Christian Zulus

Dear Anatoly, many thanks for the great scans . What is the today's market price of a such a beautiful ORDEN ZA VOJNE ZASLUGE ? Best regards Christian

Dear Sasa, you are absolutly correct, that Glasnovic hadn't been a YU-General, but he acted in the region of (former) Yugoslavia before october 2000 and so Glasnovic - and many others - could be discussed in our Yugo Forum. Well, that's just my opinion ... Pozdrav Christian

Lieber Waldemar, is it yours ? Best regards Christian BTW: Good news about our book-projekt - please look at the book-thread .

Gentlemen, today I had a meeting with military historians in our Army HQ and there might be the possiblity, that we could publish a high-end & top-quality comprehensive book about (communist) YU-Awards at the renowed Austrian MILITARIA publishing house: http://www.militaria.at/ . 2008 MILITARIA will publish a comprehensive book about pre-communist (up to 1941) YU-Awards in English, Serbo-Croation and German with top-quality photographs of av., rv. & side-view of all awards, cases & documents. Our book could be the 2nd volume of YU-Awards, covering the period from 1941 to october 2000. In the coming weeks I will get further informations. Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, except the last Uzhakov-Admiral's-group Igor sold all of the nice groups: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=213247 . Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, due to fact, that Frank had been the first to name "Kiev" and that nobody can name the Lieutenant General, I would like to declare Frank to the winner and congratulate to his victory #10. Christophe, what is your opinion ? Best regards Christian

At least, I saved some scans for GMIC ... Well, Igor sells, very, very, very fast : The HSU-group, RB-group and the cheaper Admiral's-group are already sold . Congratulations to Igor . Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, another extra point for you . Sorry .... , I have never been the Military Commander of Kiev . Best regards Christian BTW: All my friends are wellcome to join me for a round tript dealing with the "Capture of Vienna" .

Dear Bryan, o.k., one extra point, but I guess, that it might be to less for the victory . Best regards Christian

Dear Ed, wise words . The founding of the Non-Aligned Movement http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement had been an important role of Yugoslavia in it's history. The acting Secretary General of that organization is since 2006 comrade Fidel Castro. But I had the same impressions like Colin already in the 1960s (I visited YU the first time in 1962): There had been not so much difference to Italy or Austria - you couldn't "feel" communism . Best regards Christian

Military Commander of the CITY of Kiev (not Military District) in 1996 Gentlemen, sorry ..., maybe I have been too unprecise . Our comrade in question had been in that time (1996) a Lieutenant-General of the UKRAINIAN ARMY and the Commander only of the CITY of Kiev. For the Commander of the Kiev Military District his rank would have been too low. Usually the Commander of Military Districts in the Soviet Union had been (full) Generals or even GPW-Marshals. Our comrade in question retired many years ago. Here a photograph of the 100th-year-anniversary-celebration 1996 at the "Kommandogeb?ude Feldmarschall Radetzty" of the Military Command of Vienna (MilKdo Wien), where our Lieutenant-General is walking to his seat: Best regards Christian

Dear Colin, very good question . Well, I would say, that in the 1950s - 1960s Yugoslavia converted to a rather "socialdemocratic" country, but with authoritairian structures. Somehow a vital "melange" between Sweden and China , despite the fact, that life in Yugoslavia was rather free & liberal and the YU-Passport had been the best passport in the world: No visas to East or West . Communsim - or Socialism - has a broad range of types of social systems and "Titoism" is just one part in the history of Socialism. Best regards Christian

Dear Frank, congratulations - Kiev is correct . Our Military HQ in Vienna is named after the Austrian Fieldmarshal Radetzky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Radetzky_von_Radetz Sorry ..., there is no coincidence concerning the name . So, if nobody could name the Military Commander of the City of Kiev in the mid 1990s, then this will be your victory #10 . Let's wait ... Best regards Christian

Question #152 Gentlemen, due to the fact, that I am the first person, who answered 30 questions correctly at Christophe's GMIC-quiz, I will give the new question #152 a very personal touch . It's a question about a person, who visited me in Vienna in 1996. Who am I ? During the mid-1990s I had the rank of a Lieutenant General and was the military commander of an important city in Eastern Europe. During 1977/78 I worked - besides General of the Army Vasily Ivanovich Petrov (later Marshal SU) - as a military adviser to the Ethiopian Forces at the "Ogaden War" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogaden_War and had been very successful. I got a large number of orders & medals, as you can see at the photograph from the 9th of may 1998 in my home town, among them: Motherland 2cl & 3cl and 3x Red Star - also for conducting military operations in Ethiopia. Questions: 1) The name of the city, where I had been military commander in the 1990s ? 2) What is my name ? Some hints: In 1996 there had been the celebrations of the 100-year-anniversary of the "Radetzky Kaserne", the headquarter of the Military Command of Vienna. Many military commanders from all over Europe had been invited and I took care for that heroic general from the ex-CCCP-Army. The Lieutenant General had been guest in my residence and I showed him around in Vienna. The Military Command of Vienna issued a special anniversary badge of that event, as you can also see on my jacket at the photographs: The Lieutenant General in question confered a very nice table medal 1996 to me, which might give a hint, where he was coming from: Best regards Christian

Dear Frank, many thanks for the congratulations . And these are really wise words ... Best regards Christian

Dear Vic, today the establishing of a 80-billion-USD-fund for helping suffering housing-loans by international banks was announced. So, that might stabilize the real-estate-prizes in the UK, USA, Spain, Ireland, etc. Best regards Christian

Dear Bryan, congratulations to your appointment . You are the right man in the right position - and there is a lot of work to finish in the #3-section of "Soviet & Communist Era Militaria & Awards". French people have a high esteem among our native collectors, due to historic facts . Bryan, you will have my 100 % support! Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, many thanks - might be my victory #30 . Best regards Christian

ZHUKOV Dear Frank, no, I had been my mistake, looking for an Italian Order ... Mussolini and Zhukov had one extraordinary high ranking order in common: Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Bath The award is confered by the Souvereign in the Henry VII Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey in London http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VII_Lady_Chapel Best regards Christian

Dear Frank, so, I has to be of the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana either: - Cavaliere di Gran Croce decorato di Gran Cordone - Cavaliere di Gran Croce - Grande Ufficiale Quite a few non-Italian Admirals & Generals got the "Grande Ufficiale" in the 1950s & 1960s ... Due to one of these high ranks of Italia's most supreme Order, I might guess, that the awardee might be one of the really famous Soviet Marshals: Either Zhukov or Konev ? The might have got their decorations from the President of Italia in the 1950s ? Best regards Christian

Dear Vic, well, the price tags for real estate & flats in the UK are still far too overpriced (in comparison to the rest of Europe). I guess, that within the coming years a nice flat in Lancashire for under 100,000 GBP might become reality . Best regards Christian

COMMENDATORE Dear Frank, there had been a long row of these "CA"-mangers in the GDR: GSBTD Georgi K. Schukow - 9. Juni 1945 bis 21. M?rz 1946 Wassili D. Sokolowski - 22. M?rz 1946 bis 31. M?rz 1949 Wassili I. Tschuikow - 1. April 1949 bis 26. Mai 1953 Andrei A. Gretschko - 27. Mai 1953 bis 16. November 1957 GSSD Andrei A. Gretschko - 27. Mai 1953 bis 16. November 1957 Matwei W. Sacharow - 17. November 1957 bis 14. April 1960 Iwan I. Jakubowski - 15. April 1960 bis 9. August 1961 Iwan S. Konew - 9. August 1961 bis 18. April 1962 Iwan I. Jakubowski - 19. April 1962 bis 26. Januar 1965 Pjotr K. Koschewoi - 27. Januar 1965 bis 31. Oktober 1969 Wiktor G. Kulikow - 1. November 1969 bis 13. September 1972 Semjon K. Kurkotkin - 14. September 1971 bis 19. Juli 1972 Jewgeni F. Iwanowski - 20. Juli 1972 bis 25. November 1980 Michail M. Saizew - 26. November 1980 bis 6. Juli 1985 Pjotr G. Luschew - 7. Juli 1985 bis 11. Juli 1986 Waleri A. Belikow - 12. Juli 1986 bis 12. November 1987 Boris W. Snetkow - 26. November 1987 bis 13. Dezember 1990 WGT Boris W. Snetkow - 26. November 1987 bis 13. Dezember 1990 Matwei P. Burlakow - 13. Dezember 1990 bis 31. August 1994 That Circus Aliosha is also known under the name "Camping Allemagne", or correct: советская армия . I guess, you are asking for the title (& order) of a Commendatore http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendatore : Mussolini gave that title to Enzo Ferrari ... The installation ceremony takes place in Rome, in the Quirnal Palace http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirinal_Palace , due to the fact, that the order is confered by the President of Italia. O.K., we still don't have the awardee . Well, I guess, that quite a few of the above mentioned CCCP Marshals & Generals got a Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italia ... . I would concentrate to the Marshals, who were personally involved into the liberation of Europe from the Nazis (and the Mussolini-gangs) . Best regards Christian

Dear William, that might be the true story ... Best regards Christian

YU-Hero documents of our Admiral Gentlemen, an interesting fact: Some time ago, a (tombac) YU-Hero + document had been offered at e-Bay: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=175305 Well, the tombac-medal is not correct, but maybe the document ? Igor doesn't have such a document in his offered group : My humble theory: The Admiral's Hero-document might be authentic, but the tombac YU-Hero is not ? Best regards Christian

Dear Bryan, well, we have to calculate: Uzhakov 2cl, RB #4, + and, and, and ... The really heavy weight in the price tag seems to be the Uzhakov ... I don't know, if that group is another super-bargain for our (super-rich) collectors in Moscow or St. Petersburg . Best regards Christian BTW: We (normal collectors) have the choice: Either a nice home for our family, or that "Danube-WW II-group" .