slava1stclass

To all: While not my area of expertise, this is nonetheless one sharp Full Cavalier of an earlier generation. Praporshchik I. D. Podolyakin became a Full Cavalier of all four classes of the Saint George Cross for Bravery during World War I. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: A very nice shot of Hero of the Soviet Union A. N. Kukharenko proudly wearing his British-awarded Distinguished Flying Cross. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: The supporting documentation. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: Need I say more? Regards, slava1stclass

To all: For your viewing pleasure. Regards, slava1stclass

Ed, Ilya Grigoryevich REZNIKOV. Regards, slava1stclass

Rick, You're welcome. Happy to help. Regards, slava1stclass

Rick, A more correct translation would read, "For heroism displayed while saving wounded Soviet combatants..." Regards, slava1stclass

To all: As this is not my area of expertise, I defer to you. I thought, however, you might find this image of a Wehrmacht general officer to be of interest. Regards, slava1stclass

Ed, While I certainly agree this is not a good thing for the collecting community at large, it may very well have come down to economics. All of us have noted this development with concern over the last few years. When I speak of economics, however, I refer not just to the explosive pricing of late but also to the more basic issue of supply/item availabilty. Even the "big boy" dealers don't have the stock they did just a few years back. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: It appears to be a classic case of survival of the fittest. Looks like NYC's "big boys" are the ones who'll be left standing in the end. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: The ranking in post # 1 above remains valid as of 29 May 2007. Regards, slava1stclass

Gerd, I don't believe any of us could have predicted the market would have evolved in the manner it has over the past 15-16 years. As with anything else, there are different strata of collectors. Each strata operates within its own financial limits. For those purely interested in financial gain, the margins will still be tremendous if one "got in" early - even if a $15,500.00 (or higher) sales price is not realized. Regards, slava1stclass

Darrell, A wonderful example. They sure knew how to produce high-quality medals back in the late 1940s. Here is an example of the Medal for Merit certificate and accompanying letter on White House stationery. The recipient should be no stranger to any of us. Regards, slava1stclass

Gerd, I concur - in part. Not everything that "disappears" from that site or similar sites necessarily equates to a sale. In general, however, I do not agree with your assumption that these items don't move - regardless of their pricing. Were that to be the case, dealers of Russian militaria would have disappeared some time ago as lack of demand would have spelled their doom. Neither they, nor others (think WW II German paraphernalia dealers here), would appear to be in jeopardy any time soon. Demand and pricing will always reach a certain equilibrium. As for laying out the cash, there are those in Europe who spend five to six times as much as a Full Cavalier set on high-end cars that lose incredible value the moment they leave the dealership. Go figure. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: Gone (see post # 14 above). It sure wasn't listed long. Regards, slava1stclass

Kevin, Now that WW2PO is no longer amongst us, you certainly have a point there. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: A very fine example of a Category 4 Full Cavalier set currently available at a well-known NYC-area dealer. This is the first instance I've noted wherein a Full Cavalier set asking price has exceeded $15,000.00 - he is asking $15,500.00. Regards, slava1stclass

Rick, Well put. I couldn't agree more. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: This Hero of Russia citation certainly makes that one to the female Olympic skater absolutely shameful: http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=5995 Regards, slava1stclass

Dave, Thank you kindly! Regards, slava1stclass

To all: Does anyone know how many awards of the U.S. Navy Cross were made to Soviet personnel during World War II/The Great Patriotic War? I have a few period images which clearly show it being worn by Soviet naval personnel (a HSU among them). Fellow forum member emaier3 has documented 22 awards of the U.S. Navy's Distinguished Service Medal to Soviet personnel during this period, but had no knowledge of the Navy Cross figures. Thanks in advance. Regards, slava1stclass

Michel, Great post - thank you! While I have no knowledge of exact numbers, I do have images of some of the recipients. The below photo is of Soviet naval aviator M.A. Kurochkin seen wearing his OME or MBE. Regards, slava1stclass

Popova (nee: Starikova), Valentina Trofimovicha Regards, slava1stclass

Nikonova, Nata Ignatevicha Regards, slava1stclass