Christian Zulus

Dear Chris, that belt seems to me very practical: The instruments are for applying new holes to the belt for a better fitting . I guess, those two tools have nothing to do with NKVD, KGB or GRU . The asked price is somehow beyond a realistic market value . Might be a belt of some youth groups, as Komsomol, Pioneers, etc. Best regards Christian

Dear Sergey, many thanks . The RB#3 seems - according to the s/n. - to be a mere long service award . At least, the awardee received - before getting that RB#3 - one ore two genuine RB battle awards . O.K., RB#3s are rare and mine is in a very good condition ... Best regards Christian

Victory #40 - 2x HSA Dear Wild Card, many thanks for the congratulation to my victory #40 It had been truly a very difficult question and I didn't expect to find the answer - I just wanted to collect some material for my GMIC-comrades. But getting the aviation day and following all the links, the 4 + 4 combination got visible . A nice model of the "Bull": It's great to get the 2nd HSA ("Hero of Socialist Answering") with such a tricky question . Give me half a day for finding a nice question. Best regards Christian BTW: Christophe, it's now your turn, to present something like the usual bust here at the thread .

3rd of august 1947: SOVIET AVIATION DAY Gentlemen, on 3rd of august 1947 there had been an historical highly important Soviet Aviation Day . The new prototype jet-fighter Yak-19 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-19" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-19</a> was first seen by the public on that day at Tushino airfield <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tushino_Airport" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tushino_Airport</a> . Also the first public display of the B-29-copy TU-4 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-4" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-4</a> was on that Aviation Day, when 3 were flown in addition to the TU-70 airliner variant. Wiki writes: "Three aircraft flew overhead. It was assumed that these were merely the three B-29 bombers that were diverted to the USSR during World War II. Minutes later, what appeared to be a fourth B-29 aircraft appeared. Western analysts then concluded that the Soviets were capable of, and actually had, reversed engineered the B-29 because the Soviets were known to have only 3 B-29s. The appearance of an obvious Superfortress-derived Tu-70 transport over the crowd removed any doubt about the success of the reverse-engineering task." Also the Me-262-copy prototype Su-9 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-9_(1946)" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-9_(1946)</a> and the jet-bomber prototype Tu-77 <a href="http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolew_Tu-12" target="_blank">http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolew_Tu-12</a> had been shown. The 3rd of august 1947 had been a great day for Soviet aviation . Coming back to the question: Our comrade in question was on of the pilots on the Soviet Aviation Day. The Soviets presented 4 new aircrafts. The Soviets prestented 4 B-29 copies Tu-4 and the West was shocked, because they thought, that the Soviets had only 3 (genuine) B-29 bombers. Some days later Manolete was killed by a bull. Other version of the answer: Our comrade in question flew one of the 4 Tu-4 bombers. Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, following the bullfighter's track: 28th of august 1947, the legendary bullfighter Manolete http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manolete was mortally wounded by a bull during a fight in Linares, Spain; he died the following day at the age of 30. But Wild Card is asking for the 3rd of august 1947 . Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, here is the "history" of my personal photographs at GMIC: Reenacting: Officer (bearing a "Partizan Star 3cl") of a YU-"Proletarian Brigade" - ca. 1944 Reenacting: Soviet "Hero of Socialist Labour" - ca. 1965 Real: Serving in the Austrian Armed Forces - 2008 Your are free to choose . BTW: A "photoshop"-monument is also o.k. . Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, I also got only "zero" results with all variations of the name . I will have to research about that special date and about that (Spanish ?) song-writer ... Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, I didn't guess at all, that I need just one more victory for getting my (French financed ) small monument with bust in my native town Vienna, as a twice HSA (Hero of Socialist Answering) . I did some mistakes in counting the questions - we already deal with question #191 . Best regards Christian

Dear Wild Card, could you please post the genuine writing in Russian cyrillic letters of comrade Kruchkov - or Krychkov ? Manuel S?nchez the song-writer ? Many thanks . Best regards Christian

Dear Ed, the same problem, as with the (military) Glory: A full cavalier is at the ident level as a HSL or HSU, but a 2nd or 3rd class is (officially) below a BoH or RS . Personally I would rank a singular OLG between a BoH and RBL. A OLG 2cl & 3cl between a RBL and Lenin. I guess, there had been a somehow ident prestige concerning the OLG and Glory: Proletarian awards for authentic deeds . Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, yesterday I got my "Victory Flag" . The quality is really absolute outstanding . A "must" for all Soviet military collectors . Many thanks to Dan & Mike . Best regards Christian

Dear "Wild Card", dear Rick, many thanks for these highly interesting pics . G?ring is not very common, but an very old (the ending -ing!) and traditional German surname. There had been a rather large German nation in the CCCP and there had been quite a few CCCP-Germans fighting against Nazi-Germans, getting highest awards for their heroism. I guess, that this form of beard was rather fashionable in the 1920s and 1930s . Best regards Christian

Dear "Wild Card", congratulations to your victory . Perfect answer and many thanks for the photograph . Do you have that pic in your collection ? Question #189 is now your turn. I guess, that there had been two reasons, why the STAVKA or Politburo tolerated the wearing of St. George Crosses: - it had been a true "proletarian" award for shown heroism at the battlefield reserved to grass root soldiers and NCOs - there had been quite a few of famous GPW-Marshals & -Generals, who served in WW I as NCOs and had been awarded with some of these crosses. I guess, that these comrades made some pressure - after the 1943-reforms! - to get the allowance to wear their St. George Crosses. Best regards Christian

New question #188 Gentlemen, a pure phaleristic question As we know, the October Revolution in Russia extinquished all the beautiful Imperial Czarist orders, medals, awards and decorations. It was strictly forbidden in Lenin's Russia - and later on in the Soviet Union - to wear and show Czarist awards. In the later years of Stalin's Soviet Union there had been a more or less tolerated exception regarding one of the Czarist awards. Question: Which Imperial Russian award had been allowed to be worne - under Soviet orders and medals - in the Stalin era ? Hint: You might see that award on photographs of highly decorated GPW-veterans, who served also in WW I . Best regards Christian

Dear Frank, many thanks . My new question #188 will be an easy, fast & quick one . Best regards Christian

VEB Carl Zeiss Jena Dear Frank, many thanks for the hint - now it is easy, but besides of ROBOTRON, I had Zeiss http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeiss in my mind . It's the outstanding multispectral camera for space-missions MKF 6 http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/MKF_6 , invented and built by VEB Carl Zeiss Jena with support by the Institutes f?r Elektronik der Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR (IE der AdW). At it's time it had been the best camera for scientific & spy missions in the space and is still in use. Of course, it was strictly forbidden to export it to the west . Best regards Christian BTW: The two comrades on the photograph on my previous post had the camera with their space mission .

ROBOTRON & ESER Dear Frank, I guess that "very famous firm in the GDR" might be the high-tech corporation ROBOTRON http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robotron . VEB Robotron was the biggest East German electronics manufacturer. It was based in Dresden and employed 30,000 people. It produced television sets, personal computers and the ESER mainframes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESER . ESER is an abbreviation for Einheitliches System Elektronischer Rechenmaschinen (German for standardized system of electronic computers), a term used in the GDR for ES EVM computers produced according to a treaty between the members of Comecon signed on December 23, 1968 covering the development of a standardized computing system. Do you see ESER by ROBOTRON as that gift from the GDR to the CCCP ? Best regards Christian

Soviet - German Friendship Valery Bykovsky & Sigmund J?hn: Best regards Christian

Dear Belaruski, I paid about EUR 30,- each for them in the 1990s . Best regards Christian

Dear Frank, I think, the winner should be, who guesses the gift . The other two questions had been too easy. Best regards Christian

Dear Sergey, if you take away these beautiful legs in the background, you might think, that this guy is praying in an orthodox church . Best regards Christian

Dear Filip, many thanks . Well, a more than common medal, but it is boxed and I like the face of the soldier . Best regards Christian

Dear Bryan, many thanks for reminding us . The Tractor-Lenin was sold for EUROs and not for (cheap) USD . I list some results in USD including buyers premium and VAT. Zeige showed strange results (and strange items) in the military-hero-section: - one HSU wasn't sold at all - another HSU went away - rather cheap - for about USD 6000,- - a Glory 1cl went away for about USD 4300,- As I already posted here at GMIC, I am not happy with all 3 items . Some other results within the "normal" market-trend: - Tractor-Lenin almost USD 200000,- - (ordinary) Screwback-Lenin almost USD 16000,- - (normal) Lenin almost USD 3000,- - RB#2 USD 3000,- - Suvorov 2cl USD 31500,- - Kutuzov 2cl USD almost USD 22000,- - Nevsky type 3 (!) USD 4350,- - (ordinary) OPW 1cl USD 1100,- Another three rather strange items: - Uzhakov-Medal USD 630,- - Nakhimov-Medal USD 590,- - Meritorious Pilot of the CCCP USD 590,- Zeige's website is also in Russian language . Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, yesterday GMIC-member from Vienna "Josef Rietveld" http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showuser=645 traded his YU-made "Medal for Bravery" to me - boxed & ribbons : Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, I guess, that is common in most of the Armed Forces around the world, that the shoes are rather free to choose and also the length of your skirt (if you are female or Scottish ). You can make out at that posted pic, that the length of the skirts are all different: O.K., if it's not against the army regulations, why not stilettos & mini-skirt for the duty in the office . As long, as the legs are o.k., I can't see any military problems ... Otherwise I could be a factor of "demotivation" for the troops, if they are forced to look at "not-so-perfect" legs. Gentlemen, motivation is an important factor in the Armed Forces . Best regards Christian