Coat of arms from the shako of the Bialystok Infantry regiment of the sample of 1828

At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Nicholas I, the development of domestic industry made it possible to supply in 1828 all combatant cavalry and infantry units with new–style headdresses decorated with a special army coat of arms - a sign of belonging to the Russian army and to a specific unit. In the army units, the coat of arms was a double-headed eagle with wings spread, holding a wreath and "peruns" (a bunch of lightning) in its paws. A heraldic shield with pointed edges was placed on the eagle's chest. The shield depicted the coat of arms of Moscow – St. George the Victorious, striking a dragon with a spear. The eagle's paws rested on a shield in the shape of a crescent, the corners of which were decorated with round rosettes. In the field of the shield, the number assigned to the part was cut out. The black cut-through number (shakos in the infantry were covered with black cloth) was clearly visible against the background of the golden metal of the coat of arms. The same number was depicted on the buttons of the ranks of this regiment.

On April 24, 1828, the shako coat of arms with the number "94" was assigned to the Bialystok Infantry Regiment. However, less than five years later, on January 28, 1833, a large-scale reform of the army infantry and cavalry began, the purpose of which was to reduce the number of regiments while increasing their numbers. All the jaeger regiments that had existed since the beginning of the XIX century were disbanded and piecemeal attached to infantry regiments. The reform inevitably led to a change in the number of regiments and the assignment of new numbers to them. However, any metal fittings at that time were very expensive and did not even have a service life – they were replaced only if they became completely unusable. This could not apply in any way to the coats of arms of the 1828 model, which had served for less than five years. The way out was very simple and elegant – since 1833, a small shaped shield made of the same metal was attached to the shield field under the eagle, on which, in turn, the invoice number was placed. To make the latter clearly visible, it was made of metal of the opposite color (with brass coats of arms – tinned copper). The size of the flap was such that it completely covered the old cut-through figures. Now, in the case of any reformation of the regiment, it was enough to replace the small shield with the number. A characteristic feature of the coats of arms converted in this way is the holes for attaching a small shield (they are clearly visible on the sides of the number). In this form, the coats of arms of the sample of 1828 switched to leather helmets introduced in 1844 – it only took to bend the metal in the shape of a cap. The coats of arms of the sample of 1828 existed until 1857, when a new type of coat of arms was introduced – an eagle with wings raised up, on which eight small coats of arms were placed, resting on a triangular shield. In fact, the coats of arms of the 1828 model were used until the introduction of caps in 1862, to which they did not fit. Nowadays they are quite rare.