Soviet 1984 VOKhR "Ike" Jacket

[Guest Rick Research]

This was just personally delivered to my doorstep by the Evil Twin, who knows of my insatiable (and frustrated/thwarted) interest in this organization.

The nasty Staybrite insignia in pre-1943 Ye Olde style I suppose indicate a Sergeant?

Has anybody ever seen any explanation for what the various colors denoted for branches, between Gulag interior guards to factory security to fish and game wardens, oy?

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The buttons on the jacket are dated 1984.

This hat, piped in a pumpkin-orange/brown, was my first piece from the VOKhR,

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and is dated 1959:

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and it just BUGS me that although I know all the various functions of this organization, I have zero information on their uniforms!

[kimj]

The VOKhR is a mystery that has me puzzled as well. On another forum we disussed VOKhR and one theory was that their unforms were regulated by the ministeries they sorted under. This could be an explanation for the many different types of VOKhR caps out for sale.

Here is one of the guards.

/Kim

[Stogieman]

Hi Kim, so.... was there anything definitive that came out of that discussion on how to differentiate between the branches??

[Guest Rick Research]

I keep hoping that somebody living in the Federation, or who lived in the 'Union in recent years would at least be able to tell us what sort of these uniforms they SAW in daily life, since building security and the like should have been considerably more visible than inside guards at political prisons.

The VOKhR seems to be as huge an "umbrella" organization as ever the old NKVD was in the days when that organization was everything from fire department to State Security. I've never understood why when all the other security related organizations were split up into their specialties, the VOKhR and the VOKhR alone should have remained so diverse.

I have seen "highway patrol" type chest badges for the VOKhR which are mainly GREEN, but WHEREthe "green" guarded, I have no idea whatsoever.

[Stogieman]

Rick, I didn't notice this on the uniform, but in your scan it looks like the center of one of the pips is a different color than the others? Intentional?

[kimj]

Not much hard facts in the disussion. Everything comes down to theories and more or less "educated" guesses. You can check the thread yourself at the Soviet Award Forum.

I think that info on the VOKhR uniform will continue to be hard to find. I mean they are not the most exiting subject.. Anyway here is a link to some caps:

http://www.undertheredstar.com/vokhr.htm

/Kim