Exporting Of Items.

[Bob]

Even if you find something in Odessa - how are you going to take it out of Ukraine???

Export of antiques and militaria is prohibited...

I just put it in my car and drove out of the country. Of course, they did try to steal my Audi along the way while travelling to the border but that was not related to the Soviet awards in the car

[Tretov]

I just put it in my car and drove out of the country. Of course, they did try to steal my Audi along the way while travelling to the border but that was not related to the Soviet awards in the car

I guess you were lucky ... I would not buy any Soviet items from (in) Russia nor Ukraine today =( not worth the risk.

[jefflgarrison]

ok, so I have returned from Odessa and I must say:

1. Not much in the way of medals was offered in the places my friend, who has lived there the past 15 years, knew of. Supply must be drying up.

2. Potemkin stairs had two elderly guys hawking medals and coins. 1 star, a dozen anniversary medals, 2 Odessa (fake) medals, 1 Belgrade (fake) medal, and a couple of Leningrad and Stalingrad (smooth edged, possibly real?). BUT that was it! Oh one had a Kiev medal missing the ring, but the veteran seemed to have had the number of his award card stamped into the bottom of the front of the medal. I passed on it anyway.

3. I finally did purchase a "Order of Glory III" (#50,159) and 1985 OPGW II from the friend of my collegue. He actually called his mother while I was talking to him to ask her to read the numbers off the Order of Glory. The order and number is legit.

4. Customs was a joke on the Odessa-Warsaw train. The customs lady only asked (in Polish, Ukrainian and broken English) if we had more than our allotted amount of cigarrettes and alcohol. THAT was it. The only agressive attitude was the short, heavy set coach attendant that barked at us (nicely) to make our beds an go to sleep at 9:00pm at night. She then proceeded to pat me on the stomach and say something in Russian I didn't care to have translated!

[Sergei]

I am going to spend a few days in Kiev, does anyone know interesting markets, maybe militaria shops, bazaars, anything worth visiting on a 'medal hunt'? I have been to the main tourist attractions but that was a long time ago.
Thanks,
Sergei

[desantnik]

I am going to spend a few days in Kiev, does anyone know interesting markets, maybe militaria shops, bazaars, anything worth visiting on a 'medal hunt'? I have been to the main tourist attractions but that was a long time ago.
Thanks,
Sergei

Ask around, but two years ago there was a gathering of antique, militaria, and medal dealers at the Expo Center in west/northwestern Kiev. Really neat to see, but remember you can get in trouble if you try to export anything made before 1945.

[Sergei]

Thanks, I did not know about the pre-1945 cut-off date. Wow.
Sergei

[desantnik]

Thanks, I did not know about the pre-1945 cut-off date. Wow.
Sergei

I agree, kind of puts a damper on things. Also, be very alert for fakes of medals, documents, and IDs.

[DougD]

Yes, Desantik is right, Ukraine is full of fakes. There are quite a few markets in sumemr, but i was amazed at the total lack of anything genuine that was pre 1945.

Customs in Ukraine is very arbitrary, much like Russia in the mid 1990's. You may get by with a major item, or stopped for 2 hours over a repro medal you bought in a market.

While i loved Ukraine, i did not enjoy Ukrainian Customs at Borisipol or Simefropol.

DougD

[Sergei]

Thanks, that's a useful reminder. I think I got one of my earliest fakes via e**y, here it is:
http://www.soviet-awards.com/forum/sovie...#post60323
cost me all of 10 dollars and came all the way from Odessa-Mama (that's how the Odessites of the less legitimate strands of life used to refer to their home town).
Looks like my trip is going to be fun!
Sergei

[LavricCat]

This is from Russian website today:
01:59 (21 августа


Студентка из США задержана в России за попытку вывоза советских орденов
Студентка американского университета была задержана в России за попытку вывоза из страны советских орденов и монет.
29-летняя чилийка Роксана Контрерас, изучающая физику в университете Сент-Луиса (штат Миссури, обвинена в незаконном приобретении и попытки вывоза государственных наград СССР. Ей грозит до семи лет тюрьмы. Как рассказали друзья студентки, девушка купила шесть орденов и несколько монет по €49 у уличного торговца в Воронеже, и не подозревала о том, что вывозя их из России совершает что-то противозаконное.
Представитель штата Миссури в Конгрессе уже обратился с письмом к послу России Юрию Ушакову по поводу этого дела, заверив российскую сторону, что произошла ошибка, и что правонарушение было совершено ненамеренно.
В ответ российское посольство заверило конгрессмена, что студентка уже освобождена, однако, по словам представителей университета, которые также пытаются помочь Контрерас, она все еще находится по домашним арестом на съемной квартире в ожидании судебного заседания по ее делу. // Associated Press
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If it's illegal,-how items from our Collections had got here?