Soviet Soviet & Eastern Block Quiz - 2008

[Ferdinand]

Hi Frank,

The Soviets must have created some more between 1936 and 1941. I'll give the complete list of commissariats when the question is answered correctly.

Stalin, Molotov, Beria and Shakhurin are correct; Donchenko, Pervukhin and Voroshilov aren't. Name three more and you're the winner.

Good luck,

Auke

[Knarf]

Hello

here are the next three I hope!

Kosygin Consumer Industry

Mikojan Foreign and domestic trade

Kaganowich Heavy Industry

Zverev Finance

Merculov State Security

Regards

Frank

[Ferdinand]

Zverev and Merkulov are correct, the others aren't. So, you have six correct answers, which is enough in my opinion.

Congratulations, and go ahead with the next question.

By the way, here are the 43 People's Commissariats:

Defense - S.K. Timoshenko

Navy - N.G. Kuznetsov

Internal Affairs - L.P. Beria

State Security - V.N. Merkulov

Foreign Affairs - V.M. Molotov

Justice - N.M. Rychkov

Connections (signals) - I.T. Peresypkin

Aircraft Industry - A.I. Shakhurin

Medium Machine Building - V.A. Malyshev

Ammunition - P.N. Goremykin

Armaments - D.F. Ustinov

General Machine Building - P.I. Parshin

Industry of Building Materials - L.A. Sosnin

Machine-Tool Construction - A.I. Yefremov

Ship-Building Industry - I.I. Nosenko

Heavy Machine Building - N.S. Kazakov

Electrical Industry - V.V. Bogatyrev

Power Stations - A.I. Letkov

Light Industry - S.G. Lukin

Meat and Dairy Industry - P.V. Smirnov

Food Industry - V.P. Zotov

Fish Industry - A.A. Ishkov

Textile Industry - I.N. Akimov

Oil Industry - I.K. Sedin

Carbon Industry - V.V. Vakhrushev

Non-Ferrous Metallurgy - P.F. Lomako

Ferrous Metallurgy - I.F. Tevosyan

Chemical Industry - M.F. Denisov

Rubber Industry - T.B. Mitrokhin

Communication - L.M. Kaganovich

River Fleet - Z.A. Shashkov

Sea Fleet - S.S. Dukelsky

Construction - S.Z. Ginzburg

Foreign Trade - A.I. Mikoyan

Domestic Trade - A.V. Lyubimov

Supplies - V.A. Donskoi

Agriculture - I.A. Benediktov

Grain and Cattle Sovkhozes - P.P. Lobanov

Lumber Industry - F.V. Sergeyev

Cellulose and Paper Industry - N.N. Chebotarev

State Control - L.Z. Mekhlis

Public Health - G.A. Mitelev

Finance - A.G. Zverev

[Knarf]

Hello,

My first Soviet belt I got in 1975. For this I gave some cigarettes which I bought in NAAFI. This happened in a certain train which I had to use very often.

The train made a day round trip every day exept Christmas Days and 24 June 1948 until 12 May 1949. On the train you were not allowed to

use cameras, binoculars, leaning out of the window, throwing anything from the train. All passengers were to remain seated at all stops.All of your documents had to be complete and valid. otherwise there was trouble with the Soviets who had to check them. During this procedure I got my belt.

What was the name of the train? Which unit was responsible for running the train from September 30th 1971.

Regards

Frank :cheers:

[Christian Zulus]

What was the name of the train? Which unit was responsible for running the train from September 30th 1971.

Dear Frank,

I guess, you ask for the INTERZONENZUG http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interzonenzug from FRG to GDR.

"Running the train" is a difficult question - what does "running" mean ?

Well, the Trapo (Transportpolizei) http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportpolizei was reponsible for all sorts of transport.

At the Interzonenz?ge the PKE (Passkontrolleinheiten) of the Hauptabteilung VI of the Ministerium f?r Staatssicherheit (MfS) http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passkontrolleinheit played an important role. They had uniforms of the GT (DDR Grenztruppen) http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenztruppen_der_DDR .

A nice video of the Interzonenzug: http://www.myvideo.de/watch/1928693

Best regards

Christian

[Christian Zulus]

Dear Auke,

many thanks for that highly intersting list .

Which source ?

Best regards

Christian

Zverev and Merkulov are correct, the others aren't. So, you have six correct answers, which is enough in my opinion.

Congratulations, and go ahead with the next question.

By the way, here are the 43 People's Commissariats:

Defense - S.K. Timoshenko

Navy - N.G. Kuznetsov

Internal Affairs - L.P. Beria

State Security - V.N. Merkulov

Foreign Affairs - V.M. Molotov

Justice - N.M. Rychkov

Connections (signals) - I.T. Peresypkin

Aircraft Industry - A.I. Shakhurin

Medium Machine Building - V.A. Malyshev

Ammunition - P.N. Goremykin

Armaments - D.F. Ustinov

General Machine Building - P.I. Parshin

Industry of Building Materials - L.A. Sosnin

Machine-Tool Construction - A.I. Yefremov

Ship-Building Industry - I.I. Nosenko

Heavy Machine Building - N.S. Kazakov

Electrical Industry - V.V. Bogatyrev

Power Stations - A.I. Letkov

Light Industry - S.G. Lukin

Meat and Dairy Industry - P.V. Smirnov

Food Industry - V.P. Zotov

Fish Industry - A.A. Ishkov

Textile Industry - I.N. Akimov

Oil Industry - I.K. Sedin

Carbon Industry - V.V. Vakhrushev

Non-Ferrous Metallurgy - P.F. Lomako

Ferrous Metallurgy - I.F. Tevosyan

Chemical Industry - M.F. Denisov

Rubber Industry - T.B. Mitrokhin

Communication - L.M. Kaganovich

River Fleet - Z.A. Shashkov

Sea Fleet - S.S. Dukelsky

Construction - S.Z. Ginzburg

Foreign Trade - A.I. Mikoyan

Domestic Trade - A.V. Lyubimov

Supplies - V.A. Donskoi

Agriculture - I.A. Benediktov

Grain and Cattle Sovkhozes - P.P. Lobanov

Lumber Industry - F.V. Sergeyev

Cellulose and Paper Industry - N.N. Chebotarev

State Control - L.Z. Mekhlis

Public Health - G.A. Mitelev

Finance - A.G. Zverev

[Knarf]

Dear Christian,

Unfortunately it is not the Interzonenzug.

If you read the text of this question very precisely you will find a few hints.

Good luck

Frank

[JimZ]

I take it that Frank may be referring to one of the duty trains - possibly the "Berlin Duty Train"

http://www.transchool.eustis.army.mil/Museum/BerTrain.htm

and http://home.att.net/~rw.rynerson/conduct.htm explaining that:

quothe:

1. In accordance with USAREUR Circular 550-180, the following actions are prohibited aboard military trains:

a. Purchase or drinking of intoxicating liquour.

b. Jumping on or off moving trains.

c. Pulling emergency brakes (Notbremse) except in case of actual emergency.

d. Extending the head or limbs out of windows.

e. Throwing lighted cigarettes, cigars, matches or any dangerous or unsightly articles from trains.

f. Taking pictures between Berlin and Helmstedt.

g. Speaking to or attempting to converse with East German nationals or Soviet personnel while train is in the Soviet Zone of Germany.

h. Inconsiderate littering of compartments with refuse or food particles.

2. The privacy of an individual's compartment does not exempt him from compliance with the above directions.

R E M I N D E R S

All passengers must be processed by the train commander prior to boarding the train. The train commander is located in the processing booth inside the RTO [Rail Transportation Office]. Please have your tickets, ID cards, passports and flag orders ready. Do not board the train until authorized to do so by a military policeman or the train commander.

On arrival at your destination, you must check and re-confirm your return booking with the local Berlin Booking Office. If you are traveling on a "space-available" (non-duty) status, there is no guarantee regarding the type of accommodations you will be furnished on your return trip. Duty travelers have priority.

The military crew on board each passenger train is responsible for your safe passage throughout the entire trip. Your cooperation and compliance with the pertinent rules and regulations will insure you a safe and comfortable journey. For those of you who are coming to Berlin, we of the Berlin Brigade wish you a pleasant stay in the "divided city". [Note use of the German style for quote marks inside the sentence-ending period.] For those of you leaving, "Auf Wiedersehn" and "Good Luck".

unquothe

As for the sod who exchanged his uniform belt for a few packs of smokes and his unit, I confess myself baffled. (I wonder how you explained losing your belt! And I wonder what the charge, if any, was)

I myself underwent similar treatment to that on these trains when visiting Hungary via Austria in the very early nineties, also being hassled because my passport was not readily available!

Anyways, if I manage to figure out the unit I'll add it on!

Jim

[Ferdinand]

Dear Auke,

many thanks for that highly intersting list .

Which source ?

Hi Christian,

This list came from the excellent site http://www.rkka.ru. A great source for information regarding the Red Army and the Soviet Union in the GPW, but in Russian.

Auke

[Knarf]

Jim, you are on the right way!

Tell me the unit.

The train had a special name.

Regards

Frank

[Lapa]

Guys,

I apologize for not being able to give the next answer on time, Russian schedules can be tough to handle at times.

Anyway, back to the quiz!

Marc

[Knarf]

Hello,

to make things go faster:

The wanted train was not the US one

Frank

[Lapa]

Hello,

to make things go faster:

The wanted train was not the US one

Frank

Frank,

Wasn't the British train called "The Berliner"?

Marc

[Knarf]

Hello Marc,

correct. Do You know which unit or Regiment was in charge? That is part 2 of the question

Regards

Frank

[Lapa]

Hello Marc,

correct. Do You know which unit or Regiment was in charge? That is part 2 of the question

Regards

Frank

Knarf,

As far as I know, it was the Royal Corps of Transport.

Marc

[JimZ]

Mmm - I somehow thought we had to find the Russian Regiment to know where that belt came from. Guess I let myself get misled!

Jim

[Knarf]

Hallo Marc,

Perfect and correct.

The "Berliner was run by 486 Movement Troop RCT. After further reorganisation, 486 Troop lost its independence on 30 Sept. 1971. Responsibility was passed over to Movements Troop 62 Transport and Movements SQ. Royal Corps of Transport. Further details I have to post later because I have to go on a conference until this afternoon.

Your tuirn now.

Jim,

it was a missunderstanding. The Question was : who run the train, not who nicked the Belt.

For the soldiers it was no problem to give away belts or badges. They got cigarettes and spirits. 90% of the items they got they had to give to their officers. So there was no problem for the soldier. he did not get charged. He got a new belt for the next deal. That is real life.

regards

Frank

[JimZ]

The Question was : who run the train, not who nicked the Belt.

In this case we know you nicked the belt

Jim

[Knarf]

In this case we know you nicked the belt

Jim

Jim,

if you would know me, you would not say that. What can you do with a single belt? At least you need Hat and jacket with it.

Frank

[JimZ]

NOOOOO!!!!!

Post pics of these specific conquests. They were good enough to spark off this question, they must be good enough to share!!

Jim

[Christophe]

Ho to all,

Again, well done Marc !!

And... again, your turn to post the next challenge !!!

Cheers.

PS : Frank, we wouldn't be agaisnt you posting more details about the train and... the belt!!!

[Christophe]

(...)

About Gary Powers' U2, I'm just wondering if there is not some parts of it in the former Museum of the Revolution, the present Contemporary History Museum ? I can't be sure, as photographs there are forbidden. I have succeeded to take some, but not any showing it...

Cheers.

Ch.

Hi again,

I was in Moscow yesterday and visited again this museum. There is NO element of Gary Powers' s U2 displayed in the Museum. Sorry for this wrong assumption.

I succeeded to take a few pics of orders and medals, and will try to post them later...

Last point, there is a very good exhibition in this Museum until the 8th March 2008, dedicated to the Russian / Soviet first ladies, from Mrs Romanova (the last Imperatrice) to Mrs Putina. Very interesting and well done, with documents, objects, videos...

Cheers.

Ch.

[Christophe]

Time again for a few stats, one month after the New Quiz has been launched...

Quiz 2008 :

* 5 questions asked,

* with 97 answers,

* and viewed more than 730 times.

Nb of good answers for the Quiz 2008 :

* 3 : Marc (Lapa)

* 1 : Auke (Ferdinand) & Knarf (Frank).

Complete statistics give since this Quiz has been launched (on 1 Nov. 2005) :

* 176 questions asked,

* with 2,242 answers,

* This quiz has been viewed more than 23,000 times.

* 37 Members of the Forum played, and 28 correctly answered at least 1 question :

Nb of good answers :

* 35 : Christian (Zulus)

* 31 : Christophe

* 13 : Frank (Knarf)

* 12 : Jim (JimZ)

* 11 : Bryan (Soviet)

* 8 : Simon (Red Threat)

* 7 : Auke (Ferdinand)

* 6 : Belaruski, Carol I & Ed (Haynes)

* 5 : Dan (Hauptman)

* 4 : Wild Card.

* 3 : Andreas (Alfred), Ivan (Piramida), Kim (Kimj) & Marc (Lapa).

* 2 : Chuck (in Oregon), Gerd (Becker), Jan (vatjan) & Order of Victory.

* 1 : Charles (Hunyadi), Darrell, Daredevil, Dave (Navy FCO), Dudeman, Filip (Drugo), Rick (Stogieman) & Steen (Ammentorp).

This is a great achievement. Thanks to all for your participation in this Quiz.

Now, let's have fun with the 177th question, Marc's !!!!

Cheers.

Ch.

[Christophe]

Marc,

Your turn (again... ).

Cheers.

Ch.

[Lapa]

OK guys, let's try this once more

This time, we are looking for a place.

It is refered to as the "Soviet Verdun" in the former USSR. There took place one of the bloodiest battle of WW2; more than 300,000 Soviet troops were killed there, to which should be added the German deads (I don't have any figures about them, but I've been told it was awfully high too).

1. What is the Russian name of the place?

2. Where is it located? What front was it part of?

3. What was the maximum size (approximate) of the battlefield?

4. How long did the battle last (beginning/ending dates)?

5. What was the first unit engaged in the opening battle?

6. What is there today?

Let's have fun

Edited February 3, 2008 by Lapa