Soviet Railways Security KGB Lt Col Grinenko Documents Group

[Guest Rick Research]

1) MILITARY Victory Over Germany

no rank, just named Pavel Kuz'mich Grinenko. Issued 19.10.45 by the Deputy Commander of Ukrainian State Security, Colonel (grade inflation would come later ) M. Stupnitsky

[Guest Rick Research]

2) LABOUR Victory yup, he got BOTH

Just his name again. Issued by the city of Kremenchug's Political Commissariat 7 October 1946.

[Guest Rick Research]

3) 1948 Armed Forces Jubilee Medal

Again no rank. Issued 11.11.48 by Commander of MGB Guards on the Lvov Railway system, Lt. Col. Scribble.

This was no "ticket checking" job. The Soviet "Western Ukraine" in 1948 was still embroiled in partisan warfare against the returned Soviets.

"World War 2" was NOT over around Lvov in 1948.

[Guest Rick Research]

While I have Grinenko's medals, I do not have his two long service Orders.

Orders Book

Book issued 7 December 1949, for his 15 years Order of the Red Star, so his Red Banner must have been for 20 years in 1954

Missing: his November 1944 Military Merit Medal and Medals Book for 10 years service.

[Guest Rick Research]

Poor Comrade Grinenko was STILL in Lvov Railways Security

1958 Armed Forces Jubilee as KGB Lieutenant Colonel 20.9.58. The Commander for Lvov Railways KGB was now Major General Rozhenko.

It is quite ironic that though the armed forces had long since adopted classified Field Post unit num,bers stamps, stamps still plainly state what State Security units were!

[Guest Rick Research]

1965 Victory Jubilee Medal

Again without any rank entry. Issued 4.5.66 (the year's delay seems to have been quite common! ) by the Commander of the KGB for Kharkov Oblast.

1968 Armed Forces Jubilee Medal

No rank again. Issued 17.2.68 by Major General Fetschenko, Commander of KGB in Kharkov Oblast

1975 Victory Jubilee Medal (for military participants: see DOUBLE 1945 Victory Medals above)

Issued to him as Lieutenant Colonel on 2.7.75 by Deputy Commander of Kharkov Oblast KGB.

[Guest Rick Research]

Veteran of the Armed Forces Medal

As Lieutenant Colonel, retired. Issued 3.5.77 by Deputy Commander of Kharkov Oblast KGB.

1978 Armed Forces Jubilee Medal

Without rank again. Issued 17.5.79 by Commander of Kharkov Oblast KGB, Major General Yu. V. Petrov

[Guest Rick Research]

And finally, 1985 Victory Jubilee Medal for military recipients

No rank. Issued 26.4.85 by Kharkov Oblast KGB Commander Major General Yu. M. Shramko.

So...

MISSING =

Order of the Red banner for long service, 1954, Order of the Red Star for long service 1949, at least one Military Merit Medal for long service (1944), jubilee Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class 1985, and Ministry of Defense 1970 Victory Jubilee. That is assuming he died between 1985 and 1988 and there were no later jubilee medals to him.

What can we derive from these surviving awards?

Comrade Grinenko was born about 1914, assuming he embarked on his career in "the Organs" at age 20 in 1934. He served in State Security from 1934 to at least 1959 (Veteran required 25 years). Grinenko was in the front lines of post-WW2 anti-partisan warfare on the newly re-occupied "Soviet" territories of 1939-41. He may well have been sacked in the mass budget dismissals of February 1960. He received no Orders for WW2, though he might have had a medal for something "real" in addition to his long service MMM. He had been promoted to his final KGB rank of Lieutenant Colonel by 1958, so by or before he was 44--quite an accomplishment. He was alive in 1985, at about age 71.