared as a product of a propaganda campaign.It appeared first in the English-language media only in conjunction with the post-Soviet First and Second Chechen Wars. Attempts have been made to link the alleged presence of the "White Tights" in the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, 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 Estonia and Lithuanian politician Vytautas Landsbergis. Sergey Yastrzhembsky, the Kremlin Press Secretary 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.