Christian Zulus

Dear Christophe, many thanks for the photograph . It is interesting, that comrade Shishkov wears the Czarist Awards between the Soviet and the foreign awards. It is even more interesting, that most of the great GPW-Marshall started as meritorious NCOs in WW I . Best regards Christian

Book about Jewish-HSU-Recipients again available Gentlemen, yesterday I passed by the "Jewish Museum" http://www.jmw.at/ and spoke with the lady in the bookshop and she told me, that there are again enough copies of the HSU-book, but only in German language. They send it all over the world and payment is possible via creditcard. The book is really not expensive and shows 2 pages for each recipient: Biography + large photograph. Phone & Mail of the bookshop in the museum: +43 1 512 45 10 office@singer-bookshop.com Best regards Christian

"Fall of Berlin" - no subtitles Gentlemen, I just got an e-mail from the German DVD-dealer, where he says, that ALL copies of the "Fall of Berlin" have NO subtitles . Good for Russian speaking GMIC-members to obtain that DVD for only EUR 9,-, but bad for the rest . Maybe some DVD-company can do the same great job, as ICESTORM did with the German version of "Osvobozhdenie" ("Die Befreiung", "The Liberation"), which had been edited on 5 DVDs + 1 Bonus-DVD with interviews + documents + a very well done comprehensive booklet with all informations about the making of the movie. This 6-DVD-box you can get now via AMAZON for about EUR 60,-, but only in German language, with neither Russian, nor English subtitles : http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0007TFJDM...0989929-2725849 That is really an excellent and perfect done movie, which covers the GPW-history from Kursk to Berlin. Best regards Christian

Dear Semyon, that are two your old (or young) Budyonny stallions . I have read somewhere, that some Marshalls (Budyonny ?) wore their "St.-George-Crosses" at one occassion (not their funeral ) at their uniform. Do you have some informations about that event? Maybe Brezhnev allowed them to do so . Zhukov received also "St.-George-Crosses" - 2 or 3 ? Are there any soldiers in history, who had been full cavaliers of the "St.-George-Cross" AND full cavalier of the "Order of Glory" ? Dear Belaruski, congratulations for your right answer . Now it is your turn to put a nice & tricky question. Best regards Christian

I also won't answer, but show a nice photograph

Dear Simon, many thanks for the information . They write it is suitable for PAL, so it should work in Europe. But they don't mention sub-titles . The price tag with $ 40,- is really hughe. In my case - location Europe - I would have to add extra shipping & insurance costs PLUS about 30 % extra on the retail price for custom and VAT-tax . I just found an offer from an German dealer for EUR 9,- : http://www.petershop.com/de/catalogue/vide...ie-berlina.html and sent him a message, if the DVD is subtitled. Best regards Christian

CD with the music of the movie "Fall of Berlin"

Mozart & Stalin Dear Christophe, no idea - maybe still in his datcha, maybe daughter Svetlana took it, .... . BTW: Stalin couldn't play the piano, but there had been excellent pianists in the CCCP . Stalin's favorite pianist had been the Jewish pianist Maria Yudina (1899 - 1970). There is a nice, but true story, about Mozart, Yudina & Stalin (I took the small content out of Wikipedia and did some corrections and additions): It happened one evening, Stalin heard a performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A-major on the radio performed by Maria Yudina and asked for a copy. But it was a live broadcast so officials woke up Yudina, drove her to a recording studio where a small orchestra had quickly been assembled, and made her record the concerto in the middle of the night, then - a little before dawn - presented the recording to Stalin. Only one singular copy for comrade Stalin! It is said that he broke out in tears after hearing only the first notes of Yudina's Mozart-playing. Despite the recognition from Stalin, the pianist remained an uncompromising critic of Socialism and a extremly religious person (converted to orthodoxy) until the end of her days, which resulted in her being banned from teaching or even appearing on stage more than once (after Stalin's death!). Maria Yudina received greater sums of money from Stalin (prizes, etc.) and donated all the money to the Russian-Orthodox Church. Her playing was marked by great virtuosity, spirituality, an almost masculine strength, and intellectual rigor. However, her playing was also very individual in style and tone. On March the 5th, 1953, Stalin died in his datcha. Spinning on his record player was Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, performed by Maria Yudina. You can listen to Stalin's own copy of Yudina's Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in the internet: http://www.mariayudina.com/index.cfm (please scroll to the middle of the site, there you will find 3 wma-files with the 3 movements of the concert). Or - for better sound quality - you can order your own copy: That are Yudina's two most outstanding recordings - "Goldberg" & "Diabelli"-Variations (PHILIPS): Best regards Christian

Dear Simon, that great movie is still missing in my collection . I never found it as DVD or VHS. But I have the brilliant music score of Shostakovich on CD and also some small excerpts of that movie on documentary-DVDs . O.K., you are right with the symbolic value of the "Elbe-Happening" . "Elbe-Meeting" should have been a symbol of the military coopertion between the Soviet Union & USA AND a symbol of the projected extensive cooperation between the Soviet Union & USA in the field of economics (large US-investments in the CCCP!) and in the field of world politics (Roosevelt's UNO!). As history told us, these spirited plans between Stalin & Roosevelt for a future world in peace and wealth had been brutally smashed by Churchill & Truman - the two - useless! - nuclear bombs on Japan marked a symbol and starting point of the new "Cold War" and Churchill's "Fulton-Speech" and the "Marshall-Plan" did the rest. The function of the UNO was soon very much restricted - or perverted (Korea-War!). So, the spirit of the "Elbe-Meeting" converted very fast into the symbol of Western Allies treachery to the Soviet People . That is the reason, why I think, that the including of the "Elbe-Coin" into that small collection might be an offense to some (educated) veterans. Best regards Christian BTW: Do you know a source, where to get a "Fall of Berlin"-DVD with English or German subtitles ?

Simon is the winner Gentlemen, Simon had been definitly faster (almost one hour!) in answering the quiz question - my research at GOOGLE consumed to much time . Congratulations to Simon - he is the winner . Best regards Christian

Dear Auke, had been difficult - and GOOGLE didn't help so quick . I also had no listings of twice HSU ... To sum the details up - and my results of research: - 2x HSU, first HSU for particpating in the "International Brigades" in Spain. - Officer of a Guards unit. - This Guards unit - and he himself - played a decisive role in a famous battle. - He was NOT Grigori Shtern, Dimitry Pavlov or Yakov Shumshkevich - executed (victims of Beria ) in 1941. - He was NOT Marshall Kirill Meretskov - he got his HSU not for Spain. - He was NOT Primo Gibelli (It.), Ernst Schacht (Ger.) or Zakhari Zakhariev (Bulg.) - 3 pilots, 1x HSU. - He was NOT the famous fighter pilot Lev Shestakov - only one HSU. - There had been 11 HSUs for Spain - so, 4 comrades are left and most of these had been pilots. O.K.: 3 pilots and 1 very famous GPW-General, who got in his 2nd HSU in 1945 - left: It is the high decorated comrade at the cover of the PMD-Bible . Aleksandr Ilich Rodimtsev http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Rodimtsev He had been the commander of the 13th Guards Rifle Division http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_Guards_Rifle_Division in Stalingrad. Best regards Christian

Dear Jim, you might be close to the truth in the long history of design for Soviet Awards In some cases we might find some "logic", but in other cases not . Best regards Christian

Dear Auke, congratulations, that's right and you have won . I think the question was too easy, because of the hint to Mozart & the piano . I thought, by presenting a rather unknown photograph of the "voshd", very young, full beard and showing him in profile, this wouldn't be so easy. There are some other bearers of the "Order of Victory", who looked like intellectuals in their younger years . So it is now your turn for a new question . Best regards Christian BTW: Comrade Stalin wrote also reviews about music performances in the papers in the 1930s and 1940s, but not under his name . His grand piano had been the only piece of value, they found after his death in his house ...

NEW QUESTION Gentlemen, now I will present a rather difficult and tricky question . Who is that comrade, shown at younger years at the photograph ? He wrote nice poems in his youth and in later years he also published some interesting philosophical and political articles. He was a great lover of classical music, ballet and his favorite composer had been W.A. Mozart. A grand piano in his house had been his most precious object. Despite his cultural interests, our comrade made in the GPW a brilliant career, reveiving even Suvorov 1cl, HSU, etc. and also "Order of Victory". He hold the rank of a Marshall in the GPW. Who is that Marshall of the CCCP ? Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, I already PMed to "Chairman" Nick, that the structure of our Soviet-section is now a real mess and he is working on improvments. Look at the TR-section, how perfect the structure is there . O.K., the TR-collectors-community is larger, than the our community, but Soviet Awards are a main stake at the international market for orders and medals. Best regards Christian

Dear Auke, many thanks for the further informations about comrade Gurov . Maybe some of our Russian-speaking GMIC-members could find more informations at the www about Gurov ? Best regards Christian

Lost in Translation Dear Simon, many, many thanks for the highly important further informations . It is interesting, that the Russian Mint boxed only a "selction" of these coins for the collectors outside of the Eastern World and that they wrote completly "new" descriptions of the coins. So, we find ONE real history of the WW II, but TWO controversial ways of seeing that history: The "Walt-Disney-Prod."-approch since 1946 from the majority of US- and GB-historians and the rather scientific approach from the majority of Russian historians, some European and also from some US- and GB-historians . O.K., in such a small collection of memento coins dealing with Russia during the GPW, the "Elbe-Event" has by far not the same weight, like defense of Leningrad, Stalingrad or the battle at the Kursk salient. It had been nice, that US- and SU-troops met at the river Elbe, lots of vodka and a big party, but the military importance of that meeting was "zero". So, that is my argumentation, why I assume, that this special coin might be an offense to GPW-vets. Loosing a leg at Kursk is not the same, as drinking vodka and whisky with GIs at the river Elbe . Is there the FULL collection of the whole series of these coins somewhere in the www - maybe with english commentaries? Thanks again and best regards Christian

Dear Vic, that's a strong argument, which makes sense . Best regards Christian P.S.: Specially for RBs #2, #3, #4, etc. that system makes sense and saves space!

Dear Christophe, many thanks for finding of the mentioned picture and for showing the scans to us . You did a job, like in our "Quiz" . Do you have a glue, how this extra-fixing "system" worked ? Best regards Christian

Dear Mr. Zammit, I highly respect your contribution to the translations of Andrew's MONDVOR-website. This is an extraordinary help and tool for all serious collectors of Soviet Awards. I think, it is not against the rules & regulations at GMIC, to ask fellow collectors & experts about the value of an item. I have seen a lot of similar questions in all sections and boards at GMIC. I don't have a glue, what might be behind your offensive postings towards my person . Christian

Dear Christophe, highly interesting thoughts . One of the deceisive points for coming back to the screwback for military orders might have been, that screwbacks are more practiable in every day field service: They can be fixed better and firmer to the cloth and they have no ribbon, which can get easily dirty. Dirt and the rather loose fixing occured as a problem with the medals and with the Order of Glory. So they invented plastic covers for the ribbons - can be seen in the red PMD-bible - and some extra-fixing to the cloth just above the ring of the orders and medals (this might have been rather rare - I saw this only once at the old book of Dr. Herfurth from the 1980s). The Order of Glory HAD to be at a ribbon, because of the old "St. George's Crosses", I assume. But why did they convert the RB ? Best regards Christian

Dear Auke, it had been "good luck" . GOOGLE (chuikov + show pictures) delivered me the result with one mousklick - sorry .... I found two highly interesting articles dealing with comrade Gurov from a certain Auke de Vlieger at the www: http://www.go2war2.nl/artikel/1239 http://www.stalingradbattle.nl/personen/goerov.htm Despite the fact, that German speaking persons can read some Dutch, maybe you can post us some more informations about that highly interesting political commissar of the Red Army . Lt.-Gen. is a rather high rank for a political commissar of an Army - would suit more to a Front, where he also did his duty twice. Do you have any idea about the cititations concerning his 3 RBs and one Lenin? What had been his relationship to Khrushchev http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Khrushchev , who had been also a political commissar with the same rank (Lt.-Gen.)? Why did he die so young? Best regards Christian

Dear Auke, many thanks for your further informations . So, well have to do some research about Chuikov & his comrades http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Chuikov . It is a pity, that I only have Chuikov's book "The end of the Third Reich" in my library, but not "The Battle of the Century", which deals with Stalingrad . I have realy no glue, who that meritorious comrade might have been, who passed away so early . Best regards Christian

Jim, nobody has forced you to make postings at this thread. As everybody can make out, at this thread there are several "one way monologues" from several GMIC-members . My primary intention with this thread has been, to show the "inside" of a Nevsky to the fellow GMIC-members, which was appreciated by most of them . A second intention has been, to find a realistic and correct insurance value of that item. After the discussion and after some research I took EUR 1600,- for the list. Due to the fact, that Prof. Rabkin sold a Nevsky T 2 recently for USD 2850,-, my value estimation is not an illegal or criminal act ("insurance fraud"!!!!) . GMIC is a forum for gentlemen to discuss all phaleristic aspects - also terms of insurence! Also very, very disappointed Christian

Dear Ferdinand, did our comrade stay till the end of the GPW in the 62nd Army - then Guards Army? Best regards Christian