Badge "10 Years Of People's Militia" 2nd Class.

[25 unor 1948]

very rare with merit clasp,this(LM) stuff was really not wanted after 1989 no hard to find esp with documents

[Greg Collins]

OK, reviving an old thread here. I am fortunate enough to have acquired one of these cased sets (first image) recently and am assuming, by the title, that this badge was awarded for 10 years of service in the LM. Now a question: was it given to all who served 10 years or was there more to it, like "exemplary" service or something like that? OR, could this have been given on the 10th anniversary of the LM and given to those whose performance was considered above the norm (more or less like the KGB anniversary/award badges)?

In image 2, there is another star badge of virtually the same size, screwbacked and without markings or number. Note that the badge has an identical legend (writing/title). Another question: is this, perhaps, a first class badge OR simply a another variation of the same (2nd class) badge?

Image 3 is a close-up of the wheel for all badges pictured.

[deValcourt]

Greg, a very intriguing question regarding the second badge. Since they seem to be of a very similar design and the text is the same, I would guess that they are both for the same organization. However, the shift in design (#2 looks more contemporary to me) and the H&S replaced with a star make me think that it is a later version either immediately before or after the Soviet Union let them go. I've seen similar symbol replacements on late issue badges for Soviet security services (H&S replaced with just a star). Many of the post-Soviet awards that maintained the previous design often simply had the H&S and/or the "СССР" removed. This was particularly the case with awards given on the republic level.

I'm not terribly well versed in Czech awards (stumbled onto the LM one I have) but that's my guess based on what I saw with many awards issued from 1989 until the mid to late 1990s in the FSU.

Wish I had more, but let me do some Czeching and see what I can find.:D

Phillip

[Greg Collins]

Thanks Phil! I appreciate your efforts, as well as the pun in the last post ;-)

Greg

[Al-muell]

However, the shift in design (#2 looks more contemporary to me) and the H&S replaced with a star make me think that it is a later version either immediately before or after the Soviet Union let them go. I've seen similar symbol replacements on late issue badges for Soviet security services (H&S replaced with just a star). Many of the post-Soviet awards that maintained the previous design often simply had the H&S and/or the "СССР" removed. This was particularly the case with awards given on the republic level.

The LM were disbanded in December 1989 and they were loyal to the KSC till the end, so they didn't have the occasion to change their symbols.

[Greg Collins]

I've come to a couple of conclusions about this award after considerable thought and some research, which was "dicey" at best. I believe the second image in my first post (the light blue and red star badge) is an example of a 1st Class award.

Also, both the 1st and 2nd Class awards are, actually, medals within the Czechoslovakian SSR pantheon of awards, ranking 19th and 24th, respectively. Not simply badges.

I've also come to the conclusion that these weren't ongoing awards but, rather, were awarded to deserving individuals on the 10th anniversary of the LM... in other words, they were only awarded in 1958- more or less like the USSR's 50, 60 and 70th anniversary shields for the KGB were awarded. If you will notice, virtually all the 2nd Class awards are about the same- same condition, same case, same everything. If this was an ongoing award for ten years service there would be some degree of change reflecting the passage of time and construction methods. And, of course, the medal is for "10 Years OF the Peoples' Militia", not "10 Years IN the Peoples' Militia. I have observed that there seemed to be a turn toward table medals to celebrate LM anniversaries after this, while two medals (1st and 2nd Class) were established in 1969 to recognize merit in the LM, and these medals were ongoing. They rank 20 and 25 on the CSSR list of awards.

If anyone can disprove my theory(s) please come forward.

[gf craun]

I just came across this post--I have the one in the box (2nd class). the star in pic 2 is for 10 years also but is 1st class. nice to find this site as i have quite a few Czech and Slovak medals/badges WW1 to CSR, CSSR
my reference booklet (Czech military medals and decorations by M. Kozlowski &M. Furlan, Militaria House, Toronto 1987) shows both as a "Decoration for merit 10 years of serving people's militia". On same page is another medal with ribbon for "Decoration for merit in people's militia".

[desantnik]

Thanks for posting and welcome to the site!