That claim is rather absurd. The idea that everyone is equal to the point of physical similarity came up in some Soviet humour (such as a joke about a machine that shaves everyone's face to the same template), but it was obviously never put into practice. The GOST system of standards adopted in the USSR that survives in Russia to this day includes a standard for shoe sizes (GOST 24382-80). The sizes ranged from 23 (small children) to 49 (adult men) in full or half-size increments. Even the army, an organization with a much more limited uniform, produced footwear to fit a variety of men's (and later women's) sizes.

The only item of footwear in the army that was the same for everyone was footwraps. Instead of making socks of varying sizes, a 250 cm long 10 cm wide ribbon was distributed. One would wrap it around their foot to make a one-size-fits-all sock. This design was well liked: it was easier to produce and repair than socks, and if your feet got wet it was easy to take off your shoe and reverse the foot wrap, keeping your feet dry without taking a lengthy rest to dry your socks.