Archipelago

Greetings from Finland! Some years has past since my last post. Please, let me use your expertize: Do anyone know anything more regarding this type of uniform? Seems to have been worn by Imperial russian prime minister etc. Made of very high quality linen fabric. Unwashed. Look at the buttons! Shoulder boards missing. Does anyone have pics of original shoulder boards?

Hi! I think Rick is right about the French legion of honour. My statement for the ribbon bar would be: 1. St Anne 3rd cl 2. St Stanislaus 3rd cl 3. Commemorative medal for the centenary of the 1812 war 4. Commemorative medal for the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty 1913 5. Medal for the general mobilisation 1914 6. French Legion of honour It was very common, in western europe, after the great war to use these western types of ribbon bars on different social occasions. There was a great number of russian emigrees in France, Finland, Germany and many other European countries. Your ribbon bar would most definately date to post-war period, 1920?s or later. Best Regards! Paul

Hi Chip! Looking at Your belt buckle, I?m not so sure about my guess anymore. My guess came from a cavalry model 1827 sabre that have the unit stamp CZschDschP ( in cyrillic letters of course ). It stands for "North-west railroads gendarme regiment". That sabre model was used by gendarmes in early 20th century in railroad units. Paul

Hi! I?m quite sure that the letters stand for "North-west railroads" ?(Severo-zapadnyi ...). The "number 3" stands for the russian letter Z. The last letter K could mean "komitet" or "Konduktor". Similar types of badges were sometimes worn as tokens of free passage on the mentioned railroads. That?s my best guess. Regards Paul

Thanks George! One more picture..... This is the jeton of the Life guards 3rd finnish rifle battalion ( liebgvardyj 3-yi finskij strelkovyj bataljon). This was a unit within the russian guards troops stationed in Helsinki with conscripts of finnish origin. Not to be mixed with the Life guards Finlandskij regiment. There where about 40 numbered pieces of this jeton made in 1906 by a goldsmith in Helsinki (Hjalmar Fagerroos). The jeton is approx. 45 mm high. Werlich does give a slightly incorrect name for this unit in his book "Jettons of imperial russia" ( fig J-225 ). It was not the 3rd battalion of the Finnish guard. It was the 3rd rifle battalion of the Imperial Russian guard. This battalion was commonly called The Finnish guard. For more info see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guard_of_Finland

To all You gentlemen! As it seems a little quiet at this forum at the moment, I?ll take the chance to send a pic of the jeton of the Finnish cadet corps. The Finnish cadet corps was equal in its position as a imperial cadet corps alongside the other imperial cadet corps. The only distinction was that the cadets had to be of finnish origin due to the fact that the expenses of the school was mainly payed by the finnish senate. Almost 3/4 of the cadets served as officers in russian units and only 1/4 in the local finnish units. There were about 950 officers examined thru the years 1812-1903. During the summer camps in Tsarkoje Selo, when the emperor inspected the cadets of all the imperial cadet corps, the Finnish cadet corps usually stood as second, just after the Page corps. Best regards!

Gentlemen! As new to this forum (which BTW seems to be more academic than some others) I have to try it out right away. I received this plume some days ago in a lot that contained many russian pogonis and epaulettes together with imperial belts and other accountrements. That is why I want to suspect it as russian. Is that correct ? Best regards to You all Archipelago