A Mission for a Righteous Collector...

[latinmajorac]

i bought my first uniform when i was 16 or 17. it is a cool activity to be getting into! congrats for starting when you are so young!

[Kirchgoens]

I didn't start until I was 40. Late SovBloomer, I guess. I've had the military bug since I was a little kid, and spent several years in uniform myself (including some time on the western side of the Iron Curtain hoping that balloon would never go up).

As for the dude who breaks groups up, f&#( him. He's dead wrong. I thought that only happened at the source, deep in the FSU, where I've seen it happen routinely, but from a guy in CA who knows what he is dealing with? He needs a slap upside the head.

[UQWozza]

I was also late to the collecting scene and started totally by chance.

I went to meet some scientific collaborators I have in Helsinki at the state alcohol monopoly (they make Finlandia & Koskenkorva vodka).

There was a market next to the hotel I was staying at which was full of Russian soldiers and sailors selling stuff by the truckload. I bought a couple of sailors hats and a few medals without knowing what they really were because they were so cheap.

Like others I really didn't start seriously collecting until about 40 when, for me, some disposable income started to appear. I also had a distant uncle who left me a few russian medals he had collected as part of his WWII collection - he was more into Nazi stuff but also collected stuff from other combatant countries. That tipped the balance and now I am seriuosly addicted

Simon

[AllThingsSoviet]

RedMaestro2,
If you are really committed, and since your still a student, I would highly recommend going to Russia and studying for a while. It is cheaper than you might think and will give you experiences that will make peoples' jaws drop. You'd also have the opportunity to get some really choice items for less than you would pay in America. Best of all you could meet Russian girls and maybe even marry one. A choice I strongly recommend!

[deValcourt]

I agree 100%. Live there for a while, don't just visit for a few weeks. And for crying out loud, don't waste all your time on good vodka, caviar and women like I did - well maybe some time.

But truth be known, I had the chance to learn so much more than I did and will always regret not trying harder (or buying more) than I did. I was a post-grad student with a couple of degrees and nothing else to do. But some of the best and most interesting years of my life were spent there and I still have friends I keep in contact with 20 years later. And as for "jaw-droping stories" all I have to do down here is mention 6 feet (not inches) of snow on the ground and heads are turning.

[AllThingsSoviet]

20 years ago, eh? Let's see... (not so good at math).. that would be 1989. Wow.
That being the Soviet era I'll guess you were in Leningrad. And I certainly hope that you have gone back since.

[Esteban_cool]

I started when I was 14. I still remember the first days at the forum with some nostalgia.

And, yes, Russia is a place reccomended by lots of people I know that have been there. I have a russian friend studying in Rostov, so I already have a tourist guide at the former Worker´s Paradise.