Christian Zulus

Question #216 Gentlemen, as you know, my professional job is within the Catholic Field-Chaplain-Service at the Military Command of Vienna of the Austrian Armed Forces. So my question will be within the scope of my profession . But it is an very, very easy one . 1) In which armies at the Eastern Front of WW II did we find the highest concentration of battle-field chaplains ? 2) Which confession ? 3) Show us at least one authentic photograph of these comrades in action at the Eastern Front . The winner is, who shows positive results at all 3 points . Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, many thanks for your congratulations I haven't seen that Khaldei photograph before - are original proofs of this portrait on the market ? (You know, I already have one very famous Khaldei-picture in my collection ...) Best regards Christian

Dear Bob, I have seen, but the catalog isn't online yet . 3 big auctions within a few weeks .... We will see, if the Russian collectors are influenced by the financial and stock market crisis . Best regards Christian

Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov & his HSL-Medal Gentlemen, besides his HSL, Mikhalkov received also 3 Stalin Prizes (1941, 1942 and 1950). Best regards Christian

Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov Gentlemen, another pic of comrade Mikhalkov, shot some time ago, who will be 96 years old in spring 2009 . Best regards Christian

Dear Miguel, nice and good citation - as the Glories usually have . Congratulations Christian

Lot #323: Glory full cavalier set at a bargain estimate Gentlemen, have a look at lot #323. That's the full cavalier set of comrade Maksim Konstantinovich Belishko (Максим Константинович Величко) with Glory 1cl s/n. 1091, Glory 2cl s/n. 27980 and Glory 3cl s/n. 66225. I checked the serial numbers at "Mirnagrad" http://www.mirnagrad.ru/cgi-bin/ and the awards: http://www.mirnagrad.ru/cgi-bin/exinform.c...%ED%EE%E2%E8%F7 Well, the estimate price is about USD 12.000,- including buyers premium, British VAT and 5% extra tax. O.K., it's a category 7 set, but 12k bucks that's far less, than for one single Glory 1cl at the market today . Gentlemen, what's your opinion about the Glory-Trio at this auction ? Best regards Christian

Sergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov :jumping: Gentlemen, comrade Mikhalkov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Mikhalkov worked for 60 years on the anthem of the Soviet Union / Russian Federation . The photograph had been shot in april 1945 in Vienna by the great Yevgeny Khaldei http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeny_Khaldei , I guess. I found two rather similar pics of our airforce major Mikhalkov in a book about the Soviets in Vienna: Erich Klein, Yevgeny Khaldei, Olga Lander ? Die Russen in Wien - Die Befreiung ?sterreichs. Wien 1945. Augenzeugenberichte und ?ber 400 unpublizierte Fotos aus Russland 1995 | Falter Verlag, Wien 248 Seiten, Hardcover EAN 9783854391418 Old Mikhalkov in april 2008 in the Kremlin: Sergey Mikhalkov is the father of two world famous movie directors . Best regards Christian BTW: "Soyuz ..." is the beginning of the old Soviet anthem and I already asked another question about the Mikhalkov family in our quiz http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=153205 , which had been answered by Christophe.

Igor usually sells rather quick, specially when the asked price seems to be a bargain ... But the full cavaliers set + additional orders & medals for 28k bucks http://www.collectrussia.com/DISPITEM.HTM?ITEM=19626 seems to be a bargain too - at least in comparison to other items or groups . Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, I had a closer look at the Soviet section of the catalog. They say, that a hughe collection of a (former?) Italian diplomat, who stayed in the 1990s in Moscow, Dr. Antonia Benedetto Spada, is going to be sold on the 22nd of november 2008 in Genoa, Italy. 1) Terms of sale: "As to the authenticity and attribution of the auctioned articles, San Giorgio undertakes no responsibility since our Firm only acts as an agent without representation of the owners of the auctioned goods and has no rights or obligations of its own. Any dispute on this subject shall be first of all settled on a scientific base between a consulting expert of San Giorgio and an export of the same professional level designated by the customer and shall be raised within 8 days after adjudication. Upon expiry of this term, no dispute or claim will be possible. Any claim recognized as being valid will only be settled by reimbursement of the actually paid amount with the exclusion of any further demand." This dosen't sound sooooo good .... 2) Extra costs: You have to add to the hammer price 18 % buyers premium, + VAT (around 20 % in the EU), + custom fees (for outside of the EU) and + shipment, insurance etc. Quite some extra costs are waiting .... 3) Information policy: - Almost NO written information at all about the items - specially NO serial numbers are listed. - Only pics of the av. - NO rv. photographs - NO details from different angels of view (as Igor does). Well, that's not serious at all . 4) Quality of items: I am not sure, if all items are genuine (i.e.: Motherland 1cl & 2cl and a few others) .... 5) Prices: They are rather strange: - Common items are rather expensive . - Rare items are either far beyond the usual market prices, or represent just the current market situation. In most cases (rare items), they show estimates of three years ago, as Jim already pointed out . Just my impressions .... Best regards Christian

KONSTANTIN SIMONOV ? Dear Christophe, might he be the writer Konstantin Simonov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Simonov , as a young colonel after receiving his first Order of Lenin (later he got 2 more, HSL in 1974, 6x Stalin-Prize and 1x Lenin-Prize) ? I guess, he wore an airforce uniform and had been a (senior) polit commissar besides writing about the GPW, love & war and publishing poems, what he did for about 60 years. Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, a scientist, who worked within the Soyuz space program ? Best regards Christian

Dear Paul, many thanks for your compliments , but my small & humble collection http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26288 is just a fraction - in terms of historic and market value - of Ed's outstanding collection . Look at the wide range of groups and researched items, Ed his in his "Soviet Swamp" - just amazing . Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, many thanks for the hint . Working 60 years on one single subject, has to be a rather complex affair, rather high-tech .... Sorry ..., I am still in my office at the Military Command, leaving just now for a birthday celebration and tomorrow we have our National Celebration Day in Austria with me 14 hours on duty for the Armed Forces on the side of our field chaplain. So, I will have time to look again into my books on monday . Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, I saved the photograph of the airforce officer with the Lenin, blew it up, printed it out and compared the portrait to the pictures in my books about Soviet fighter aces and Soviet aircraft constructors - result negative . Well, I have a rather comprehensive library about Soviet aviation (in English and German language) .... Maybe our officer hadn't been directly engaged with pure aviation ? Maybe he worked on rockets, missiles or something else ? Best regards Christian

Dear Ed, that's true for 2nd & 3rd classes, but not true for full cavaliers (1st, 2nd and 3rd class), where you find plenty of research informations in the archives and in Soviet print medias (books, local newspapers etc.). And quite a few of the full cavaliers retiered as officers up to colonel . Best regards Christian BTW: Why is a (unresearched) most likely long-service RB#3 on Igor's website two times more expensive, than this magnificent Glory-group

Dear Marc, o.k., the classification of the different types and variations is outdated by current standards of research, but it is still the best publication on the market in terms of photographic quality and comprehensive (statutes etc.) informations on the awards, I guess. It would be great, to see a 2nd edition of the book in two volumes, which represents the state of the art of research - maybe with some well known experts from Russia as co-authors . Best regards Christian

Dear Ed, your group is not much worse, than Igor's Glory-group - congratulations . I am not going for Igor's Glory-group, because I am satisfied with my Glory-Trio of the 1st category http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5536 . I am wondering, why all types of the Order of Glory, all groups and sets appear - in comparison - as a true and real bargain at the market situation of today ? They are heroic, rare, beautifully designed and historically important ... Best regards Christian

Badge: OSOAVIAKhIM (ОСОАВИАХИМ) - Yu A S http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=31691

Badge: "10 Years of October Revolution" http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=31689

Badge: OSOAVIAKhIM (ОСОАВИАХИМ) - Yu A S Gentlemen, in the 1990s I got this OSOAVIAKhIM (ОСОАВИАХИМ)-badge within a lot of pins & badges of the "Austrian Communist Party - KP?" at an auction. The inscription is: "Yu A S" and (smaller): OSOAVIAKhIM CCCP. The stamped s/n. is: 63523. The red enamel is perfectly preserved . Some information about the OSOAVIAKhIM-organization: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOSAAF Does anyone have some informations about this badge ? Many thanks for your expertise . Best regards Christian

Soviet Badge: "10 Years of October Revolution" Gentlemen, in the 1990s I got this Soviet badge within a lot of pins & badges of the "Austrian Communist Party - KP?" at an auction. In 1927 there had been two classes of this badge in the CCCP: - one of sterling silver with enamel - one of brass with paint Igor offered the silver-version with enamel a time ago for about USD 2.000,-. Does anyone have further informations about these early Soviet badges ? Many thanks for your expertise . Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, this excellent, researched and interesting group http://www.collectrussia.com/DISPITEM.HTM?ITEM=19695 has - in my humble opinion - a very, very moderate price . Best regards Christian

Medal for XX Anniversary of RKKA

Dear Ed, despite the global crisis of capitalism, there is (still) too much money in Russia and the auction results of big fine arts auctions the last weeks ago in Europe are skyrocketing (these are "real values" - as Soviet awards are ... ). So I am a bit sceptical about moderate results of the Italian auction . Best regards Christian