Soviet Achievement Medals

[Guest Rick Research]

Small silver non "X" tractor screwback. The medal, soldered ring, and suspension all appear to be silver while the snugly fitting screw disk is not.

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Closeups

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(Thanks to carelessly drawn drapery, he appears to be playing the flute on her offside armpit )

[Hauptmann]

Hi Rick,

Seems to have a pleasing patina... nice piece! I still haven't managed to get this type yet... with the green ribbon, etc., but hoping to soon.

Love the scans... hopefully there's an Epson in our not too distant future too. Am working on it as fast as my little dollars will carry me.

Dan

[Ed_Haynes]

We know these medals . . .

[Ed_Haynes]

And their document . . .

[Ed_Haynes]

. . . interior. (I am using those from the Lidias Vasilovna Shapovalona group here -- see http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2735 for all.)

[Ed_Haynes]

But what about the place, the Vystavka Dostizheny Narodnogo Khozyaystva (VDNKh) SSSR, or USSR Economic Achievements Exhibition?

When I went there (with a guide much bemused as to why anyone would want to visit the place, she had last been there as a school kid in the 1960s), it was an interesting experience. The famous sculpture (shown on the medals) had been removed "for cleaning", but most thought it was gone for good.

Edited October 1, 2006 by Ed_Haynes

[Ed_Haynes]

But some inspiration was still to be had.

[Ed_Haynes]

Inside . . .

[Ed_Haynes]

The central exhibition hall . . .

[Ed_Haynes]

. . . still presided over by Lenin outside . . .

[Ed_Haynes]

. . . and reminders of the old days . . .

[Ed_Haynes]

. . . but with cheap imported (mainly Chinese) electronics for sale inside.

[Ed_Haynes]

The fountain of friendship among the republics is still there . . .

[Ed_Haynes]

. . . newly re-gilded . . .

[Ed_Haynes]

. . . and many of the old republic pavilions still stand . . .

[Ed_Haynes]

. . . seeming rather strange and nostalgic (at least to my guide), as reminders of what the USSR once included.

[Ed_Haynes]

There were occasional displays of the old iconography of power . . .

[Ed_Haynes]

. . . and of the old socialist realism . . .

[Ed_Haynes]

. . . but, mostly, it was just a place for Moscow residents to go, be in the sun, shop, and only occasionally be reminded of the past . . .

[Ed_Haynes]

. . . a past that only a now-aging generation now seemed to recall, and with what mixed memories?

[JimZ]

Very interesting thread! I must confess these medals are new to me....or rather I am new to them! I will re-read and study this thread again with great interest.....

Jim

[Hauptmann]

Hi Ed,

Excellent presentation! Thanks so much for sharing all these great pics! Really adds alot to those little medals some of us collect. Sure would love some of those statues for my collection. Very cool!

Dan

[Hauptmann]

Hi all,

Well, this threads been quiet for a bit. I've a couple more new additions to pop on. Not in yet... hopefully by the first of this coming week if not sooner. Photos are by Vitaly Kudinov who I've dealt with for quite some time now and who has been most helpful to me.

Been wanting an example of the green and blue ribboned types and finally I've managed it.

[Hauptmann]

[Hauptmann]

Just found out the green one is the small type and the blue is the larger type.

Can't wait till they get here. I don't have many so far but these are, I think, a nice addition to the small set I have so far. I'm just totally hooked on these medals and hope I'm able to expand the collection down the road as well as continuing to learn more about them.

Dan

Edited January 11, 2007 by Hauptman