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I was watching a soviet movie last week and I saw something a little unusual, the movie is Battle for Moscow and it`s about the defense of the city during the Great Patriotic War and in one scene, a soldier is awarded a Order of the Red Banner however his officer took his order and put it in a mug with vodka and told the soldier to drink it, he also said that it was an old tradition of the russian army and that they should give the order a "bath" so it would not be the last one.
Do you guys ever heard of this or have any more information?
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I. V. Stalin
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Yes, that practice is very widespread to this day. In fact most combat decorations (probably not jubilees) were "baptized".
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Thanks for the info desantnik, I have never heard of that tradition, nice to learn about it :thumbsup
"Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas?"
I. V. Stalin
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There are many American films where awards such as jump wings are put in the bottom of a drink (which has to be downed in one). The trick is to catch it between your teeth and not swallow it. I think this tradition can be seen on "Band Of Brothers" amongst many war related "stories".
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desantnik Wrote:Yes, that practice is very widespread to this day. In fact most combat decorations (probably not jubilees) were "baptized".
Actually, this tradition is much more widespread than that. Russians tend to "baptize" ("обмывать") any and all received "awards": orders, medals, distinctions, badges, etc.
Marc
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Anthony Beevor mentions the practice of having soldiers earn their decorations in this fashion in his phenomenal book Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege 1942-1943.
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