Digger Doug

Some years ago, my buddy was involved in a mission that sent him to Moldova to retrieve some MiG 29's that had been left in the country after the break up of the Soviet Union. He quickly befriended the commander of the base. As they were leaving, the commander asked if there was anything he would like as a souvenir. My buddy, asked if it was possible to find any old Soviet awards. The commander immediately dispatched his deputy who later returned with a box full of orders and medals. All were relatively "common" at the time. What was interesting was that all of the OPW2's in the box were high numbered "ring backs". After having these for all this time, I decided to research the one with the highest serial number. Here's what came back: [attachmentid=62201] Sushchenko Pavel Borisovich Major Male Born in 1903 Born in the City of Pokrov, Krasnopol Raion, Akhtyrs District, Kharkov Region Member of the Communist Party since 1924 Education Higher Ukrainian In the Soviet Army from 2.1937 to 7.7.1944 At the time of the award, he was an "Agitator" with the Political Department of the 10th Guards Cavalry Division He died on 7.7.1944 Current address is that of his Brother Ivan Borisovich in Bel'tsy, Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Levanov 15 Apt 1

Gerd, I have no willpower - I hold a piece in my hand and wonder about where it's owner went and what he or she did. I research almost everything. You never know what you're going to get and that's a part of the fun. In addition, as the caretakers of these awards, we are responsible for preserving the history that goes with them. Doug

I agree - not to mention that the cavalier performed three separate feats of valor to earn this title.

Lieutenant Colonel Valentin Akselevich Filenius was in the medical service. In addition to the Victory Over Germany, he also got the Victory Over Japan (mentioned on his record card). Looks like he had an interesting career.

All I have are the two Red Stars. I really expected to find out that the high orders were added to the book by a faker. I also thought this would be a good posting for us to see a clear example of some of the serial number / date range anomalies. Rick, I sincerely appreciate the help with the translation of the citation. I do most of my translations myself using one of the online translation software systems and my trusty HMSO Russian dictionary. Unfortunately, the hand written stuff, for the most part, is nearly impossible for me. Rick, send me a typed citation and I'd be glad to do one for you. Of course, I'm now questioning the quality of my interpreting "skills". For example, search my postings here for the piece on LTC Ishchenko's Suvorov. Compare my translation to the one in Paul Schmitt's new book on page 61. Lots of differences. On the other hand, Paul's translation talks about the 700 km march in two days between Koenigsberg and Schwedt. As that seems impossible to me that they could march 700 km in two days, I always assumed I was missing something or making a mistake with that part. Must have been a train involved in there somewhere.... All the best, Doug

This is all I got. I really expected this research project to be a bust so I ordered the minimum - award card and citation for one of the Red Stars. I figured that, at least, I'd have one researched Red Star to show for it. Can anyone give me a brief overview of the citation? The hand written ones take me forever to figure out between my dictionary and online translator. Doug

I never would have guessed that the copy of the orders book was legitimate. You never truely know what you have until you research it. Here's the citation for Red Banner 430667. Note that the serial number for this one awarded by the 38th Army is 32,431 awards lower than the one awarded by the 40th Army four months earlier. This further demonstrates how we can't always neatly arrange serial numbers by dates as these were handed out to the various units in lots and they went through their stocks at different rates. Sorry I don't have a translation for this one. [attachmentid=45230]

I was certain that everything but the Red Stars were added by a faker but........................... [attachmentid=45229]

Thanks for the guess Dave. I was hoping for a few more to make this more fun. Anyway, my guess has been that only the two first orders (both Red Stars) were real and all the rest were added to make the book more interesting or was an attempt to build an interesting group out of nonassociated items. I also considered that the original book went with one of the latter added orders. Got some of the research on this recently and here's how things turned out. Captain Sergei Ivanovich Kuz'min Note that the number of the orders book matches the research. [attachmentid=45225]

[attachmentid=44938] I bought two Red Stars that had this photocopy of an award book with it. I wouldn't have bought it but it was kind of a throw-in with the rest of a collection. Unfortunately, there wasn't an early Nevsky, a Bogdan III Class, or a Red Banner with it. Care to take a guess at which entries are fake and which are real?

Here's the back. Having Mongolian, Czech, and Polish medals sure makes this interesting. I guess Stalingrad does make more sense although both the partisan and Stalingrad medals do fit between the Lenin 100 Jubilee and the Victory Over Germany according to the chart in the back of Paul's book. I guess this is a case of me willing it to be what I wanted it to be. I also see that I made a mistake with the first ribbon in row 6. That ribbon is for the 20 years of irreproachable service in the armed forces medal. It's curious that the 10 and 15 year ribbons are absent. Do you guys agree that this bar probably dates from 1968 to early 1970's? [attachmentid=44645] Thanks for the help in nailing some of these down.

Here's an image of a ribbon bar I've had since the early 90's. It shows a little wear but is still pretty nice. As you can see, there is quite an array of political, military, and labor awards on this. There are also a number of foreign ribbons that I can't identify. I'd appreciate any help in determining what these are. [attachmentid=44471] Row 1: Order of October Revolution / two Orders of Red Banner / Order Patriotic War 1st Class Row 2: Order of Patriotic War 2nd Class / three Orders of the Red Star Row 3: Order of the Red Star / Order of the Badge of Honor / Military Merit Medal / Lenin 100 Yr. Jubilee Row 4: Partisan medal 1st Class / Victory Over Germany medal / 20 Yr Victory GPW / Capture of Berlin medal Row 5: Liberation of Prague medal / Jubilee 30 Years Soviet Army & Navy / Jubilee 40 Years Soviet Armed Forces / 50 Years Soviet Armed Forces Row 6: Jubilee 70 Years Armed Forces / Polish Merit Cross / Polish Polonia Restituta Row 7: Unknown / Unknown / Czech medal for Strengthing Brotherhood in Arms Row 8: All 4 ribbons unknown. Note: I am assuming the Partisan medal versus the Stalingrad medal given the order it is placed in. Note it is not with the other campaign medals. All the best, Doug

I just heard yesterday that the new book concerning Soviet Research "Echoes of War: Researching Soviet Decorations" written by Paul Schmitt has just come back from the printers. While I don't have a copy in hand yet, I saw some of the proofs a couple of months ago and it looks great. It is the same high quality you would expect from the authors of "The Comprehensive Guide to Soviet Orders and Medals". Not only are there some interesting citations, there are also detailed listings of award dates and other information for numbered orders and medals. There are also a number of maps and some great photos. If this is considered a commercial post, please delete it but I think everyone who is interested in the research will want to know about it and get one as a companion to Paul and Paul's big red book.

Unfortunately, it is not a complete group. All I have is the first four Red Banners, the Nevsky, and the orders booklet. At the time I was putting my collection together, I was turning down incomplete groups but made an exception for this one as it "spoke" to me.

This is all I can tell you about it: [attachmentid=41754]

Sorry, I don't have ready access to these. I appologise for the poor scan and will work to get a better image next time these are home with me. While I'm no expert in judging fakes since my main focus is on the research, I can tell you that I've had these for about eight to ten years and our buddy Paul was with me when I bought them. Since then, he's prepared an authentication document for both the 3 and 4. All the best, Doug

His first four Red Banners: [attachmentid=41551] Sorry for the poor quality of the scan.

The face of someone who saw continuous battle from the start to finish of the war in the East. Note his first four Red Banners on the same medal bar, and the screwback replacement for Nevsky 1374 which was most certainly originally awarded as a suspension variety. The first Red Banner 15144 must have been a screwback originally but exchanged for a suspension variety to comply with the later statutes. I've always assumed this picture was taken around the time of the Victory Parade since he had these two replacement awards and he didn't get his fifth Red Banner (the only one for long service) until 1947. One of these days, I hope to get the research for Red Banners 2, 3, and 4 - as they were all awarded for action during the GPW. [attachmentid=41548]

More: [attachmentid=41546] Note his rapid advancement from Captain to Colonel in just two years! Sr. Lieutenant 1936 Captain 1941 Major 1942 Lt. Colonel 19.2.43 Colonel 21.8.43

Here's his service record: [attachmentid=41545]

Here's the back side of the Nevsky citation: [attachmentid=41540] Here's my feeble translation: Rybchenko Anempodist Dmitrievich Major Commander of the 467th Rifle Regiment, 81st Rifle Division, 13th Army, Bryansk Front Recommended for award of Red Star Born 1903 Ukrainian VKP Membership participant in the Patriotic War since 1941 Not wounded Member of the Red Army since 1926 Previously awarded a Red Banner Major Rybchenko during the advance of the division from 27 January to 8 February 1943 in areas of Kolpnyanskom in the Orlov oblast and Panyr in the Kursk Oblast led the regiment in continuous battles with German aggressors over an area of 150 km., has liberated 23 settlements, has destroyed or captured as many as 400 German soldiers and officers, has captured many trophies including varying calibres of guns (artillery pieces) - 9, mortars - 11, vkladov (the closest English translation in my dictionary refers to deposits or contributions - does this mean he got the Hitlerite's payroll?) - 2 and a lot of other military property, suffering comparatively small losses of staff and combat materials of the regiment.

Here's his citation that began as a recommendation for a Red Star, then a Red Banner, and finally a Nevsky. The final recommendation is still for a Red Banner but note the hand written A. Nevsky on the top right of the first page. Also note that the dates correspond to the award of the Nevsky on the award card - he didn't receive his next Red Banner until August 1944. [attachmentid=41537]

I'll post his service record and his Nevsky citation soon.

Here's the second page of the Red Banner citation. The translation is included in the previous post: [attachmentid=41437] So, what's a "cuckoo"?

Here is the first page of his citation for Red Banner 15144: [attachmentid=41435] Here's my cut at translating it: During the battles for Lomovka in the Dnepropetrov region the 3rd battlion had been assigned the 8 M.P. (mortar platoon?) 275th Rifle Division. The battlion was ordered to seize the outskirts of the city of Lomovka, along with taking the school and Factory 65. The ememy was strongly dug in and created a storm of machine gun and mortar fire. There was no flanking unit on the right side. The flanking unit on the left side was lagging behind. This created a complex situation. Comrade Rybchenko did not become confused but continued pushing forward, reconoitering the __________ ____________ of the enemy. He then made the correct fire arrangements (I'm missing something important here). Because of his skilful leadership of the battalion the mission was accomplished successfully. The battalion has seized Lomovka and has advanced 2 km., having captured trophies - 3 antitank guns, a machine gun, 6 mortars, 10 vehicles, up to 30 boxes of mines and a lot of rifles and ammunition. More than 100 fascist soldiers and officers were destroyed. Comrade Rybchenko during this action has personally destroyed 5 snipers, 1 officer and 1 "cuckoo".