Russian Federation Unofficial Veterans' Medals

[Greg Collins]

I've come across a few unofficial veterans' medals I'd like to share. These are not Umalatova medals; I suspect these are made and then marketed to the various veterans' organizations. The first is commemorating 60 years of the Capture of Berlin, and is reminiscent of the 25th Anniversary of the GPW badge. A heavy alloy but with a dished-out back making it somewhat lighter, it shows the hakenkreuz (swastika) pretty clearly. First, the doc:

[Greg Collins]

Now the medal:

[Greg Collins]

These next two medals are either made or distributed by an outfit called "Comandarm.su" (they have a website). These are very well made, heavy and impressive... the enamel is spot-on (there are reflections in the photos- the enamel is perfect). The first medal is the first in a series that will be produced honouring "Commanders of Victory"- Marshall Zhukov. Modeled on the Red Star and with a very nice portrait inside the document. First, the document:

[Greg Collins]

Now, the medal... note the ribbon is also the ribbon of the Order of the Red Star:

[Greg Collins]

Next, the medal for "65 Years of Great Victory". Same quality as the previous medal... note the richness of the plating. Modeled after the Order of the GPW 1st Class and with that ribbon on the suspension. First the document:

[Greg Collins]

The medal itself:

[Greg Collins]

Well, so I'm back to the cataloging and, lo and behold, a couple of badges that fit this post nicely. So, here goes.

This is, without question, my favorite veteran badge. It is from Belarus and celebrates 60 years of victory in the GPW. Nice, heavy two-piece construction, gold and silver plating, nice enamel work. Just a really great badge. It is apparently, according to the nut, from an outfit called SZNS in Minsk.

[Greg Collins]

OK, now for the fun part... apparently, a military academy was having a 20 year celebration and wanted a cool badge. Why not get some more mileage out of an existing design? And, voila! The same design, this time with no silver and three pieces! The soldier is now gold, the background remains gold and a third banner is made and glued over the background banner. Also, the new banner piece bears the "20" which sorta-kinda covers the "60" that was already there. Maybe this is why they left the maker's mark off the nut. Still a nice badge that inherits a bit of "cheese" when you know the story.

[Greg Collins]

That brown mass at the top of the back of the badge is a stray "gob o' glue". In this image note that the new banner is glued directly above the old banner. I love it!:lol:

[TacHel]

Just FYI...

Here are "some" of the many many Russian organizations dishing out medals:

-VOOV Combat Brotherhood;

-Soldiers Internationalists;

-Communist Party of the Russian Federation;

-Committee on Public Awards;

-Moscow Committee of War Veterans;

-Umalatovas;

-Cossacks;

-United Veterans of Airborne Troops;

-Russian Committee of War Veterans and Military Service;

-Russian Awards Committee;,

-Chernobyl Union of Russia;

-Organization of the Collective Security Treaty;

-Umpteenth religious organizations;

-KGB/FSB Jubilee Committee;

-Some makers are actually now popping out their own for any anniversary event you can imagine...

My biggest challenge of the past few years has been to separate official ODMs of the RF from these other "items"... It is no easy task! Especially now that military units are dishing out their own divisional/fleet/squadron/etc commemorative medals that are actually allowed on their uniforms! And many generals receiving medals from these orgs are actually pinning them to their uniforms to improve their "racks". Hopefully somebody will soon enforce the regulations against this.

[Greg Collins]

"Enforce" being the key word here... I believe the regulation already exists. Boils down to official RF awards, in order of precedence, at the top and Soviet awards- if had- in order of precedence, after the RF's. Screw-on's handled basically the same on the right side of the uniform.

[TacHel]

You got it right. The major problem in enforcing the rules is that the biggest culprits are the generals! Just for fun, do a Google image search on http://www.google.ru/ and type in Генерал (general). Just about every good picture you'll find of a general wearing is gongs will show the odd Umalatova or some other "public award" dangling among the official stuff.

Enough to make you weep. Even the Russians on the forums I'm a member of can't believe the crap going on and openly complain about it.

[Megan]

All the more reason to document these beasties...

[TacHel]

All the more reason to document these beasties...

Megan... How on Earth is that possible when they outnumber the official ones by 10 to 1 and official ones alone are almost too numerous to catalog properly? I have found and ID'd over 100 breast badges from the Defense Ministry alone that are awards... MVD medals are now a nightmare because the makers and orgs are now slapping MVD Russia on the back... Military formations are allowed to produce and wear commemoratives on their uniforms... Ministerial sub departments are dishing out their own also...

I have to concentrate on official stuff... Or clone myself... That won't happen, my wife couldn't stand 2 of me...:P

Edited March 22, 2010 by TacHel

[Megan]

:D

It's a life's work dear heart... just as my site is. It's been going for so long now I am not sure just how long, probably about 15 years, and it's still more than half-empty!

[TacHel]

I remember being told that my Wiki site was "the best book never published" on the subject...

Your web site would be the "Encyclopedia Britannica of Faleristics" should it ever be put to print... Definitely a multi-volume hard cover series.

Greg, sorry for hijacking your thread there bud... :whistle:

[Greg Collins]

No problem; I was enjoying the banter.

[Megan]

I have toyed with the idea of doing a series of PDFs with better images and more information than fits into my website structure. I could always put them on a print-on-demand site for those who prefer a book in their hands.

Now I'm straying off-topic too. Sorry. I tend to type more or less as I think. Worse since the stroke as I don't handwrite much anymore but still touch-type.

[TacHel]

"Worse since the stroke..."

Say what? :(

[Megan]

Don't panic, François - that was before we 'met' - back in December 2007. By now the drunken lurch and lack of ability to hold much in my right hand is second-nature. Dearly beloved says that I am very good at hiding what I cannot do... the reality is that I've figured out ways around most of it.

[TacHel]

OK... Phew...

Greg... Sorry for yet another hard left turn...

[Greg Collins]

No problem, Frank. I was enjoying the conversation between you and Megan. I have another medal to post in the Unofficial Communist thread tomorrow- you both may want to have a look... pretty nice one.:beer: