Gaffken

I just came across the following today...are 'motherland' and 'fatherland' interchangable? ------------------------------- Korabelnikov Dismissed As Head Of Russian Chief Intelligence Department Moscow Interfax-AVN 24 Apr 09 MOSCOW. April 24 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree to dismiss Valentin Korabelnikov from the post of head of the Chief Intelligence Department of the Armed Forces General Staff and from military service, the Kremlin press service said. Korabelnikov was also dismissed from the post of General Staff deputy chief, the press service said. Medvedev signed a decree to decorate Korabelnikov with the Order of Merit to the Fatherland, third degree, to mark the former intelligence chief's "major contribution to the strengthening of the country's defense potential."

Never let it be said that the Border Troops in the Arctic (and their pilots) don't have a sense of humor...it's probably the only thing that keeps them warm up there. Here's a 25-mission patch from the Aviation Directorate of the Border Troops in the Arctic Regional Directorate:

Just conjecture, but I would guess the large majority of these awards (and other grades of the same) likely stem from service or operations in Chechnya. The 'anti-terrorist' mention and the March 2000 date are keys...March was at the height of the second Chechen conflict, where large numbers of Justice Ministry Spetsnaz units were already being employed in the region. The Russians were scraping to pull together any viable combat units that they could to deploy to Chechnya back then, so that's why you'll see some otherwise unconventional ministries employing their forces in the conflict at the time (in fact, there were about 12 different ministries with armed troops in Russia aside from the Ministry of Defense at the time...)

0401, as far as I can tell. I always found it strange that they would put a zero in front of the four, but I'm pretty sure it's a zero, and not a '6' or something of the like... (judging from Megan's number though, I guess they gave a few more of these out since I purchased mine!)

Or...though I can't prove for certain, he's a current UIN (Justice Ministry) trooper with prior service in the Internal Troops. I say this because in '98, approx. 32,000 Internal Troops who were responsible for guarding correctional facilities were resubordinated to the UIN, along with their riot control (Spetsnaz) teams. Thus, if he was one of the former (esp. a Spetsnaz trooper), it would make sense to see him with MVD awards prior to '98, and then with UIN awards post-'98. Justice Ministry Spetsnaz made a pretty good accounting of themselves during the Second Chechen War, so I could see his UIN medals also stemming from those operations. The reason I want to associate him with Spetsnaz is the presence of the fellow in back with the red VV Spetsnaz beret, and the sniper qualification badge. (all just educated guesses, though). Great photo and interesting combination of awards...

Frank--bravo! There are most definitely a few post-1991 Russo-philes here on the forum, so I commend your efforts (as well as the others involved) in setting up a long-awaited sub forum. I know that there have been sporadic postings on Russian Federation awards on GMIC from time to time, but it was always hard to figure out the best place to post them. Ed: in one instance, I did post some replies to a thread discussing the Russian medal for the capture of Pristina airport in Kosovo in 1999 that you could potentially redirect: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18111&hl=pristina Hope this helps, Gaffken

Great post! Here's mine, #401:

Thanks, as always, Wild Card--I concur with you on the "L's"; this Steckkreuz was just so different from the norm in so many aspects that I felt the need to canvas the masses. Much appreciated, Gaffken

Guys--wonderful examples of these rare awards, as usual! I'm sure some of you have seen this one on eBay already, but I was curious as to what any/all thought of it, as compared to mine in post #25: eBay Leopold Steckkreuz Realizing these are fairly rare, the one above has some notable differences--esp. on the reverse--from mine, and I was wondering if this is a possible variant, or perhaps even a wearer's copy, or...possibly something else...(?) I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have--my knowledge on this award only goes so deep, having only seen 1 or 2 over the years... Gaffken

Hmm...alas, I lead an even simpler life than Rick, so dare I ask how one earns the name 'the African Hero?' Gaffken

I don't think I've seen another numbered one in at least 3-4 years...

Lastly, 278 with its document (angle of the light makes it appear gold here):

Reverse of 095: Reverse of 278: Obverse of both (095 on left):

Guys, Sorry for not seeing this sooner; the Pristina 'dash' is close to my heart, so I own two examples of this medal, numbered, and of the 2nd type (assuming I interpreted the earlier posts correctly; I was unaware til now that there were two types). I'll try and take a few scans soon to post for your reference, but to add to what's already been stated, and as I best understand, the silver version was for the troops that actually took the airfield, while the gold version was for the support and logistics troops that later followed-on and supplied the aforementioned from their base in Tuzla (Bosnia). All of the troops originated from the Russian SFOR regiment, which amounted to about 1,000-1,500 personnel if I recall correctly. Yet, of those, only about 200 (a single company) were actually broken off for the Pristina dash, so subsequently, roughly only the first 200 silver medals were awarded, though I know slightly more were produced and numbered (quite how many, I'm not sure, but probably less than a 1000). Unfortunately, I don't know how many gold 'support' medals were awarded, though their awarded numbers were generally much higher due to the fact that the re-supply convoys from Bosnia were continuous, with different personnel from the unit rotating-in and participating in each subsequent trip. (I had a chance to purchase one of these, but passed on it due to available funds). My examples are numbers '095' and '278' in silver. Although 095 should belong to a named individual, I unfortunately don't have it's document; I have the document for 278, but it's empty since this number was above the total for the 'assault' contingent, and is thus one of the 'extras'. (generally, taking into account the size of the regiment's subordinate companies, there should have been between 220-250 actually awarded to individuals.) Hunyadi: if #184 is still out there, I'd take a second look at it before passing on it totally! More to come, Gaffken

I was there, too, a couple of years back--definitely a world-class museum, though not oft seen by western eyes. My favorite parts were the vehicle park outside (Bob's photo with the DC3), and the case full of MP44's and other German small arms piled on top of each other on the first floor Man, I'd love to find out where they're storing the rest of that surplus...! Gaffken

In a previous life, I covered Beslan real-time for the military, and if memory serves right (I've been gone for several years), Johnsy's initial photos show members of the the FSB's Alfa Spetsnaz detachment going into action after everything started going south during the siege. Granted, this in itself may not be of too much interest to you guys, but at the time, this was definitely unique garb amongst the mix of forces there (ie, motor rifle troops, MVD Internal Troops, MVD Spetsnaz, OMON, Emercom, etc), and that which was associated with Russia's most elite hostage-rescue unit. Note, too, the advanced weaponry and integrated comms equipment on their helmets--you won't find that in an average motor rifle regiment...! Great stuff from dark days! Gaffken

Would anyone out there with a Ranglist be able to lend some quick help on an a potential recipient to this one? I'd be grateful for anything anyone could provide... Many thanks, Gaffken

Here's mine, too (albeit a bit washed out):

Dan, Ferdinand--many thanks for the great background info--I had no idea that a small aspect of the Cold War was still alive and well. I guess this also explains the color pictures on some of the medal documents I've been seeing from time to time (as in yours above, Dan), but could never explain til now. Gaffken

Sorry guys--I realize this is probably not the most appropriate forum for posting this, but I rarely get to show it, so here's my seldom encountered cross (unfortunately unattributed...) Gaffken

Hi Dan, Nice Caucasus service medal! There seem to be a host of different versions of them (incl. the one you posted above months earlier)--I just wish I knew the difference between them all. Btw, you keep using the word 'Umalatova'...what exactly does that mean for us neophytes? Gaffken

Alas Hardy, I don't. As unbelievable as it may sound, there was no indication when I bought the piece that there was *any* attribution or inscription on the back of the carton, so you can imagine my amazement (and bewilderment once I tried reading the handwriting) when I turned the carton over to discover the scribbling. Separately, my only thought would be to possibly trace the recipient by award bestowal date, though 1), I'm not sure if this is possible with an Ottoman award from traditional Rangliste (Tim? Rick?), and 2), I'm not really sure if '12/25/15' is an award date so much as it's the date it was gifted to the recipient by Zeki. (so much for all you guys who thought the Ottomans didn't celebrate X-mas, eh? ) I guess it simply comes down to how one might interpret the use of 'geschenkt' and 'verliehen' in this instance. This piece is just so chocked full of unknowns that I'm not sure what to expect next! (--any/all help appreciated though!) Gaffken

Guys, Unfortunately, I'm a little limited in attaching bigger scans due to my 'probie' status, but I'll do the best I can with the small space that I'm afforded, so here are a couple of scans that I hope you'll like: Center closeup: Obverse: Full reverse:

Thanks once again, guys--I'd take you along on a Egyptian hieroglyphics trip anytime! Well, with the mystery solved, here's what was inside the box (in case you were curious...) (the only one by this maker I've ever seen, though I wouldn't mind seeing another, if anybody has one!) Gaffken

Dave, Hardy, Thanks guys--that's fabulous! I understand German well enough, but I've been scratching my head over what this might spell out for several years now, having shown it to a bunch of folks who were equally stumped. I have to admit that my knowledge of the Ottoman forces is also almost non-existent, so I especially appreciate the info on Zeki--thanks Dave! That's great attribution! As for the other unintelligible words, I always suspected the 2nd word in the 3rd line might be something like 'angeben', while the 1st word in the last line might be a location, but it's still anyone's guess. If anyone else has any thoughts, I'd of course appreciate any help... Gaffken