He did not wore any ribbon bars neither. Quite a humble, low-profile soldier. :)
There's nothing in the streets
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Are now parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight The Who, Won't get fooled again
You noticed that too? I thought it very subtle and cool of him, and good photos too! I think my favorite has to be the one where he is on the telephone.
Thanks, guys...I'm trying to learn as much about him as I can, from the little I've managed to learn he was also a communist party political officer and my grandma was the party's secretary in Moldova, so they might have been at a meeting and such...my grandma, I know, worked for the MVD (I don't know what role, though, I think she later worked at a prison in northern Moldova). My mom also hinted that my grandpa worked for the KGB when he died in the early 80s (Did people switch from military to KGB???)...I'll try to get some more info, but I know he was a joker, liked to tell jokes and just enjoy life, according to my mom
I've heard of people changing profession in the Soviet Union from regular military to KGB, I read in a book called Threat, inside the Soviet war machine, that many times, once soldiers were done their two years of service the KGB would often approach some of them and ask if they would like to join.
So I guess it was not uncommon?
Commissar Wrote:I've heard of people changing profession in the Soviet Union from regular military to KGB, I read in a book called Threat, inside the Soviet war machine, that many times, once soldiers were done their two years of service the KGB would often approach some of them and ask if they would like to join.
So I guess it was not uncommon?
The same happened in East Germany both in the NVA and Dynamo Sports Club with the Stasi. So it´s quite possible.
There's nothing in the streets
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Are now parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight The Who, Won't get fooled again
Not only did the KGB hire military and allow for transfers of rank and pension, they also "managed" people as well. "Working for" the KGB did not necessarily mean collecting a paycheck on the 20th of the month or having a Royal Blue piped uniform. There were many levels of "employment" in the KGB,especially by the time the 80s rolled around and they were trying to soften their image (even removed the sword and shield from most of their official public documents).
Moreover, it would explain quite a bit about why I got the impressions that I did of him from the photos and the way he wore his uniforms in most of them. The lack of concern for protocol is a classic KGB attitude of not so much being above the law, but being the law itself. It's all the psychology of "absolute power," etc. Even in the photos taken before the 1980s, he had the air of a rakish fellow that would do well under most circumstances.
That makes sense...I asked my mom today and she told me that he was like KGB inside KGB or KGB inside MVD...that would explain what you said about his behavior...I'll try to see if she has any of his items.
This one has been around for about a year from a trustworthy ePay seller. However, I was wondering if his description of this as a 1950s KGB tunic is correct. It seems MGB if anything to me.
(At least he isn't trying to hide the moth holes ;))
Moths love the wool of the m55's. They especially love to snack on the caps.
It's KGB as this uniform was only authorized from 1955-58 and the MGB went belly up in 1953 as I recall.
