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    Soviet & Eastern Block Quiz


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    I have to say the recent development of this Quiz is really impressive!!! :jumping::jumping: And, I would like , here, thank again the recent Members who contributed a lot, amongst them Christian Zulus!!! :beer:

    This small game has been launched 14 months ago now (on 1 Nov. 2005), and since :

    * 60 questions asked,

    * with 725 answers,

    * This quiz has been viewed more than 7670 times.

    * 28 Members of the Forum played, and 20 correctly answered at least 1 question :

    Nb of good answers :

    * 9 : Bryan (Soviet)

    * 8 : Christophe

    * 6 : Christian (Zulus)

    * 5 : Simon (Red Threat)

    * 4 : Ed (Haynes)

    * 3 : Andreas (Alfred) and Kim (Kimj).

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

    * 1 : Auke (Ferdinand), Darrell, Daredevil, Dave (Navy FCO), Dudeman, Piramida, Rick (Stogieman) and Steen (Ammentorp).

    This is a great cahievement. Thanks to all for your participation.

    Now, let's have fun again with the 61st question... Christian's!!!

    Cheers.

    Ch.

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    Nice stats Christophe. :beer:

    I have to admit I've always liked quizzes but I didn't know of the existence of this one, buried in the 'Other Militaria' sub-forum...

    Yes, I know :( This was not the case in the past, as I first published it in a more visible place... I'll see what I can do... :rolleyes:

    Cheers.

    Ch.

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    Hello Christian,

    As you might have figured out those are my sites ;) Unfortunately there isn't much information available. All I know is on my page about Gurov:

    http://www.stalingradbattle.nl/personen/goerov.htm

    I'm always looking for more information, but my Russian isn't very advanced and I have no idea where to look. I think I have all there is to find on the internet (which is by the way contradicting).

    In short, Gurov was born 1 September 1901 and he died of a heart disease near Donetsk on 25 September 1943, barely 42 years old. As Division-Commissar he was the Political Commissar (Member of the Military Council) of the 62nd Army during the Battle of Stalingrad. He was promoted Lieutenant-General on 6 December 1942. Gurov was the most important officer of the 62nd Army after Chuikov and Krylov. These two both became Marshals of the Soviet Union after the war and who knows what became of Gurov if he didn't die so early. In March 1943 Gurov was transferred to the staff of the Southern Front and later that year back to the 62nd Army (now renamed 8th Guards Army).

    Lieutenant-General is indeed a high rank for a Member of the Military Council, but there were more high-than-average ranking officers in the 62nd Army. Probably due to the severe fighting and difficulties during the Battle of Stalingrad. The commander of the artillery was a Major-General, and so was the engineer commander. Furthermore there were a lot of Colonels.

    Well, it's your turn now Christian!

    Auke

    Dear Auke,

    many thanks for the further informations about comrade Gurov :beer: .

    Maybe some of our Russian-speaking GMIC-members could find more informations at the www about Gurov :unsure: ?

    Best regards :beer:

    Christian

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    Yes, I know :( This was not the case in the past, as I first published it in a more visible place... I'll see what I can do... :rolleyes:

    Cheers.

    Ch.

    Dear Christophe,

    I already PMed to "Chairman" Nick, that the structure of our Soviet-section is now a real mess and he is working on improvments.

    Look at the TR-section, how perfect the structure is there :( .

    O.K., the TR-collectors-community is larger, than the our community, but Soviet Awards are a main stake at the international market for orders and medals.

    Best regards :beer:

    Christian

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    NEW QUESTION

    Gentlemen,

    now I will present a rather difficult and tricky question ;) .

    Who is that comrade, shown at younger years at the photograph :unsure: ?

    He wrote nice poems in his youth and in later years he also published some interesting philosophical and political articles.

    He was a great lover of classical music, ballet and his favorite composer had been W.A. Mozart. A grand piano in his house had been his most precious object.

    Despite his cultural interests, our comrade made in the GPW a brilliant career, reveiving even Suvorov 1cl, HSU, etc. and also "Order of Victory". He hold the rank of a Marshall in the GPW.

    Who is that Marshall of the CCCP :P ?

    Best regards :beer:

    Christian

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    That's Marshal of the Soviet Union, later Generalissimo Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin!

    Auke

    Dear Auke,

    congratulations, that's right and you have won :beer: .

    I think the question was too easy, because of the hint to Mozart & the piano ;) .

    I thought, by presenting a rather unknown photograph of the "voshd", very young, full beard and showing him in profile, this wouldn't be so easy. There are some other bearers of the "Order of Victory", who looked like intellectuals in their younger years ;) .

    So it is now your turn for a new question :cheers: .

    Best regards :beer:

    Christian

    BTW: Comrade Stalin wrote also reviews about music performances in the papers in the 1930s and 1940s, but not under his name ;) . His grand piano had been the only piece of value, they found after his death in his house ...

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    Actually it was the description that confused me. I never knew Stalin liked Mozart and the piano...

    Well, a new one (another individual):

    I served as an advisor in the Spanish Civil War, after which I got my first Gold Star Medal. My code name in this war was 'Pablito'. I've got a great sense of humor and look more like an 'intellectual from Moscow' than a Red Army officer. I was decorated a lot during the GPW, probably because I don't fear death, as people say. As a guards officer I fought in a famous battle where my unit played a key role.

    Who am I?

    Auke :beer:

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    (...)

    BTW: Comrade Stalin wrote also reviews about music performances in the papers in the 1930s and 1940s, but not under his name ;) . His grand piano had been the only piece of value, they found after his death in his house ...

    Christian,

    Good question!!! Do you knwo where this piano is nowadays?

    Ch.

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    I served as an advisor in the Spanish Civil War, after which I got my first Gold Star Medal. My code name in this war was 'Pablito'. I've got a great sense of humor and look more like an 'intellectual from Moscow' than a Red Army officer. I was decorated a lot during the GPW, probably because I don't fear death, as people say. As a guards officer I fought in a famous battle where my unit played a key role.

    Dear Auke,

    had been difficult - and GOOGLE didn't help so quick :( . I also had no listings of twice HSU ...

    To sum the details up - and my results of research:

    - 2x HSU, first HSU for particpating in the "International Brigades" in Spain.

    - Officer of a Guards unit.

    - This Guards unit - and he himself - played a decisive role in a famous battle.

    - He was NOT Grigori Shtern, Dimitry Pavlov or Yakov Shumshkevich - executed (victims of Beria :mad: ) in 1941.

    - He was NOT Marshall Kirill Meretskov - he got his HSU not for Spain.

    - He was NOT Primo Gibelli (It.), Ernst Schacht (Ger.) or Zakhari Zakhariev (Bulg.) - 3 pilots, 1x HSU.

    - He was NOT the famous fighter pilot Lev Shestakov - only one HSU.

    - There had been 11 HSUs for Spain - so, 4 comrades are left and most of these had been pilots.

    O.K.: 3 pilots and 1 very famous GPW-General, who got in his 2nd HSU in 1945 - left:

    It is the high decorated comrade at the cover of the PMD-Bible ;) .

    Aleksandr Ilich Rodimtsev :D

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

    He had been the commander of the 13th Guards Rifle Division http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_Guards_Rifle_Division in Stalingrad.

    Best regards :beer:

    Christian

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    Simon is the winner :beer:

    It's General Rodimtsev. His photo is on the cover of PMD book.

    Cheers,

    Simon

    Gentlemen,

    Simon had been definitly faster (almost one hour!) in answering the quiz question - my research at GOOGLE consumed to much time :( .

    Congratulations to Simon - he is the winner :beer: .

    Best regards

    Christian

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    Mozart & Stalin

    Good question!!! Do you knwo where this piano is nowadays?

    Dear Christophe,

    no idea - maybe still in his datcha, maybe daughter Svetlana took it, .... :unsure: .

    BTW: Stalin couldn't play the piano, but there had been excellent pianists in the CCCP ;) .

    Stalin's favorite pianist had been the Jewish pianist Maria Yudina (1899 - 1970). There is a nice, but true story, about Mozart, Yudina & Stalin (I took the small content out of Wikipedia and did some corrections and additions):

    It happened one evening, Stalin heard a performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A-major on the radio performed by Maria Yudina and asked for a copy. But it was a live broadcast so officials woke up Yudina, drove her to a recording studio where a small orchestra had quickly been assembled, and made her record the concerto in the middle of the night, then - a little before dawn - presented the recording to Stalin. Only one singular copy for comrade Stalin!

    It is said that he broke out in tears after hearing only the first notes of Yudina's Mozart-playing. Despite the recognition from Stalin, the pianist remained an uncompromising critic of Socialism and a extremly religious person (converted to orthodoxy) until the end of her days, which resulted in her being banned from teaching or even appearing on stage more than once (after Stalin's death!). Maria Yudina received greater sums of money from Stalin (prizes, etc.) and donated all the money to the Russian-Orthodox Church. Her playing was marked by great virtuosity, spirituality, an almost masculine strength, and intellectual rigor. However, her playing was also very individual in style and tone.

    On March the 5th, 1953, Stalin died in his datcha. Spinning on his record player was Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, performed by Maria Yudina.

    You can listen to Stalin's own copy of Yudina's Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in the internet: http://www.mariayudina.com/index.cfm (please scroll to the middle of the site, there you will find 3 wma-files with the 3 movements of the concert).

    Or - for better sound quality - you can order your own copy:

    That are Yudina's two most outstanding recordings - "Goldberg" & "Diabelli"-Variations (PHILIPS):

    Best regards :beer:

    Christian

    Edited by Christian Zulus
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    Yes, of course it's Aleksandr Ilyich Rodimtsev. As a Major-General he and his 13th Guards Rifle Division played an important role during the Battle of Stalingrad. Rodimtsev was promoted Lieutenant-General in 1944 and Colonel-General in 1961. His picture is on the cover of the Red Bible. You both provided the right answer but Simon was faster, so... Over to you!

    Auke

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    Mozart & Stalin

    Dear Christophe,

    no idea - maybe still in his datcha, maybe daughter Svetlana took it, .... :unsure: .

    BTW: Stalin couldn't play the piano, but there had been excellent pianists in the CCCP ;) .

    Stalin's favorite pianist had been the Jewish pianist Maria Yudina (1899 - 1970). There is a nice, but true story, about Mozart, Yudina & Stalin (I took the small content out of Wikipedia and did some corrections and additions):

    It happened one evening, Stalin heard a performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A-major on the radio performed by Maria Yudina and asked for a copy. But it was a live broadcast so officials woke up Yudina, drove her to a recording studio where a small orchestra had quickly been assembled, and made her record the concerto in the middle of the night, then - a little before dawn - presented the recording to Stalin. Only one singular copy for comrade Stalin!

    It is said that he broke out in tears after hearing only the first notes of Yudina's Mozart-playing. Despite the recognition from Stalin, the pianist remained an uncompromising critic of Socialism and a extremly religious person (converted to orthodoxy) until the end of her days, which resulted in her being banned from teaching or even appearing on stage more than once (after Stalin's death!). Maria Yudina received greater sums of money from Stalin (prizes, etc.) and donated all the money to the Russian-Orthodox Church. Her playing was marked by great virtuosity, spirituality, an almost masculine strength, and intellectual rigor. However, her playing was also very individual in style and tone.

    On March the 5th, 1953, Stalin died in his datcha. Spinning on his record player was Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, performed by Maria Yudina.

    You can listen to Stalin's own copy of Yudina's Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in the internet: http://www.mariayudina.com/index.cfm (please scroll to the middle of the site, there you will find 3 wma-files with the 3 movements of the concert).

    Or - for better sound quality - you can order your own copy:

    That are Yudina's two most outstanding recordings - "Goldberg" & "Diabelli"-Variations (PHILIPS):

    Best regards :beer:

    Christian

    Christian,

    Thanks. Very interesting. Of Maria Yudina, in my discotheque, I have only The Diabelli variations (Beethoven). I will definitely look for the Piano Concerto n?23 of Mozart.

    Thanks again :jumping::jumping: .

    Cheers.

    Ch.

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    Guest RedThreat

    Who am I?

    I became Marshal of the Soviet Union. If I am too hard to recognize, more hints will be added.

    Edited by RedThreat
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    Guest RedThreat

    Is it Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny?

    Yes, my former fellow contryman. It's him. Congratulations. Your turn is next. :beer: I am glad you spelled his/my name Semyon and not Semen like some sources do. :mad:

    Christian, nice Budyonny horses.

    I think he was the only Marshal who was full cavalier of St. George's crosses and medals. His awards on this photo would have given him away if it weren't for the moustache which look small and trim in comparison to their latter appearance.

    Cheers,

    Semyon

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    Christian, nice Budyonny horses.

    Cheers,

    Semyon

    Dear Semyon,

    that are two your old (or young) Budyonny stallions :D .

    I have read somewhere, that some Marshalls (Budyonny :unsure: ?) wore their "St.-George-Crosses" at one occassion (not their funeral ;) ) at their uniform. Do you have some informations about that event? Maybe Brezhnev allowed them to do so :rolleyes: .

    Zhukov received also "St.-George-Crosses" - 2 or 3 :unsure: ?

    Are there any soldiers in history, who had been full cavaliers of the "St.-George-Cross" AND full cavalier of the "Order of Glory" :unsure: ?

    Dear Belaruski, congratulations for your right answer :beer: .

    Now it is your turn to put a nice & tricky question.

    Best regards

    Christian

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