Christian Zulus

Gentlemen, many thanks for your congratulations to my 22nd victory . Katukov had been Jewish and I rank him among the top-ten Soviet "Field-Generals" of the GPW. Did General Katukov imigrate to the USA with the full collection of his orders, medals and decorations ? Usually Jewish veterans had been allowed to imigrate (in most cases to Israel) in their uniforms with all the awards on. What happened to the Katukov-group ? Now back in the collection of a rich Russian ? Imagine the present market-value of the complete (Marshal-Star, all documents, etc., etc.) Katukov-group . It has to be far beyond half a million USD . Best regards Christian

Red Army Memorial in Vienna Gentlemen, President Putin visited - during his official visit to Vienna, Austria - the Red Army Memorial http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtop...st&p=175801 on the 24th of may 2007 in the city-center in Vienna. Some photographic impressions .... Press conference on the evening before: Police doggy checking the wreath: Putin marching to the monument (Austrian Army Guards Batallion in the background): Putin with Mrs. Barbara Prammer, President of the Austrian Parliament: Putin on his knees in front of the name of a very, very great person in history : Best regards Christian BTW: Putin mentioned how well kept the Austrian Red Army Memorial is - in comparison to the disgraceful incidents in other EU-member-states . At the Red Army Memorial Putin met some Red Army Veterans for a small talk. Putin is a great fan of Austria - he speaks fluent German and his wife is a teacher for German language. As a KGB-officer, Putin did his duty in the DDR ... Before becoming President of RF, Putin wanted to buy a large estate with house in Austria, but at that time that had not been possible for him according to Austrian laws .

Statistics Dear Christophe, your quiz-thread has now more than 1,400 replies and almost 13,400 views . I assume, that our thread is now - in any respect - the absolute No. 1 at GMIC . Could you check that aspect - many thanks . Best regards Christian

Answer to question #119: Mikhail Katukov Dear Auke, it seems, that the comrade in question has to be the famous General Mikhail Katukov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Katukov . Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, that's an highly interesting phaleristic fact . So, it seems, that the Victory has been the ONLY Soviet Order WITHOUT s/n. . Please could you show the pic to us . Best would be to open a new thread: Order of Victory: s/n. - yes or no ? Best regards Christian

Dear Filip, o.k., o.k., o.k., ..... I will try to get the original publication back a.s.p. . I assume, our new Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vuk Jeremic http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vlada/ministri.php , doesen't seem to be sooooooo interested into the research of the involvement of the US-Adminstriation in YU-politics 1948 to 1980 . Best regards Christian BTW: These US-papers might be a great subject for a master-thesis for a student in the field of history, politics, etc. If someone is interested, please contact me: http://www.zulusrecords.com

Dear Ed, that's an important point . I have also never seen an - authentic - Victory without the screwplate on . Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, sorry .... , I also have no scans of Zhukov's first "Victory"-document . But the s/n. HAS to be quoted at the document ... Best regards Christian

Dear Auke, congratulations to your very, very fast victory . Many thanks for presenting a general with 4 Suvorovs to us . Dear Christophe, sorry .... , another score for the "German-Language-Group" . With Yakov Kreiser - post #695 at your quiz - there had been already one general with a Suvorov 1cl & 2cl (I mentioned that in my postings) ... Best regards Christian BTW: Auke needed only 9 (nine) minutes to post the correct answer.

New question #118 Soviet high-end awards of the GPW: Who got different classes of them during the GPW ? Gentlemen, let's stay at (pure ) Soviet Orders of the GPW. Let's focus at the Orders of Suvorov, Uzhakov, Kutuzov and Nakhimov. They had 3 to 2 classes for different ranks in the army or fleet. Some brilliant commanders promoted very, very fast through the ranks during the GPW. The question is: Show me at least one general/admiral, who had 2 different classes of the same - above mentioned - order at the end of the GPW at his chest ? i.e.: Kutuzov 2cl & 3cl or Nakhimov 1cl & 2cl or Suvorov 1cl & 2cl ..... The winner is, who can first present one of these generals/admirals. I hope, that's a nice & easy question .... Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, many thanks for your congratulations . I tried hard, because you are getting very close to my score . Best regards Christian

Dear Auke, that's true, but the s/n. is on the award document . And Zhukov's document shows a big #1 . Might be, that some of the "Victories" have painted s/n. on their rv. ? Best regards Christian

YU-Workers-Selfgovernment: A concept of the US-State Department Dear Filip, that's true: Milovan Đilas' original concept of workers selfmanagement prooved to be a complete mess and the YU-economy almost collapsed in the 1960s (just remember the high unemployment-rate and the massive "export" of the workingforce - "Gastarbeiter" - to Germany, Austria and Switzerland). A historic fact is, that the DDR-economy in the 1960s, under Walter Ulbricht, performed much better, than the YU-economy under Tito. Milovan Đilas' borrowed idea had been a bit "primitive": He took the economic organisation of the medivial "Zadruga" of the Balkans and tried to organize the whole YU-economy in that way. At least, it had not been Milovan Đilas' genuine idea . It had been a concept of some "think-tanks" around the US-State Department in the 1940s and the US-Adminstration offered that "great" concept for economy to the "friends" of Drug Tito after his break with Stalin. That sounds like a really "wild story" . But I found a copy of the original and published US-paper in one of the famous state archives in Vienna and managed to get the original document as a present . Sorry ...., I can't scan the papers right now, because I borrowed it to the Serbian Ministery of Foreign Affairs for further research. Well, that US-concept-paper is setting the YU-politics of the years 1948 to 1980 into a very new light. Best regards Christian

Vasily Blyukher - Russian RB & Red Star: Both #1 Dear Christophe, it seems the comrade in question has to be Blyukher (Bl?cher) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Blyukher , who got: - RB of the RF #1 at the 30th of september 1918 - RS #1 at the 13th of may 1930 Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, many thanks for the clarification . So, we have to match the list with the Republican #1 recipients with the Soviet #1 recipients . The second comrade in question has to be a not soooo young and not soooo famous Soviet comrade. He kept his Republican #1 and did not change him to an Soviet # XXXX ? Is there a good website - like Andrew's Mondvor-site - of the Republicans out in the www? I assume, that it has to be one of the many RBs of the early Republics. Best regards Christian BTW: I think the winner should be, who finds the second comrade in question - much more difficult, than the finding of Marshal Zhukov .

Listing of question #116 in your summary Dear Christophe, please list my last question #116 under: - capture (or battle) of Vienna - Lt.-General Nikolay Ivanovich Biryukov - Vice-Admiral Georgi Nikititch Kholostyakov Many thanks Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, as I already posted, I found no matching names among the #1 serial numbers of Soviet Orders, except Marshal Zhukov . Most of the #1 serial numbers of the labour orders went not to physical persons ... I assume, that Andrew's research about the serial numbers of orders + receipient is absolutly correct . We are speaking about pure Soviet Orders and not about Republican Orders ? Best regards Christian

Lt.-General Nikolay Ivanovich Biryukov (6. 12. 1901 - 30. 6. 1980) Gentlemen, I just found his entry at the Warheroes-Website: http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1354 . He had been the 43-year-young General receiving the neck order of the Legion of Merit Medal . He also got his HSU (28th of april 1945) for the capture of Vienna. There is a link to his book: http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/birukov_ni/index.html Great story about the Admiral & General and their British & US high-ranking orders . In may 1975: Best regards Christian

Second comrade ? Gentlemen, the second comrade in question couldn't have been one of the top military leaders of the CCCP. Let's have a look, who got s/n. 1 of the top-ranking orders: - Suvorov 1cl: Zhukov (he is one of the two comrades in question - Victory #1) - Uzhakov 1cl: Vice-Admiral Tribuz - Kutuzov 1cl: Lt.-Gen. Galinin - Nakhimov 1cl: Rear-Admiral Feldmann - Chmelnithski 1cl: Maj.-Gen. Danilov No one of the mentioned 4 comrades got another order with the s/n. 1 . I also checked at Andrew's (GMIC-member "mondvor") great website http://mondvor.narod.ru/ordpage.htm - he lists all s/n. 1 receipients of the orders - the 2nd & 3rd classes of the awards and other orders, but I found no matching names . For shure, it's not a labour order, like: Lenin, RBL, BoH, etc. - or a combination of labour & military. Best regards Christian BTW: I think that Wild Card's Voroshilov-answer might be quite correct, because a RB #5 & RB #6 are different orders - at least in design (HSU #4 s/n. 1 is a title & medal).

Zhukov Dear Christophe, one of the two comrades is Zhukov: - s/n. 1 of Suvorov 1cl - s/n. 1 of Order of Victory (We are speaking about orders and not about titles & medals ) But who is the second comrade ? Best regards Christian

Gentlemen, well, this medal has the highly prestigeous "St.-George-Ribbon" . So, I assume, that it has to be a "legitimated" one . I also would think: Either Municipialtiy of Moscow or Ministery of Defense . Best regards Christian

Dear Filip, many thanks for your hint . I checked the history at Wikipedia's Tito-entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josip_Broz_Tito and it says: "On June 26, 1950, the National Assembly supported a crucial bill written by Milovan Đilas and Tito about "self-management" (samoupravljanje): a type of independent socialism that experimented with profit sharing with workers in state-run enterprises. On January 13, 1953, they established that the law on self-management was the basis of the entire social order in Yugoslavia. Tito also succeeded Ivan Ribar as the President of Yugoslavia on January 14, 1953." So it seems, that this table-medal had been issued in Ljubljana just after the death of Marshal Tito there (he died on May 4, 1980 in Ljubljana, Slovenia). Tito's mother had been from Slovenia and his father was a Croat (and Tito's nationality had been Austrian ). Seems to be a strange coincidence: Ljubljana issues that anniversary medal of "30 years worker's self-management" and Tito dies there at the same time . Best regards Christian

Dear Lukasz, many thanks for showing your beauties to us . I assume, that these special medals for workers had an important function (and high prestigue) in the former socialist Czech and Slovak Republics : Well made, nice design & ribbon bar. In the Soviet Union the title "Meritorious" ranked higher, than "Honoroued" or "Excellence". "Meritorious" had been top-titles with large leather-bound diplomas. I have in my collection a "Meritorious Pilot of the CCCP", but without any documents and also the later version without s/n. and pebbled rv. + Moscow mint-mark. The interesting point is, that the CSSR used the form & design of "normal" medals for honouring their workers . Best regards Christian

Dear Christophe, great medal . Already issued ? Looks a bit similar to the old prototype of the "Moscow-Medal". Best regards Christian

Dear Belaruski, that's really interesting . Best regards Christian