Chuck In Oregon

Oops. I meant to post this in the Soviet Awards forum, of course. Will a moderator please move it there? Thank you. Chuck

Here's a badge that I think may be uncatalogued. The 1939 NKVD certificate (as best I can read it) awards to Senior Lieutenant Alexander Sergeivich Kochev the badge of the Worker's Georgian Christian Militia and it allows him the right to wear the badge on his clothes and uniform. Did I get that right? Didn't know there was a Christian Militia in the USSR? I know I didn't. I bet it didn't last too long. As I recall, Georgia may have been the only republic allowed to retain its religious heirarchy, so this may have been an anachronism peculiar to Georgia ... at least by that time. It looks like Sr. Lt. Kochev began work in the RKM -- Georgian Workers' and Peoples' Militia -- in 1933. (I once posted an RKM jubilee badge that I also think is uncatalogued.) This badge is inscribed in Georgian and dated 1933. I can't really explain the 6-year date discrepancy. What I think it may be ... well, maybe the RKM wasn't the same as the Christian Militia, or maybe they merged, then were simply absorbed into the NKVD. Or, it could be that this badge isn't the one referenced in the document, but it is the same guy. I just don't know. This is a large badge, 5.5 cm tall by 3.5 cm wide. I think the metal is silver-plated bronze, but it just may be silver. I can't find any place that has worn through to the bronze. It weighs, without the screwplate, 25.57 grams. The large screwplate, 2.5 cm across, looks like it is silver. The enamel is all there but it is of low quality. Please feel free to chime in here. Chuck

These came with a small group recently. They go quite well with my collection of shooting awards. Has anyone seen these variants before? Can you specifically ID them? Chuck

* * * * * Yeah, I don't get the anchor either. Chuck

Boy, not much activity here lately. Sorry, I just can't describe this badge any better. Can anyone out there help me with a proper ID of this one? I think the disk is silver, with no markings. The RR emblem looks like a thin layer of gold over a base of something else, maybe silver. The screwplate, also unmarked, appears to be silver. Chuck

Very nice set, OV. I envy you the gramota (or NVA equivalent). There is one of these medals on the Russian shooting team sash that I posted at http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5988 . In that case, he was said to have been a rifle marksmanship instructor. With his skills, I doubt that he was a simple rifle range instructor. Thanks for sharing yours with us.

I forgot to include these. The top two are Georgian versions and the bottom one is -- I think -- the Georgian Master Trainer Badge. I would like to the see what have in this area. There should be versions from each republic, I would think.

Finally, I believe this to be the rarest of all the variations -- The Honor Badge of the Master Sportsman Badge. I don't know what the qualifications were, but I do know the history of this particular one, #256. This one was awarded to Tigran Petrosian, the Russian world chess champion. He was born in Armenia and grew up in Tbilisi before moving to Moscow. He still has family in Tbilisi and they received a few of his awards when they were distributed after his death. I bought these two badges from his family. The chess badge is the bronze, not silver, version. I am told this version was given to the president of the Soviet Chess Federation, which he was after he won the championship.

Here are three later, numbered varieties and an un-numbered candidate's badge.

A couple of more images of the early variety.

This is the earliest variety of the Soviet Master Sportsman Badge that I am aware of. This one belonged to the same guy - D. A. Dyakonov - as the Bolshoi badge I posted at http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=10189&st=0 , post #6. It came in a box with his other things, which I should post one of these days. I don't know if the brown-with-red interior box is original, just that it's the way it came. I believe he was a handballer -- the international game, not the American version. More to come. Chuck

Paul, that is a wonderful group. Please consider posting the rest of her/your things. What a good story and what a beauty she was, too. I had the pleasure of seeing Nino Ananiashvili dance a couple of years ago, my first exposure to ballet. Might as well start with the best. There's no way to describe it. She made the rest of the cast looking like oafs in comparison, even though I'm sure they were talented dancers too. I also like your KDC badge. Very interesting. I'm sure glad we started this thread. I am enjoying it immensely. Chuck

I just received this little group this past week. The graduation badge isn't a particularly unusual example, but except that the double eagle is slightly bent to one side, it is in absolutely perfect condition, not a mar on metal or enamel. I would have guessed that the "ЗВ" signified a dentist, or "зубной врач". Shows how little I know -- yet again. According to my buddy in Tbilisi the "ЗВ" actually stood for "зауряд врач", or "Ordinary Doctor". Again according to him, during WW I many doctors went directly into the army upon graduation from medical school, without further training or internship. The title "ЗВ" applied to them to distinguish them from doctors who had completed their post-medical school training. No, I'm not positive that this is correct, but I pass it along for what it's worth and unless I learn otherwise, I'll believe it. I will appreciate your better identification. Chuck

Paul, I completely missed your post. Congratulations on finding the 175th. Are you going to tell us how you did that? Meanwhile, here is another performing arts badge. It is the "Excellence" badge of the Georgian Arts Society. This particular one was awarded to Georgian actor Akaki Khorava and I acquired it from his family. As you can see, it is a very gaudy badge. I suppose the palette, harp and mask represent art, music and drama. I believe this badge dates from the very early 1930s. What you can't see -- because I just can't make it come out with my scanner -- is that the white background behind the white pallette/harp symbol is a peculiar type of high-quality "glittery" enamel and, upon further review, the white background is actually a stage curtain, completely with thick vertical folds (for lack of a better word). There is a sunburst design beneath the red enamel. This badge is made in three layers, or four if you include the curtain separately. The lowest layer appears to be once-gilted bronze. The middle layer is the gilted silver (?) that you can see in the first image around the edges and covering the bottom layer. I think the curtain, harp and other grey metal are silver. The top layer would actually be the separate pieces that comprise the banner, symbolls and curtain. Like so many of the lovely early Georgian badges and medals, I suspect that this badge is uncatalogued. This thread interests me a lot. Does anyone out there actually collect performing arts as a theme? Chuck

Here is a 1936-37 Film Studio photo ID issued by the Georgian SSR in Tbilisi to a film studio official. I think it deserves a post in this thread. Georgia was a big arts and cinema center back in the day and it had a thriving film industry. Georgia again has a nascent film industry. See the excellent movie "Since Otar Left", a joint French-Georgian effort. It is available through NetFlix and others. It includes scenes from their well-known (and now officially discouraged) Dry Bridge flea market, filmed while I was right there in the outdoor market. I know several people who pass by in the background. It also shows some other very recognizable Tbilisi locations. The main post office scene is good but understates the postal ennui and corruption ... "We pretend to work and they pretend to pay us." FWIW, probably the best and most famous Russian WW II movie, "Father of a Soldier", is actually a Georgian movie about a Georgian father and son. It is in Russian but available with English subtitles. Short on special effects, long on drama, story and pathos. This movie is so loved that there is a national park in the Khaheti Region of Georgia devoted to it, with a huge statue of the father. Chuck

Simply spectacular. I congratulate you on your collection and I thank you again for sharing it with us. Chuck

* * * * * I had a similar problem not long ago and it was very frustrating. What I did -- finally, and only after being told by someone else -- was to click on "Tools" in my top browser bar, then >Internet Options>Temporary Internet Files>Delete Files. Worked for me. Let us know if it works for you. Good luck. Chuck

I especially like your 2nd Kaukaus Division Pilot Staff-Captain, Overcoat Style Do you have any others like it? For instance, perhaps, a 3rd Squadron? Very, very nice pieces to enjoy and to learn from. Thank you for sharing them. Chuck

And here's the reverse. If you can read Cyrillic cursive, I would enjoy knowing what this says. Chuck

I knew I had this photo around here somewhere. As usual, I was looking for something else when I came across it. A proud young doctor wearing his jubilee badge. Chuck

Thanks for sharing that and teaching me something. I have an example of the top part, the bulb-shaped piece with the flaming bomb on it. I never knew exactly what it was except that it was a part of the end of one of those straps, which I didn't know the name of either. Now that I can see how it fit, it makes more sense and now it isn't just sitting around as a curiousity. Thanks again. Very little time to participate these days and I miss it. That will change once our guests leave next week. Chuck

* * * * * I guess I should have recognized that isn't a 1961 car! Chuck

Yuri Gagarin? December 4, 1961?

Chris -- Those are wonderful badges. Thanks for sharing them. They are all new to me. I'm glad to see that this topic has brought out some nice things. I've still got one or two more things to post. Hopefully you will inspire some other members to share what they've got. So ... does anyone actually collect this as a theme, or are these badges just odds and ends that we've picked up along the way? It seems like a very interesting theme to collect and I'm curious whether anyone does. Chuck

Gentlemen -- I submit this small badge for your consideration. There is just enough silver wash remaining on the protected left edge of the eagle to see that the eagle was once silvered. There is a bit of gold wash remaining on the balance, so that would be consistent with the badge above. This is a stamped bronze badge, not precious metal like the one at issue here. I think this is a general staff officer'a badge but now I'm not as sure as I was. Note that there are two crowns on this badge. It looks like the large crown was braized onto the badge. There must be a significance to this but either I have forgotten or I never knew in the first place. Can anyone give me a positive ID on this? Chuck