The Russian soldier, like his german counterpart was often equipped with a shelter-half or tent. And also like the German one it served as a rain cape and found several other uses.
To wear it as a cape, fold the top left corner underneath the hood, put it around your shoulders and knot the corners together in front of you
See here
Several types of tents can be built with one or more Plash Palatkas
From the DDR Zeltbahn Manual
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f154/WPFG/Zeltbahn0001.jpg
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f154/WPFG/Zeltbahn0002.jpg
And here's a quick "how to roll your greatcoat"
That concludes the lesson in one of our progressive weaponsystems, comrades!
Please turn to your commissar if you have any questions 
Rick
Join Now!
Excellent work comrade Flibble. We are pleased to award you with the Medal for Distinguished Labour for your efforts. Conitune the fight comrade!
No longer involved in airsoft.
Thanks for that, I may have to make up a greatcoat roll 
Worn as a cape, hood up, then sit on your helmet. You can stay dry and warm for ages. I'm a big zelt fan but for personal protection from the elements, the plash rocks.
aka Stigroadie
AFRA
better by design
"Truth is a shining goddess, always veiled, always distant, never wholly approachable, but worthy of all the devotion of which the human spirit is capable. "
question poacher, diggah, flibs. The russian capes on ebay (theres quite a few on and off constantly) are they post war ? does that matter ?
The only big difference is the grommets. War-time ones had leather ones, brass ones are definitely post-war.
Jude Law had it wrong in Enemy at the Gates
Join Now!
Ta Rick 
I'm still trying to figure out how to roll up my Plash properly. Does anyone have any in depth instructions on how to do it?
Lay it flat.
There's a seam down the middle.
Fold in all 4 corners but the edges should not meet, leave a gap of about 8cms across the seam.
On both edges that are parallel to the seam start folding in about 5cms folds.
Keep folding both sides in to the seam.
Fold the 2 folded halves at the seam.
Now fold the whole lot in half and tie off the bottom with web strap or even string.
You should now be able to put your head and arm through it with that last fold resting on your shoulder.
Thanks for that Sorokin, will have another go tomorrow.
Comrades,
As an aid to the struggle to throw back the Pit Viper Vandal Horde, this has been worked on by the 185th Independent Electronic Interpretation Shock Batt of the 62th Army...
The fittings Issued with the Plash-Palatka.
One Wooden Peg, One Wire Peg,Two Wooden Poles and a three metre Guy Rope.
Comrades,
The declassified Images of the Research and Development Directorate's completed Production quota .
The Wooden Peg Complex is from a Production Centre from this Military District, the Wire Peg is from a Camping store, (lucky for them that their product already conformed to Moscow Centre's Norms, thus saving SMERCh small arms ammunition in the hunting down of Wreckers).
The Poles were a discovery, three years back at the Detling Front I recovered as trophies, thinking them only Fascist junk to be used and thrown away when no longer needed, during an audit of the Rezidency's Trophy Archive Storage Facility, these three Poles were found ( after interrogation), to having all the Dimension Norms laid down in the Progressive Historical Document declassified in an earlier posting by this Command.
The Archive Bureau Director and his Staff have been arrested for failure to identify possible State Property earlier.
After a period of rehabilitation by SMERCh the Poles were transferred to Rezidency's Regimental Direction of Interest 13.
The Guy Rope is from B and Q .....
All this was possible due to the advantages of a Centrally controlled Command Society.
Urrah!.
Comrades,
The latest improvements to this Rezidency's scale of Issue due to 24 hr War production... Everything for the Front!.
The Historical Document.
And this Comrades, is me....
And Note, how the Meshok is sized to the full Tent Fittings bag.... interesting.
