Italian Auction - 'Stalin'

[DougD]

I have gotten quite a few e-mails about the higher end named uniforms in the Italian "Red" auction...most questions seem to be about the "Stalin" M1943 summer white uniform. I can not say if its his or not, but below would be some of my concerns.

1. History / Provenance - How did the uniform get into a private collection? Not impossible, but I would want to know who it came from, etc.

2. From the photos I have seen Stalin seems to be wearing M1943 tunics in white cotton (the one in the auction is in silk). That does not mean much; I might be wrong and the photos might show him in a silk tunic and I am off base, or simply I have yet to see a photo of him in a silk tunic (I don't think I am as self centered as some to invoke the "I have never seen it so it's not real" rule).

3. The boards: This one bothers me most...no matter how you look at it, they don't seem to be a good match for the tunic...they seem real (at least from the photo) but too long for the tunic. Boards were different lengths and were matched, in general, to the size of the tunic. Some might be a little long or a little short, but these look quite a bit too long for this tunic (even if pushing them closer to the collar). I would think that Stalins boards would be a perfect match. My first impression is that "They don't fit".

If anyone else has any observations about this uniform, air them here.

DougD