Soviet Roadbuilder Badges

[Chuck In Oregon]

These are the military and civil equivalents of each other, I believe. Documents and reverses will follow.

Chuck

[Chuck In Oregon]

Well, I guess I got the reverses in the first post. Here is the document for the military badge.

[Chuck In Oregon]

...and the document for the civilian version which, you will note, is an MVD document.

[Chuck In Oregon]

... and the interior of the MVD document.

[Danny]

... and the interior of the MVD document.

Didn't know the MVD were into bridge building????

[Chuck In Oregon]

... and the Georgian variant, an orphan.

I have never found another example of any of these "in the wild", but I have seen one or two on retail sites. Never the documents and never the Georgian variant, however.

Does anyone know of other variants?

Chuck

[Guest Rick Research]

Never seen the documents, ever!

[Chuck In Oregon]

Didn't know the MVD were into bridge building????

Hi Danny

Yes, that surprised me, too, but we know that they were involved in some way in nearly everything. I can only speculate that the nature and extent of the highway system was a state secret and somehow the MVD was involved from that angle. Purely a guess, of course. There is a bridge prominent in all three badges, but the badges are for roadbuilding, not just for bridges.

I was very pleased to find these two Soviet badges, with documents, both from the same recipient. I never found any other examples of either one and only the one Georgian variant.

Chuck

[Chuck In Oregon]

Never seen the documents, ever!

You know, I have a couple dozen of the WW II excellence badges and I have seen a hundred or more offered for sale "in the wild" and countless others on retail sites. This is the only document for a military excellence badge that I have ever come across. I guess they're out there. They must be, here's the proof. But darn if I ever see them. Anyone else?

Chuck

[Chuck In Oregon]

I completely forgot that I have another example of the Georgian variant, and this one comes with the document.

Chuck

[Chuck In Oregon]

... and here's the reverse and the inside of the document.

I think I'm gonna like it here.

Chuck

[Guest Rick Research]

Terrific stuff! Glad you found us. I've seen more Never Seen documentation in these couple of days than in the last 10 years!

It is precisely this KIND of documentation that takes "unknown" obscure badges and allows some sort of frame of reference to begin building a base of knowledge:

as in THAT type of Georgian badge WAS awarded in 1963.

[NavyFCO]

Well, I guess I got the reverses in the first post. Here is the document for the military badge.

Not that I've been looking for them, but in 14 years of collecting this stuff that's the first Otlichnik document I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing it!!!

Dave

[Chuck In Oregon]

Not that I've been looking for them, but in 14 years of collecting this stuff that's the first Otlichnik document I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing it!!!

Dave

* * * * *

Hi Dave

It's nice to see some familiar faces on this forum. If you haven't seen those documents, then they must be unusual. I know it's the only one I've ever seen.

Does anyone else have any of these Otlichnik documents? If you do, I'd like to see them.

Speaking of documents, are they welcome and of interest on this forum? I mean, documents without accompanying hardware or that never had accompanying hardware.

Chuck

Edited November 14, 2005 by Chuck In Oregon

[Guest Rick Research]

Oooooooooooooooohyeayuh.

[Chuck In Oregon]

Oooooooooooooooohyeayuh.

* * * * *

OK, my first laugh of the day. Thank you.

I've got a LOT of documents, including some early Chekist documents, even complete pre-war major criminal files. They're hard to do justice to, and they'll take some time, but I'll see what I can do.

Chuck

[Danny]

Here is a road builders badge from Modern Russia, so I am told.

[Chuck In Oregon]

It took me a minute to recognize the stylized bridge, but I'd say they mostly stayed with the theme. Curious that they substituted the globe for the blue sky in the earlier badges. I wonder what the significance of the ribbon is or if it has any meaning besides not clashing with the award.

Chuck

[Chris S]

This is an example I have..

[Dudeman]

* * * * *

Does anyone else have any of these Otlichnik documents? If you do, I'd like to see them.

Speaking of documents, are they welcome and of interest on this forum? I mean, documents without accompanying hardware or that never had accompanying hardware.

Chuck

I've never seen a road builder document, but I've seen 3-4 other strictly military documents. The ones I've seen are not specially printed documents like yours, but typed out on military unit stationery and signed by the commander. You've got something rarer than hen's teeth.

[Alfred]

Didn't know the MVD were into bridge building????

As I know this was one of Stalins sklave working project with prisoners, the NKVD and MBD acted as guards.

[Danny]

As I know this was one of Stalins sklave working project with prisoners, the NKVD and MBD acted as guards.

Thanks for the info.

[Alfred]

A few remarks to this roadbuilder badge.

I have read somewhere in the internet, that these badge is heavily faked. You could bought it at nearly

every street corner in dozens for 50 USD.

They tried to sell this badge as a original NKVD badge.

Added is my badge, which I have bought a long time ago for a very very little amount. So I think, the

chance that it is a fake is more or less big. Although I hope it is not the case, but as we know the hope

dies at last.

Edited November 27, 2005 by Alfred

[Alfred]

I have observed five or six different production variants of the badge. Added are four from the uralski foto-catalog.

[Alfred]

and the next two.