NavyFCO

That group has been flogged around for a while, and it's 100% right as far as I know. The price was really, really, really expensive as I remember. Dave

Is it posthumous? Unfortunately, I just can't keep everything, no matter how cool. I wish I could, but can't. Dave

No, I never ordered that. With 30+ Red Star research requests in the hopper at any time, it gets a bit pricey to order "full research" on them all! I'll let whoever the next owner is do the "full" research on him. Dave

Rick: Obadovsky's was awarded by Ukaz dated 22.2.68. This seemed to be a common award date for the awarding of awards in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Armed forces. However, there was another Ukaz on 15.2.68 which also awarded ones for the same thing. Go figure. Serial numbers for the 15.2.68 Ukaz have been seen to range from 3602335 to 3608553. Observed serial numbers for the 22.2.68 Ukaz range from 3615525 to 3615573. Granted, this isn't a huge range - there are probably many, many out there that haven't been observed yet. And, to top it off, serial numbers range EVERYWHERE from the 60s through the 80s. For example, 3727399 was awarded as part of the huge 28.10.67 Ukaz for the 50th Anniversary of the Revolution, whereas 3663889 (from Echoes of War) was awarded to Col Gen Fomin on 19.7.85 - 500,000 serial numbers LESS, but 18 years LATER! This is part of the reason I like to poke fun at eBay sellers who claim their Red Stars are "for Afghanistan"... without research, it's simply impossible to know for sure. For example, I might have passed up Gerd's Red Star if I saw it on eBay because his serial number 3703545 is VERY close to a block of awards given to old toads on 28.10.67 in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Revolution - the highest one of those I have in my records is serial number 3702524. Previously, the earliest serial number that had been seen for Afghanistan was 3741353. Anyway, interesting stuff that has consumed way too much money and time of my efforts, but is all part of the addiction.... Dave

Part two!

And a second one for everyone. Merry Christmas!

And the lower half...

Just got these in yesterday... Not really all that exciting, but these are a bit more exciting than Red Stars for WW2 wounds! I thought I'd post them here for general edification. Enjoy!

And the bottom...

Top half of his citation...

And the 2nd Half...

Here you go... The top half:

Yep... I got research back for 8 Red Stars this time... All were post-war catch ups save for the one for the Czechoslovakia invasion and one to the chief of intelligence of the Kiev military region! Sometimes you win some, most of the time you don't! Dave

No envy here, though Ed's collection has one less Red Star coming to it... Seriously, I just got the citation for Vavenko's Red Star. It's very nice! I'll scan it and Ed can post it up with the thread. Dave

We should probably just keep it in the same thread, I think. Depends on what everyone else thinks is best, but that's my thought. I'll get some scans of the docs shortly. Dave

Just got in the research today! My Red Star was to a young lad who was a direct subordinate to our dear Gordienko during Operation Dunai. He was the commander of a parachute company in the 108th Guards Parachute Regiment. Thus, we now have a group with commander and subordinate - Rick has the Red Banner to the Deputy Commander of the Regiment, and I have a Red Star to a company commander! Nice!!! Dave

That's his Lenin (54928) and the Homeland 3rd (5768) that are missing from the group. The fact that his Lenin was missing was what killed it for me when a dealer offered it back in about 2001. It sure is a neat group though!!! Dave

I looked all through my photos from Chief Marshal of Avation Koldunov for pics of Pstygo, but I couldn't find him. Maybe someone else might have more luck if they have time. http://www.forvalor.com/s90a.htm Dave

Got the proof weight, so now I have shipping costs for the book! If anyone is wondering what to do with their extra Christmas money, I am accepting pre-orders for the book now for a late January mailing of the book (hoping that the printing press doesn't explode or anything...) I've sold approximately 25% of the first run of the book. But don't worry... I can always print more! I'll make a post down in the "for sale" section as well, but since most of us don't look down there often (I do have a nice Admiral's medal group for sale, btw...) I'm letting folks know up here as well. Dave

It's an interesting discussion, but unfortunately it has been discussed at length for at least the past 10 years and no one has a good answer or conclusive proof. Until someone can provide some concrete proof (e.g. the authenticated awards) that these exist, no one will know for certain. Dave

And the reverse. In this scan, you can see that the number is a slightly square "6"... a little worse copy and you may well think it's a "5" though!

Here are some improved images of the AC. Front:

Ask and you shall receive. Here's what I've got left of it. That's the reason I've never posted up the document before. Now if I just had a copy of the CoA that went with it... Dave

Let me just clarify about my above post... I am not trying to be evil, mean or vindictive. I'm thinking of this group as if it was something that I was going to sell. I've sold many, many, many Soviet awards over the past 15 years (as well as thousands of other pieces of militaria from other nations) and I've always had to PROVE that something was legit, particularly when it was "big money", which this group is considered. Thus, what I'm saying is this: If I were to sell this group for it's current value (debateable between $8K-$12K) I think I would have a really tough time selling it. Why? Because the "official" documents say that the Glory 1st isn't the right one. It's nice to have other collectors on the forum say that the book is right, but when someone is going to put that kind of money on the line, they want to KNOW beyond a legal "shadow of a doubt" that it's right. At this point, I don't think we can say that we all fully KNOW that it's right. Sure, it LOOKS right, but what we need is documented proof that the Glory 1st that's with the group is the right one. If we can get documentation from the archives that he was actually awarded this Glory 1st and that it was a bona-fide administrative error, then we can put this entire debate to rest. Dave

Christian: What i'm saying is that in my opinion, one cannot know for certain if a document is doctored until it has been researched. Your document looks good. HOWEVER, in 1999, I bought a group (very expensive at the time) that had a document that was looked at by not just one, but several "experts" (to include several whom we would all agree are experts, not just random collectors) who all unanimously and without question agreed that the document and it's entries were real. However, when the research came back, it proved that the document had been doctored, and two awards had been added into the book. This was a shock to all, as the book was PERFECT. I mean PERFECT. (I only wish I had good scans of it!) That was back in 1999. The fellow I bought the group from bought it in 1997. So, if there were absolutely perfect books then, who is to say that there weren't other perfect documents created? When the USSR fell, all sorts of documents were "released"... Although we don't know of any blank Cavalier documents, who says that they too weren't released onto the market? Many awards were released onto the market from the mint as well as many other sources.... Orders of Lenin, Personal Courage, all Homeland classes, Glory 1st, etc... Who is to say that someone with good sources in the early to mid-90s got a blank cavalier book, bought Gnitienko's group from his widow, threw out the second Glory 2nd and added in a Glory 1st from one of their sources? That might sound far fetched, but if you talk to some of the people who bought out the "big" collections and groups in the early 1990s, nothing was impossible... Am I saying your group is bad? No. HOWEVER, there is no other documentation except for the Cavalier document to PROVE that it is real. Every other source thus far says that he was given another number Glory 1st. What I'm saying is this: In order to conclusively prove that the group is good, there needs to be complete research done from every possible angle on it to fully document EVERY award number that is in the group, to prove conclusively that this group truly did belong to him. Dave