Christian Zulus

BEFORE: AFTER: Shot down by the Yugoslav 3rd Battalion of the 250th Missile Brigade under the command of Col. Zolt?n Dani, equipped with the Isayev S-125 'Neva-M' (NATO designation SA-3 'Goa'). They downed F-117A serial number 82-806 with such a Neva-M missile.

Fragment presenting the inside of the F 117 A tail-fin:

F 117 A - Fragment of the tail-fin Gentlemen, After the last war NATO vs. YU in 1999 I got as a present this fragment of the tail-fin from the shot down F 117 A "Nighthawk". In the night of the 27th of march 1999 the incident happened over Serbia. The Yugslavian Airdefense managed by cleverness and rather simple means to destroy - at least - 3 "invisible" F 117 A: This one crashed in Serbia, one more in Bosnia and the third one could manage to get down at the Zagreb airport in Croatia, but was also completly ruined. Here is a link with detailed (US) informations about the F 117 A and a lot of photographs: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-117.htm Wikipedia about the F 117 A with detailed informations about the combat loss at the 27th of march 1999 in YU: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-117_Nighthawk Wikipedia about the NATO-bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 - "Operation Allied Force": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_NATO_bombing_in_Yugoslavia Best regards & pozdrav Christian Fragment presenting the outside of the F 117 A tail-fin:

Dear Bob, I already sent a PM to you with Gregory's e-mail-adress. Best regards Christian

Nice and well designed medal . Is that a 2nd class? Best regards Christian BTW: What about rarity & today's market value?

Research of Soviet Labour Awards Dear Bob, if you have access to the archives of the (former) Supreme Soviet, you might research nearly all of the Labour Orders, Prizes & Titles . The fact is, that Gregory, who conducts the research of my Glory-group http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5536 , can do the research for lower-numbered (screwback) Labour Orders. Gregory is THE expert for researching Labour Awards. If you want, I can PM his mail-adress to you. Best regards Christian

Motherland 2cl & 1cl Dear Jim, as long, as you have genuine & authentic Motherlands 2cl in your collection to compare with an item in question, you might be at the "save side". A Motherland 2cl (genuine & authentic!) is a rather rare order. I assume, that less than 2.000 (most of them mint-fresh and unissued) might be - or had been - at the market. So the asked price range at the market for a 2cl of about USD 1.500,- is still rather moderate in relation the it's rarity. O.K., the matter of design - but I like the design of the "Crabs" . I still think, that you can make out a doctored s/n., if you take a very close look with special light from the lateral side at the engraving. You are right with the Motherland 1cl - genuine & authentic ones have been rarly at the market, no one has one in his private collection for comparison and I personally would not dare to buy one from a dealer or fellow collector - only from a state museum in Russia . Best regards Christian

Name & title of Mr. Otto Habsburg Gentlemen, if someone might be interested, this is the full name & title of Mr. Otto Habsburg-Lothringen, PhD: Von Gottes Gnaden (by the grace of god) Kaiser von ?sterreich; Apostolischer K?nig von Ungarn; K?nig von B?hmen, von Dalmatien, Kroatien, Slawonien, Galizien, Lodomerien und Illyrien; K?nig von Jerusalem etc. Erzherzog von ?sterreich; Gro?herzog von Toskana und Krakau; Herzog von Lothringen, von Salzburg, Steier, K?rnten, Krain und der Bukowina; Gro?f?rst von Siebenb?rgen; Markgraf von M?hren; Herzog von Ober- und Nieder-Schlesien, von Modena, Parma, Piacenza und Guastalla, von Auschwitz und Zator, von Teschen, Friaul, Ragusa und Zara; gef?rsteter Graf von Habsburg und Tirol, von Kyburg, G?rz und Gradiska; F?rst von Trient und Brixen; Markgraf von Ober- und Nieder-Lausitz und in Istrien; Graf von Hohenembs, Feldkirch, Bregenz, Sonnenberg etc.; Herr von Triest, von Catarro und auf der windischen Mark; Gro?woiwode der Woiwodschaft Serbien etc. etc. Quite impressing: King of Jerusalem, Duke of Tuscany, Chief of Serbia, etc. . For long years Mr. Habsburg had been MEP (Member of the European Parliament) representing the (conservative) Bavarian Party CSU. Mr. Habsburg also confers the "European Order of St. Sebastian" http://www.egs-schuetzen.com/Flash/Spracha...sh/english.html , where you do not have to be a member of the high aristocracy for getting that medal . So, Mr. Habsburg is really a big "dude" in the "Orders-Business" (in comparison to Miss Umalatova) . Best regards Christian Mr. Habsburg wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece:

Order of the Golden Fleece Dear Rick, the fact is, that at least the renowed high aristocratic families in Germany & Austria do so . The "Order of the Golden Fleece", the highest ranking order in the christian-catholic world, http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orden_vom_Goldenen_Vlies is still confered by the chief of the Habsburg-family, today Karl von Habsburg-Lothringen, the son of Archduke Otto: http://otto.twschwarzer.de/ , the might-be emporer of Austro-Hungary. At the 23rd of july 1953 the Republic of Austria granted the right to confer the "Orden vom Goldenen Vlies" to the head of the Habsburg-family. But you have to be at least an earl or count with an old family tree + meritorious contributions to the "kaiserlich-k?nigliche Erzhaus Habsburg-Lothringen" to get that outstanding decoration. It is the same with the so-called "Hausorden" of Germany's Ex-kings, princes & dukes. They still confer their orders. Coming back to the so-called "Umalatova-Awards". At the beginning - in the 1990s - of the Umalatova-Movement the recipients of an "Umalatova-Award" (HSU, HSL, Lenin, Stalin, Octoberrevolution, etc., etc.) had to possibilities: - to get an (ugly) order made of scratch for a few dollars or - to get an original order directly from the Russian Mint for quite a hughe amount of US-dollars. The "Umalatova Awards", that now spoil the market are all made of scratch - ugly and primitve, but years ago - in the 1990s - anyone could buy original and genuine Soviet Awards also directly from the mint. The price tags had been rather high, but you could buy your Nevsky, Lenin, Octoberrevolution, RB, etc. for US-dollars (but no Victories, Suvorovs, Kutuzovs, etc.!). Putin stopped that "extra-business" of the mint. Even the queer "Stalin-Order" of Miss Umalatova you could order years ago also - rather well done - in gold . Coming to the point: Miss Umalatova does the same, as Mr. Habsburg - confering orders of a sunken period . O.K, Mr. Habsburg has a legitimation by the Republic of Austria and Miss Umalatova does not have it from the Russian Federation . For us collectors of Soviet Awards the Umalatova-scratch does not have any value, because the CCCP vanished at the end of 1991 (as the Austro-Hungarian Empire vanished in 1919). BTW: Same numbers - only other combination . I personally do not collect "Umalatova-Awards", despite the fact, that I bought for a few dollars a package of "Stalin-120-years-Medals" + empty documents, which I gave away (with filled out documents ) to friends for birthday, etc. Best regards Christian Order of the Golden Fleece:

Long Service Medal - 25 years in Service Gentlemen, the medal "Veteran of the Armed Forces" of the 1970s was also issued for comrades with 25 years (or more) in service. As documented in the researched case of captain 1st rank & commodore of the 111th OVR-brigade, Ivan Kandybin http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=11948 , this comrade served exactly 25 years in the Soviet Navy, retired from his top position in 1961 and did not receive an Order of Lenin, due to the new regulations. But in the 1970s he got his "Veteran of the Armed Forces Medal". In the case of high-ranking marshals, generals or admirals anything might have been possible for 25, 30 or 35 years in service (or 60th, 65th, 70th, 75th or 80th birthday): HSU, Lenin, Octoberrevolution, RB or RS. My theory: We have medals for 10, 15, 20 & 25 years in service for officers and maybe lower ranking generals. The "Nomenklatura" made what they wanted: 2nd Octoberrevolution, several HSUs, etc., etc. Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, well, a short phone call + mail with the attached photograph to our embassy in Paris should solve the miracle within minutes. The staff in Paris speaks fluent French : http://www.amb-serbie.fr/code/navigate.php?Id=2 But some of our diplomats are on holidays: 6th of january = X-Mas & 13th of january = New Years Eve . My problem: I neither speak French, nor Srpski . Best regards Christian

Dear Ivan, sorry, I have to state a w.o. . No idea, who this comrade might be . Maybe Christophe, who lives in Paris, might find out, which famous YU-comrade studied philosophy at the Sorbonne . Best regards Christian

The second group is rather interesting - did the medals & badges all belong to ONE person? Odd combination: Construction badge & Guards badge & (civil) academy badge . Had there been any "Guards-Construction-Units"? The Leningrad-group is a "classic" and researchable. Best regards Christian

Umalatova-Awards Dear Jim, that case is legally not so easy to solve, because Sazhi Umalatova from Grozny regards herself and her gang as THE legal and official soviet government . There is an old - but very funny - thread from the "other" Soviet forum (with some CZ-postings) about Miss Umalatova and her "genuine" Soviet Awards: http://www.soviet-awards.com/forum/soviet-...-umalatova.html I regard them not as (cheap & obvious) fakes, but as so called "Umalatova-Awards" . Best regards Christian That is Sazhi Umalatova:

Dear Ivan, I thought, that I had been wrong . So, the Order of the National Hero (орден народног хероја) is also wrong . Coming back to your "pointing out" of the artistic movement, I guess, that the highly decorated comrade in uniform might belong to the famous naive painters or sculptors in former Yugoslavia ? Best regards Christian

Unsure Dear Ivan, I am really to quite sure This man participated in the battle of Sutjeska #1 Who is he? Edvard Kardelj He was also one of the first 16 recipients of a certain decoration #2 What is that decoration? Order of the National Hero (орден народног хероја) And he was also an active participant of a certain artistic movement #3 What was that movement? Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts (SAZU) Well, the comrade at the photograph has some similarities with Kardelj and you might make out two ribbons of the "Order of the National Hero". Best regards Christian

Tito's dogs Gentlemen, Soviet was 100 % right in his answer, because the name of Tito's first dog in the 1940s had been LUKS . On June 9th 1943 during the battle of Sutjeska (operation "SCHWARZ", as the Nazis named it), a bomb fell near the leading group with Tito, killing Major Stuart and Tito's dog Luks, a German Shepherd, who jumped at Tito, saving his life, though he was wounded in his arm. I already posted the photograph of the wounded Tito. The "replacement-dog" for Luks was named Tiger, who had a longer life . So Luks was the Nazi-victim and Tiger the long time official Tito-dog. German Shepherd Luks might have been the most important dog in WW II . It is also very interesting, that Tito named his first dog after the hotel "Luks", where he lived in Moscow the years before. Best regards Christian

Blondi vs. Blondie Dear Christophe, your are right, the name of Hitler's dog had been Blondi . Best regards Christian BTW: The name of Tito's dog in the 1940s had been TIGER . Here is a nice photograph of Blondi and Gefreiter Schickelgruber: That's the WIKI-entry for Hitler's Blondi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blondi and here you will find that fantastic animated cartoon (3 minutes long) of Walter Moers with the title "Der Bonker" showing showing Hitler with doggie Blondi in the bath tub: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC41_2yBaiY Here is an even nicer photograph of Blondie alias Debbie Harry :

Dear Gospodin Ivan, I am not "Soviet", but your answers are right - congratulations . We are looking forward to your question . Pozdrav Christian P.S.: Soviet, many thanks for putting the focus to Yugoslavia again . Here is a photograph of Marshal Tito wounded just after the battle of Sutjeska. And another one at the Tjeniste monument decades later with nice girls in the background .

Dear Doc, great RS - congratulations . A "doctor 2nd rank" = Lt.-Col. ? At Baturins "Award Card" he is adressed as a major of the medical service ? Besides Baturin's first RS, which is a battle award, the combat medal, the other RS and RB are long-service-awards (10-15-20 years in service. Do you know, which rank - Maj.-Gen. ? - had comrade Baturin at the end of the 1950s, which seems to be the end of his military service in the Soviet Army? Dear Ed, the downgrading in your "Glory-case" had been strictly against the regulations and statutes . On 23rd of august 1941 comrade Stalin himself signed the Order No. 281, "Concerning the procedure for recommending combat medics and stretcher bearers for government awards": "The following recommendations are implemented to encourage the combat efforts of medics and stretcher bearers: ..................... 3. Recommend the awarding of the order of the "Red Banner" for each medic or stretcher bearer who carries 40 wounded with their rifles or light machine guns fromt the battlefield;" The 63 wounded in Grebenschchikova's case are even well above the mark of 40 in Stalin's Order No. 281 . Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, many thanks for the great pictures . It is better to use 110KB at GMIC, than ??KB at the "other" Soviet awards forum . Best regards Christian

Dear Bryan, perfect, perfect - almost 99,9 % perfect #1 absolutly correct - Blondie: What a stupid name for a dog . #2 correct maybe for Tito of the late years, but in WW II the dog's name was not "Luks" or "Lynx". It is very, very close , but Tito's dog had the name of another (very dangerous & 3 times larger) cat . It might be, that Tito's dog of his late years was called "Luks", "Lynx" or "Luchs" - see the attached picture . "Luks" was also the name of the Komintern-hotel in Moscow, where Tito and all the other stayed . So, Tito's dog in WW II had another cat-name . Bryan, you are the winner . It's your turn to propose us a new challenge . Best regards Christian BTW: Sorry, a dog's life is much shorter, than the life of an marshal . So, old marshals might have kept several dogs during their career (Gefreiter Adolf Schickelgruber, he called himself "Hitler", died rather young ...).

Gentlemen, the second guy is NOT comrade Stalin - he lived and worked in Vienna, BUT he had been a citizen of Russia (as far as I know, Georgia never belonged to the Austrian Empire ...) and also got NO medals in WW I .... and comrade Stalin was not sooooo fancy about dogs . Best regards Christian

Many thanks, Christophe Are you an expert in the world of dogs ? The new question is about the name of two famous dogs and their even more famous masters . Best regards Christian

NEW QUESTION Dogs & Military Leaders of WW II Gentlemen, for the case, that my answer might have been sufficient, here my new question to the honourable members of GMIC. Introduction: Two world famous military (and state) leaders (and opponents) of WW II had been native & borne citizens of Austria (K&K-Empire), lived and worked for a certain period in Vienna, both had been meritorious & decorated soldiers (lance corporal & sergeant) already in WW I and both shared a special love to a rather common race of dogs. On photographs you can see both Ex-Austrians rather often with their beloved dog . 3 questions: 1) The names of the two military leaders? 2) The race of their dogs? 3) The names of their dogs? (Question number 3) is the most important one !) Remark: Both names of the dogs are rather fancy and a little bit silly . Best regards Christian