TacHel

Absolutely outstanding thread!! Please keep the pics coming! Fascinating stuff!

WOW! Five wound stars? 6 stars on the CVM! With the fourragères, jump wings, certificates, épaulettes... Awesome set!! Congrats!!:cheers:

Be careful when purchasing these, especially on eBay, they are quite often misidentified as their counterpart and even mounted on the other's ribbon.

Left: Medal for Service in Space Forces Right: Commemorative Medal for the 50th Anniversary of the Space Age Both were instituted by ministerial order #360 of 11 September 2007.

Left: Medal for Service in the Naval Infantry Right: Medal for the 300th Anniversary of Naval Infantry Both were instituted on ministerial order #455 of 3 November 2005.

Left: Medal for Service in the Submarine Forces Right: Commemorative Medal for the 100th Anniversary of the Russian Submarine Forces Both instituted by ministerial order #105 of 10 March 2006.

The Russian Defense Ministry has released some medals in pairs instituted on the very same ministerial order. These were first issued on an anniversary of the service represented. One medal recognizes current military service while the second, a commemorative, recognizes past service (veterans) or support to the force by other governmental entities or representatives of the military-industrial complex. Their ribbons are differentiated by an additional single black stripe through the yellow field on the commemorative medals' ribbons. These commemorative medals, originally intended to be worn on the smaller 4 corner mount as a breast badge on the right side, are being remounted and bestowed on the military 5 corner mount and worn on the left breast. Although I was unable to find any such written directive, it seems that as in other ministries and departments, the 4 corner mount is going the way of the Dodo. Below are the commemoratives the way they were initially bestowed as breast badges. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_11_2009/post-3030-125726502111.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_11_2009/post-3030-125726502219.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_11_2009/post-3030-12572650232.jpg Left: 300 Years of Naval Infantry Center: 50 Years of the Space Age Right: 100 Years of the Submarine Force of Russia Further down are pictures of the way they are being worn as regular military medals beside the "service" medal for active duty personnel.

Breast badge for "Participant in Combat Operations" for troops of the Interior Ministry (BB MVD). First awarded for combat service in Chechnya 1994-96.

2009 marks the 360th anniversary of the Russian Fire Service. A series of commemorative medals and breast badges were produced to mark the event. I have found breast badges (ribbonless as below), the same badges mounted on the small 4 corner mount, intricate medals of the highest quality (see below), large intricate orders with neck ribbons, others for wear on the breast. All are of the highest quality with intricate enamels and the orders even have semi precious stones set into them. The one thing I cannot find out is who issued these awards?? There is no mention of any ministry or department in the award document suggesting yet another non governmental issue but the cover of the document bares the coat of arms of Russia usually reserved for federal awards (doc below). I have searched all known Russian web sites hoping to find who issued these but haven't found anything. EMERCOM usually keeps their web site up to date, nothing... The official Russian awards' web site doesn't mention it either... Does anybody know who issued these beauties? http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_11_2009/post-3030-125709812622.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_11_2009/post-3030-125709814329.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_11_2009/post-3030-125709816249.jpg

Look again...:whistle:

De Gaulle is a fascinating subject... You either hate him, or you detest him... Mind you, prior to his swing into politics (mid war), the man was quite the soldier and tactician. Even Guderian praised him for his inter war book on armoured warfare. And he was the only successful field commander in 1940, but received no support from his superiors who he had just proven wrong. Sometimes I wonder what could've happened had he been allowed to form France's formidable tank force into dedicated armoured units. Imagine entire brigades of S-35s and Char Bis facing panzer IIs and IIIs... The panzers would've been decimated. Anyway, to get back to the main subject... Read my first sentence.

Just as a warning to new collectors... Many Russian medal makers are now producing excellent (museum quality) copies of pre 1917 Russian military (breast) badges. I found dozens on their web sites and they are now showing up on eBay. Some sellers are correctly identifying them as modern copies but many others are not either through lack of knowledge or lack of scruples. You can be certain that it is only a matter of time before aging techniques are used on these badges to make them look like authentic period pieces. So we're back to the old adage "Caveat Emptor". Just FYI.

Errrr... Huh? :unsure:

That's what freaks me out the most. Aren't there regulations against wearing non governmental awards?

Unofficial. Distributed by the Committee of Internationalist Soldiers.

Thank you for the link. I spent hours going through it. The only awards I found there that I didn't already know about were unofficial medals or unit badges.

9- For Faithfulness to Duty 10- "For Distinction" non-departmental security of the MVD 11- "For Distinguished Service" 1st class - Interior troops 12- "For Distinguished Service" 1st class - State Automotive Inspection department 13- "For Distinguished Service" 2nd class - State Automotive Inspection department 14- "For Distinguished Service" 2nd class - Interior troops

1- Model Member of the Criminal Police 2- Model District Police Officer 3- Model Investigator 4- Model Member of a Special Police Unit 5- Model Employee in Fire Prevention 6- Model Inspector Juvenile Division 7- Excellent Fireman 8- Excellent Police Officer

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) has its own awards system consisting of both medals and breast badges. A great many badges seen on pictures of Russian servicemen and police officers denote unit, district etc. The badges below are awards, and as of today, the only awards worn as breast badges in the MVD. Mind you, I know of 2 more that are awaiting ministerial approval, I will add them to this thread when/if they make it.

The prob here my friend is that French military flags/banners/standards were never cheaply made. If there's one thing the French will NOT cheapen it's this. Their military colours are of the highest quality and always embroidered, been like this for centuries. I'll have a looksee on the web if some merchant in Europe might have silk screened copies if you want... I also have quite a few contacts in France that can look for some cheap imitation... But don't hold your breath.:(

TS... These are DEFINITELY NOT military standards. They're either home made (modified) ordinary flags, or they were used in front of a federal government building. The fact that the center motif AND the 4 corner motifs ALL say "RF" means federal government, NOT military. Don't bother... If you're looking for something military, these aren't it. Sorry.

Just my personal opinion, I'm no expert but... The mast tip could be from any organization. The design on the flag seems to have been painted on through a stencil... Hardly indicative of a period item. If it were me, I'd give it a wide berth... Looks like an old ordinary flag painted to resemble a regimental standard, and a very poor job of it too.

Be careful, it is QUITE addictive! But incredibly rewarding also. Dang! Got that right! Your very first medal is an original Victorian Era medal to a small unit that's in great shape and worth multi hundreds of dollars. You lucky *bleep*! Good for you!:cheers:

I recently acquired this medal but even after weeks of research, simply cannot find the applicable ministerial order for it. I would be very grateful for any help!

Great find! Great piece of history! Thanks so much for sharing and I hope you'll keep us up to date on any upcoming discoveries about Ali-baba! :cheers: