JimZ

Mmm - a big mistake indeed. You'd probably have found yourself in a 5 star Gulag in Winter in Siberia for that in the USSR!! I do not have the time to research this as I am mega busy with other things till this evening! But the jet is an ME 262.... and with the pilot being a 2 times HSU and having a kill board as long as heck, I can pretty well assure you its an uncommon incident and not that hard to research. Jim

Mine came way sooner way cheaper. It is one of my favourites and indeed, one of the more complex orders - although it also has a flatnes about it that I do not like. More could have been done to give it a better third dimension. Lok at the order of honour or the red banner of labour. To the question and answer of is it rare...... No! But its not the most common order either!! I think rare is a term that has to be used very selectively. Look at auction sites and any anniversary medal is described as rare........... Is an order of the red star rare? Depends on the variation..... Goznak? Mondvor? Monetneny Dvor #3,XXX,XXX!! Is a lenin rare? Again depends! Is a Motherland 3 rare? Is a Glory 1 rare? - Lets always watch what we term as rare. Jim

And there you go! Zhukov it was. Central Armed Forces museum in Moscow - I was thinking of adding that as a question but I though it may be too hard!! Christophe, if you managed to remember every single item you saw in museums ...... I'd take you to the Hermitage to test you!!! Well done! Ball is in your court! What are the statistics? I have not followed up on the quiz in quite a while do to other commitments! Jim

OOOHHH! But its neither

And oh ... I took this pic last January with my phone SPECIFICALLY for this quiz So completeness is a must Jim

1) Name the person who received these boots? Joseph Stalin - WRONG 2) Who was the full name of the person giving these boots? Khorloogiin Choibalsan (Mongolian: Хорлоогийн Чойбалсан; February 8, 1895?January 26, 1952) CORRECT 3) What military rank is sometimes associated with this person? Marshal CORRECT 4) What post did he occupy preceeding and until his death? Prime Minister of Mongolia CORRECT 5) When did he die - and what was Stalin's comment upon his death? He died in Moscow on January 26, 1952. His death concerned the aging Stalin who commented, "They die one after another. Shcherbakov, Zhdanov, Dimitrov, Choibalsan ... die so quickly! We must change the old doctors for new ones." CORRECT Answer question 1 and you're the winner. Of course, you already are the winner having answered questions 2-5! But for completeness sake..... ..... we're waiting Christophe! Jim

Thanks for the toast. Keep thinking in that direction....... Jim

OOPS ..... and speaking of which the above was my 2000th post!!! Not that it matters much but it still feels like a milestone! Drinks all round!

What a reflection of the USSR! .... the spirit of socialism shining strong in Comrade Christian as he works towards the common good.... .... and the spirit of communism where Comrade Moi seems to be asking a question instead of Comrade Christian.... Funny how things also did sort of happen this way in the USSR! Back to my question - I am not dropping hints yet as I think there are a couple of very evident clues in my question. If I see we're stumped then I'll help. Jim I'm feeling expressive today!

QUESTION In one of the Moscow museums is this pair of boots, given as a gift to one of Russia's highest ranking Marshals. 1) Name the person who received these boots? 2) Who was the full name of the person giving these boots? 3) What military rank is sometimes associated with this person? 4) What post did he occupy preceeding and until his death? 5) When did he die - and what was Stalin's comment upon his death? A question about a very specific item that is probably a giveaway to some..... ....Enjoy! Jim

And its still very much a pain in the back side today as it was way back when......!!

This must be the 1) the Propiska which is Internal Passport system set up by the Czars as a means of population control (census) as well as control of movement and residence within Russia. It was abolished in 1917 by the Bolsheviks but 2) re-instated by the Stalin in December 1932. 3) It was re-introduced primarily as a means of control, again ensuring that there was a valid registration of residence within the document, which would be required to get jobs, get married, recieve medical treatment and so on and so forth. Anyone engaging in anti soviet activity risked losing the rights given by this document - call it state blackmail! Post 1991, Russia replaced "propiska" with "registration" primarily used for economic and law enforcement reasons such as accounting social benefits, housing and utility payments, taxes, conscription, etc. - the name was changed but the principle remains the same! More democratic Eastern Block Countries like the Ukraine, Georgia and Moldovia have deemed this unconstitutional and have abolished it. Easy no? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propiska Jim

As much as you can including the tower of course. I can try to upload some larger scans that you send me. Jim

Hola Miguel, No worries about the English - It wasn't your mistake only When I asked for closer picures of the medallion I was referring to the front with the gilding. Can you post as large an image as possible. I'll send you my e-mail by pm. If you can send me some high resolution images I'd like to study them closer. Jim

As usual it boils down to the the ability of the forum to study and analyse scans ..... .... But nothing can ever beats holding the order in your hands and studying it!! Or at least being close enough to observe it with your own eyes! .... Till then we can go round in sixes about the sixth digit!! I am unconvinced as to whether or not a digit was erased. I think the key to this order is the obverse as well as studying the upper arm of the star for its consistency with other arms (thickness). I doubt that a hand engraved number was removed as this would show without fail! Unless this was engraved shallower than other numbers ... possible but I'd dare say unlikely. Rotating tool marks that are not as deep as the hand engraved ones are easier to buff out. Yes, that depends on the indidual orders but I have come across some (on other orders) that were extremely light and therefore very easy to polish down. That phantom 6 is either what is left from a buffed out rotating serial number which remained untouched when the hand engraved numbers were added on later.... or is just a coincidence. What I do not like is that the serial number is not centred but shifted to the left. However that is plausible as well. I also do not like the unfortunate scar (not scare!) on the front of the order - a very possible tool mark. But again, it can be other damage - plausible. ...I may be wrong - but I am not liking what I see! There are too many possibles and although together they may still be plausible, I find myself preferring to play safe than sorry. My humble opinion anyway. How about larger closer scans of the medallion. Maybe something might give from there.... Jim

Interesting that ribbon is the same used on the Order of Lenin many years later. Any relationhip at all or just co-incidence? I am thinking in line with the Order of Glory (Soviet) and the St George cross (imperial) both being bravery type awards? Jim

IF THE BOOKLET IS NOT MESSED UP...... Not sure about the group story and I would not hold my breath! Some scary fake booklets out there! BUT... ...if they are genuine ODMs $2,000 seems to be fair money in today's market for them collectively assuming they are not a group.... BUT... If you are buying then you'd better ask for scans better than that!!!! Otherwise you may be paying $2,000 for something not worth a buck. If so thread with caution.... great caution! Ask for pics... the larger and more detailed the better. Study them. Refer them to others if in doubt. And if you take the plunge based on scans like that ask for the money back guarantee....although I'd seriously doubt whether you'd get it or not! Jim

Never been into "otlichnik" badges and I do not see myself getting into them (I said that abouts so many things so many times!!) as I understand they are very heavily faked nowadays ..... like almost everything else! .... but what is the criteria for being awarded such a badge.... and how does that 'interface' as it were with a medal. Is there a point where you might get an "Otlichnik" shield instead of a medal? And why repeat awards? You're either excellent or you're not. Anyone care to educate me on this? Jim

WOW! Thanks for posting Ed! I might have missed this otherwise!!! Pure White Czarist Velcro?? Czar Putin perhaps?!! Having said that Igor is to be commended for not trying to remove the velcro. More damage could have been done as a result. Of course, the previous should be (censored for violent content) for that 'latest' addition to the bar!!!! Jim

Stumbled across this thread... My third class is courtesy of Dave! I would daresay it is!! Jim

Maybe when we switched "machines" end of december / beginning of January ....

It usually helps to know what the order is and where its coming from before watching the big guns get caught up in variations and manufacture Like that I can also slightly tweak the title to reflect region and order. Jim

I have a cannon scanner and it works fine Never understood why Epson in particular. I aways believed that what it boils down to is resolution. Tweak your scanner settins and you'll eventually get it right. I think the quality of these last scans was indeed better than the previous ones and with some adjustments for size on my part, it was possible to deliver readable material. So Brother, Epson, Cannon.... if it ain't broke and can be read, don't change it My philosphy anyways! Jim

Bet the troops were waiting in line to get wounded to get an upward peek at her goodies! Skirt on the battlefield is to say the least, highly impractical.... and highly unsafe! One other thing from my experiece - most of the female troops I have come across did not have that sort of figure! Trust me - the uniform will look so much more different on those ladies not blessed with the coveted hourglass shape! Jim

May I ask for the country to which this order pertains as I am not familiar with it? Jim:cheers: