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    Christian Zulus

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    Posts posted by Christian Zulus

      Vladimir Kryuchkov passed away

      in Russia: Soviet: Other Militaria

      Posted

      You'd like to think there has been someone active out there collecting oral histories from this generation but, in the current climate, I doubt it. Sad for future generations of historians.

      Dear Ed,

      I have no doubt, that a handful of historians in Russia are collecting oral histories of such historic figures - at least i hope so :D .

      Marshals Yazov's notes, he wrote during his imprisonment, had been offered some time ago by a well known dealer.

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

      0

      Happy Birthday, Crown Prince Otto

      in Austro-Hungarian Empire

      Posted · Edited by Christian Zulus

      Gentlemen,

      the fact is, that Otto Habsburg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Habsburg had during WW II good relations and rather free access to President Roosevelt.

      Another fact is, that Hitler called the occupation of Austria in 1938 "Operation Otto", due to the fact, that Otto Habsburg tried to get head of the Austrian State just before the occupation.

      There had been big events around Otto's 95th birthday in Vienna the last days and he had been invited by the Austrian President Heinz Fischer (Socialdemocratic Party - SP?): http://www.hofburg.at/modules/bildgalerie/....php?gi_id=2814 and a video of that event: http://derstandard.at/?url=/?id=3117760%26_seite=3%26sap=2 .

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

      I was wondering recently whether Otto was still alive. When the Iron Curtain rusted, there were news reports of traveling back and forth to Hungary (his dad's undoing) and it looked for a brief moment as if some sort of English-style ceremonially neutral monarchy might have been restored to overcome the yawning political divide.

      Just think-- if the Allies had not been so implacibly petty about routing out the enemy royals in 1918 to divert domestic rage over the mutual slaughter--

      Germany and Austria with kings in the 1930s would have been...

      our world would have been VERY different.

      Otto MIGHT have made all the difference.

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      Soviet & Eastern Block Quiz

      in Russia: Soviet: Other Militaria

      Posted

      :jumping:BERIA :jumping:

      Gentlemen,

      I guess, that the comrade in question was a (very) prominent communist leader of the Soviet Union, whose patron had been Joseph Stalin himself and who died in the 1950s and his nationality had been non-Russian. The picture with the eye had been published in the West just before his death.

      O.K., the comrade in question is Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria (29 March 1899 ? 23 December 1953) :D .

      His eye is shown at the cover of TIME - Beria: Enemy of the People:

      5 month later Beria - also infamous for sexual sadism & perversion - was a dead man ...

      Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavrentiy_Beria tells:

      Accounts of Beria's fall vary considerably. According to the most recent accounts[citation needed] Khrushchev convened a meeting of the Praesidium on June 26, where he launched an attack on Beria, accusing him of being in the pay of British intelligence. Beria was taken completely by surprise. He asked, "What's going on, Nikita Sergeyevich? Why are you picking fleas in my trousers?" Molotov and others then also spoke against Beria, and Khrushchev put a motion for his instant dismissal. Malenkov then pressed a button on his desk as the pre-arranged signal to Marshal Georgy Zhukov and a group of armed officers in a nearby room. They immediately burst in and arrested Beria.

      Beria was taken first to the Moscow guardhouse ("gauptvakhta") and then to the bunker of the headquarters of Moscow Military District.

      Defence minister Nikolai Bulganin ordered Kantemirovskaya Tank Division and Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division to move into Moscow in order to prevent any possible attempts of Internal Troops loyal to Beria to rescue him.

      Beria's henchmen such as Vsevolod Merkulov, Bogdan Kobulov, Sergey Golgidze, Vladimir Dekanozov, Pavel Meshik, Lev Vlodzimirskiy were also arrested.

      Pravda announced Beria's arrest only on July 10, crediting it to Malenkov and referring to Beria's "criminal activities against the Party and the State." In December it was announced that Beria and six accomplices, "in the pay of foreign intelligence agencies," had been "conspiring for many years to seize power in the Soviet Union and restore capitalism."

      Beria and his henchmen were tried by a special session ("Spetsialnoye Sudebnoye Prisutstvie") of the Supreme Court of the USSR with no defense counsel and no right of appeal. Marshal Ivan Konev was the chairman of the court.

      Beria was found guilty of:

      1) treason; It was alleged, without any proof, that "up to the moment of his arrest Beria maintained and developed his secret connections with foreign intelligence services". In particular, attempts to initiate peace talks with Hitler in 1941 through the ambassador of Bulgaria were classified as treason, it was not mentioned that Beria was fulfilling the orders of Stalin and Molotov in this respect. It was also alleged that Beria, who in 1942 was involved in the organisation of the defence of the North Caucasus, tried to let the Germans occupy the Caucasus. There were also allegations that "planning to seize power, Beria tried to obtain the support of imperialist states at the price of violation of territorial integrity of the Soviet Union and transfer of parts of USSR's territory to capitalist states". These allegations were due to Beria's suggestion to his assistants that in order to improve foreign relations it is reasonable to transfer Kaliningrad Oblast to Germany, part of Karelia to Finland and Kuril Islands to Japan.

      2) terrorism; Beria's order to execute 25 political prisoners in October 1941 without trial was classified as an act of terrorism.

      3) counterrevolutionary activity during Russian Civil War; In 1919 Beria worked in the security service of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, he maintained that Hummet party which subsequently merged with the Adalat Party, the Ahrar Party and Baku Bolsheviks to establish the Azerbaijan Communist Party gave him such an assignment.

      Beria and all the other defendants were sentenced to death. When the death sentence was passed, according to Moskalenko's later account, Beria begged on his knees for mercy, but he and his subordinates were immediately executed on 23 December 1953. (See Citizen Kurchatov documentary for more details on his death[1]). Apparently his body was cremated.

      However, according to other accounts including his son's[citation needed], Beria's house was assaulted on 26 June 1953, by military units and Beria himself was killed on the spot. A member of the court which tried Beria, Nikolay Shvernik, has subsequently allegedly told Beria's son that he had never seen Beria alive.

      Beria's wife and son were sent to exile to Sverdlovsk. They were released in 1964; his wife Nina died in 1991 in exile in Ukraine, his son Sergo died in October 2000 still defending his father's reputation. After Beria's death the MGB was separated from the MVD and reduced from the status of a Ministry to a Committee (known as the KGB), and no Soviet police chief ever again held the kind of power Beria had wielded.

      In May 2000 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation refused an application by members of Beria's family to overturn his 1953 conviction. The application was based on a Russian law that provided for rehabilitation of victims of false political accusations. The court ruled, however, that "Beria was the organizer of repression against his own people, and therefore could not be considered a victim". However, the Supreme Court found Vladimir Dekanozov, Pavel Meshik and Lev Vlodzimirskiy guilty of abuse of authority, instead of crimes against the state, and the sentence for them was posthumously changed from death to 25 year imprisonment.

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

      RECAP

      LATER HINTS:

      ....our "eye" is associated with a person who is non russian by birth.....

      ...you must look West of the USSR to find where this eye was very prominently depicted...

      ...the eye (and the rest of the picture) and its heading was made 'public' 5 months before the official death of our mysterious person...

      ...look at the 1950's to try to find your answer...

      LAST HINT

      .... our person was a product of the Stalin era....

      Remember.... its all questions or nothing so find that timeless image and you will inevitably find the key!

      Jim :ninja:

      0

      Vladimir Kryuchkov passed away

      in Russia: Soviet: Other Militaria

      Posted

      what have been the sanctions pronounced against him for supporting the 1991 coup?

      Following the failed coup attempt, Kryuchkov was imprisoned for his participation. However, in 1994 the State Duma freed him in an amnesty.

      Some surviving members of the "Gang of Eight" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_of_Eight...Soviet_Union%29 - as Marshal Yazov - received recently high orders & medals from the Russian Federation by President Putin. Officially NOT for the coup attempt, but for other great deeds towards the Russian Army and the Russian State ;) .

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

      BTW: My grandmother, who lives in my house, is now 99 years old and at excellent health ... :rolleyes:

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      Vladimir Kryuchkov passed away

      in Russia: Soviet: Other Militaria

      Posted

      Gentlemen,

      Vladimir Alexandrovich Kryuchkov died at the 23rd of november 2007:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Kryuchkov

      Wise guy, who had been a close friend to Markus "Misha" Wolf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markus_Wolf and who supported Putin's career as a KGB-officer.

      Kryuchkov's patron had been Yuri Andropov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Andropov .

      Does anyone know, why he died so (rather) young (only 83 years old ...) - what was his "unspecified illness" :unsure: ?

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

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      Order of the Red Banner of Labor, Nr. 260718

      in Russia: Soviet Orders, Medals & Decorations

      Posted

      What if the member worked to 40 years? Would they have the Hero star, or repeat Lenins?

      Dear Paul,

      it's just a speculation from my side, after Rick noted, that a RBL might have been awarded after 20 years of service at the Railroads ... :rolleyes:

      In the Soviet Army - before issuing the 3 long service medals - the officer got after his 25-years-Lenin for 30 years of service a 2nd RB.

      But I am not sure, that there had been a 1:1 similar system in all branches of civil service. Maybe only the Railroads, Police, Aeroflot etc. might have had such systems.

      I guess, that the civil services had not such a regulated system, as the Soviet Army had: You can get an RBL for long service, but it is not regulated.

      Let's wait, what our native experts can tell us :D .

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

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      Order of the Red Banner of Labor, Nr. 260718

      in Russia: Soviet Orders, Medals & Decorations

      Posted

      While it could have been bestowed for some singular accomplishment, at that time these were also granted for 20 years State service in the railways etc.

      Dear Rick,

      interesting statement :cheers: .

      There had been long service awards in civil service :unsure: ?

      - 10 years: Labour Medal

      - 15 years: BoH

      - 20 years: RBL

      - 25 years: Lenin

      :unsure:

      Do you have further informations about that issue :unsure: ?

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

      0

      Soviet & Eastern Block Quiz

      in Russia: Soviet: Other Militaria

      Posted

      Let me know if ya'll need more hints. :unsure: I'm all for making ya'll work for it but not for driving anyone insane! :rolleyes::P

      Dear Dan,

      some more hints would be very wellcome :cheers: .

      I know the face of the comrade in question, but I still couldn't find him in Stalin's biography - and I know the life of comrade Stalin rather well ..... :rolleyes:

      I found no matching in history among:

      - early Bolshevik

      - helped Stalin before he got "Stalin the Voshd"

      - playwriter

      - statesman

      Dan, what's your definition of a "statesman" :unsure: ?

      Prime Minister, President or also Deputy-Ministers, secretaries of important ministers, etc. :unsure: ?

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

      0

      Soviet & Eastern Block Quiz

      in Russia: Soviet: Other Militaria

      Posted

      Dear Dan,

      no problem ..... :D

      Sorry, I forgot to congratulate to your recent great victory at Christophe's quiz - you are now our "shooting star" :cheers::jumping: .

      So, we have to look in Stalin's biography for a non-Russian playwriter, communist, who helped the Voshd a lot in his early years :rolleyes: .

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

      Hi Christian,

      Sorry... just got home from work a few minutes ago. Yes, many apologies. Did this right before I headed to work and it is indeed a type error. :blush: And yes, it is Stalin. :beer:

      Dan :cheers:

      0

      Soviet & Eastern Block Quiz

      in Russia: Soviet: Other Militaria

      Posted · Edited by Christian Zulus

      perhaps this will make it a little more clear?

      More photos of the boys....in leather....:rolleyes:

      Dear Charles,

      the comrade at the right on your last pic is LENIN :jumping: .

      But what has comrade Lenin to do with a non-Soviet, who had been POW :unsure: ?

      Trotsky had a gang of "Leather-Boys" around him - in red dresses :P .

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

      0

      Soviet & Eastern Block Quiz

      in Russia: Soviet: Other Militaria

      Posted

      Dear Charles,

      o.k., if that's not a Soviet photograph, then I would see, that these gentlemen look rather "German". Might be a group of German officers before - or after - WW I.

      Here is the person in question again, the non-Soviet with a love for boys in leather, but a bit blown up - maybe it helps ... :rolleyes: :

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

      BTW: GOOGLE delivers also rather "queer" results, not only with "Boys & Leather", but also with 100 % military items, as "Gas Masks" and "Uniforms" - specially "SS" and "Afrika Korps" :P .

      ROFL :lol:

      All interesting answers and guesses - but the only reason he is related to anything Soviet is becasue he was a POW...

      0

      Soviet & Eastern Block Quiz

      in Russia: Soviet: Other Militaria

      Posted

      Gentlemen,

      if the "Iron Felix" might be close to the answer, but he is not in the car, then maybe Josif Unschlicht alias Jankel Jurowski might be in the car :unsure: ?

      Comrade Unschlicht had been somehow a deputy of Felix Dzerzhinsky and he had been responsible for finishing up with the Czarist's family.

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

      The first thing that came to mind (and still comes after the new keyword) is "the boys from the Cheka", but Felix Dzerzhinsky had a goatee which the men in the photo do not have.

      Felix_Dzerzhinsky_1919.jpg

      :unsure:

      0

      Order of Grand Star of Yugoslavia

      in Southern European & Balkan States

      Posted · Edited by Christian Zulus

      Grand Star 1cl at Lanz-Auction with an est. of EUR 1.000,-

      Gentlemen,

      Lanz-Munich offers at the coming auction, at the 27th of november, a 1cl, which belonged to a very prominent Austrian politican:

      http://www.sixbid.com/home/auctions/lanz/m.../la140/a140.htm (go to item No. 58 !)

      Anton Benya had been for many years the president of the Austrian Trade Union and the president of the Austrian Parliament: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Benya

      I think, that the estimated hammer-price of EUR 1.000,- is rather low for such a rare order to such a historic personality :jumping: .

      Best regards :beer:

      Christian

      0
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