TacHel

Wow... I also had no idea!... Thanks for sharing and educating me. :cheers:

All of which brings me to the following... Commemorative/jubilee/memorial badge for 225 Years of the Black Sea Fleet 1783 - 2008. I have found 2 different examples. I've searched and searched for months. I found 1/2 a dozen pictures of the fleet commander bestowing the "badge" but none show the darn thing! The angle of the camera never allows for a positive ID. I would be VERY GRATEFUL to anybody able to tell me which was given by the fleet commander in 2008. I would also be VERY GRATEFUL to anybody able to give me a link to ANY page containing the Order of these fleet (formation) commanders concerning these badges. I've searched for months on Russian fleet web sites but most are too large and complex for my limited Russian.

Since these "badges" are not considered awards, (eventhough their prerequisites are often more stringent), they are worn after all service awards. This young naval officer proudly wears the "Commemorative Badge 70 Years of the Northern Fleet" after his service awards as per regulations. His other medals are (L to R) the Medal for Military Valor 2nd class and the Medal for Distinguished Military Service 3rd class. Such "badges" are not solely seen in the Navy, all branches of the Armed Forces and in fact, all military forces also from outside of the Defense Ministry bestow and wear such "commemorative/jubilee/memorial badges". Many were (and still are) originally produced by civilian or veterans' organizations such as the Russian Awards Committee and simply adopted by formation commanders (naval fleets, air wings, army divisions etc). These non military organizations actually go out of their way to include the authority of such military formation commanders into the initial award description to ease the process. Some badges are produced from the start under the authority of the formation commander. A good way to spot these "badges" is by the absence of the inscription "Ministry of Defense - Russian Federation" from the reverse of the coin or the inside of the award document. The award document will bear the emblem of a particular branch or sub department vice the ministerial emblem, or be devoid of any such emblem. The presence of an official military (albeit non ministerial) stamp in the award document is usually there. A stamp from one of the civilian or veterans' organizations would mean a badge not bestowed by a military official.

The different branches of the Russian Armed Forces often use commemorative medals or decorations (badges) to periodically (every 5, 10 or 25 years) reward their members for outstanding service, such awards are usually also awarded to eminent citizens such as politicians, the clergy, members of the defense industry, etc, who are friends of the service/branch. These have been in the form of Ministerial medals such as the medal for 300 Years of the Baltic Fleet, decoration for 300 Years of Naval Infantry, decoration for 100 Years of the Submarine Force, etc. Not every service or sub department can get ministerial approval for their commemorative/jubilee/memorial medals/badges/decorations, one such example was when the minister, upon being shown the prototype commemorative decoration for 50 Years of Strategic Rocket Troops (see pic below), simply smiled, said "why?", and walked away without signing the Order to the amazement of all present. Awards must be approved by the minister. Decorations and medals are considered awards. So how can a service branch or sub department get around this? By calling the "item" a commemorative/jubilee/memorial "badge". It looks like a medal, it simply isn't called a medal. Below is such an example, the commemorative/jubilee/memorial "badge" for 70 Years of the Northern Fleet. This "badge" was bestowed under the authority of the fleet commander himself. It was bestowed to thousands of serving members of the fleet, veterans of the fleet, and like similar ministerial "items", to eminent personalities. Since this award can be worn on the military uniform, an award document (attestation) was produced bearing the emblem of the Russian Navy on its cover and details of the fleet commander's Order on the inside.

Er... Hum... Lemme see... - A new hair dryer - A new wireless head set for the TV (so I can sleep when she watches the late show) - Perfume ($$$+++)

Yeah right LMAO... It wasn't a random software quirk or bug... It sparked and gave off smoke... It now rests at the bottom of the garbage bin after more than 10 years of loyal service.

Well... It is done... I've sold me soul to the Devil and joined the dark side... I am now an Epsonite! Just installed and tried out my new EPSON Perfection V500...

Took me long enough but I finally found the new web site: http://award.gov.ru/const.html It's not as ornate as the previous one but is much more complete. It includes the latest ODMs and the major changes that occured in 2010 but alas, very few pics, mostly drawings. The few pics there are small and of quite limited quality. On the plus side, it contains a great deal more information such as: -Each award ceremony has its own page with pictures of the recipients being decorated and the applicable order with write up for each recipient. -Multi links to Kremlin press releases and videos of the ceremonies. You can get lost in there for hours! I particularly appreciated seeing military dress uniforms being worn with full ODMs, it's nice to actually see the veritable plethora of awards being worn. Enjoy the visit!

I could just sh*t... Right in the middle of a research project... Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz -Screen goes weird- CLICK * SNAP -whisp of smoke- -burning smell- -scanner goes bye bye-... Guess this is as good enough of an excuse as I'll ever have to see if those "Epsonites" were truthful! More to follow...

Then we'll be many in the group, I was thinking the very same thing... :whistle:

I'm usually not into minis, but these are extrmely nice!! :)

He was made a Knight of the Légion d'Honneur in 1997. Considering how big he's become, he should get a promotion within the Order!

Agree 100%... Lewis is a demi-God in France.

Heh... Politics have always been, and will always be politics... But in all fairness, I agree, some late appointees have seriously devalued this and other awards. I've seen the same in the UK with the O.B.E., in Canada with the O.C., in Russia with the Order of St Andrew... I'm sure we could go through every country in the World and find purely politically motivated nominations. I find it sad for the really deserving people that others get it solely based on connections or fame rather than real work for the nation.

That makes a lot of sense! Thanks!

I bought this a little while back at a local gun show. It is printed on silk (I think), is just over 14 inches high, 8 3/4 inches wide and hangs from a red string. This is DEFINITELY going into one of my medal frames, but I'm really unsure as to its age... WW2? WW1? Earlier? I'd appreciate any help in narrowing down its age.

I looked but couldn't find any info or list about potential foreign recipients.

I've seen members of my squadron receive provincial table medals with matching lapel pins from Saskatchewan and Manitoba for special services in assisting during floods and forest fires, but that's it. I very much doubt you'll see anything else.

(Einsatzmedaille Fluthilfe 2002) Awarded to members of the German armed forces, of foreign armed services, of civilian rescue forces and to foreign citizens who assisted with the flood disaster relief efforts in Germany in the summer of 2002. It was approved for wear by the Minister of Defence but was created by the Ministry of the Interior. The medal is awarded in the same class to all German soldiers regardless of rank. It is the only type of its kind in the German awards system. Some German federal states created their own flood medals for its citizens, but the Flood Service Medal 2002 is the only federally created flood relief decoration in Germany.

That's good news! I'm so impressed with the attention to detail of the lion! I doubt you'd see such quality on a modern piece.

It's here...

Absolutely fascinating group of medals, badges and pictures! Incredible family history worthy of multiple magazine articles!! Even worthy of a corner of a museum! Thank you so much for posting and sharing this treasure with us! :jumping:

Just to make sure our resident experts don't miss your post, may I encourage you to post anew in our section dedicated to edged weapons? http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/forum/50-swords-edged-weapons/ Beautiful sword BTW! Cheers!

I have 2 old German books like that... I can only translate so much per hour before my eyes burn...