Provided the whether is not too cold, would it be common to see men of the same unit with their coats on and others with them on their packs?
I am working on a 1/72 Russian unit and am unsure whether I can mix soldiers in winter gear (i. e. with coat on) with others in gear for moderate temperatures (i. e. with coat rolled on their shoulder).
It all depends whether the unit was ordered when to wear coats or if it was up to the individual soldier's decision, but I don't know what was the case esp. in the Russian army.
Can't comment on the Russian army, but in newsreels of the British, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian armies you can see men with coats on walking beside men with them off (and tin hats, bush hats, service caps and lemon squeezers all mixed up as well).
This is what I turned up (which may be of use or not).
The Russians had two greatcoats: the M1881, and a 1911 model, of which the former was apparently the better version. Whilst there were regulations about when soldiers could wear their "bashlyk" wollen hoods (-5 degrees C or lower), my limited references don't say anything about such rules applying to greatcoats. So, to be honest, I'd use artistic licence on this one and do what you fancy.
And lets face it, how many times have you heard of items and insignia being worn "contrary to regulations"?
If variety looks good, choose variety.
Hope this gets to you in useful time.
