Order "Defender Of Honour".

[otlichnik]

It would be interesting to gather photos of Chechens wearing awards as I suspect that many of the "official" ones are fantasy.

Shawn

[new world]

It would be interesting to gather photos of Chechens wearing awards as I suspect that many of the "official" ones are fantasy.

Shawn

I am sceptical these are official awards.

They are very poorly made and just don't have that special feeling of real awards. But in case these are legit - how much of quality can one expect from conditions these rebel fighters operate?

I've never seen photos of actual Chechens wearig these badges.

William

[Taz]

I am sceptical these are official awards.

They are very poorly made and just don't have that special feeling of real awards. But in case these are legit - how much of quality can one expect from conditions these rebel fighters operate?

I've never seen photos of actual Chechens wearig these badges.

William

William,
That's a good point. If you take a look at the other Chechenian Republic of Ichkeria Awards on Yuri's site, they all look rather roughly made.

I havn't found any photos of Chechens wearing these awards/badges either.

Eddie.

[Nota Bene]

Guys,

I am reviving this old thread because I just came across a set of these orders. They are indeed cheaply made, apparently in Russia (screwposts are tipical of Russian manufacture). There are no factory marks.

Alexei

[Sergei]

This is the pair I mentioned in Alexei's auction thread (apologies for the quality, I am still learning how to use the scanner). I find the whole story about these awards somewhat mistifying - SPB(?) pressing medals for the Chechen 'rebels'... no official record of anything...
I will do the reverse but it does look very similar to what Alexei posted - a thin(ihs) screw rod buried in a 'mushroom'.
Sergei

[Lapa]

Sergei,

Yours are different from either of these shown by Eddie or Alexei. On yours, the center medallion is struck, on theirs, it is apparently a photo.
Could it be the case where there were "originals" and there are now copies?

Marc

[Sergei]

Marc,
Sure, everything is possible. I think I was wrong in one respect though, the center medallion in my version seems to have been made separately, I do not know whether the scan is clear enough to show this. Weight: 24.25g 1st class, 24.45g 2nd class, the size is about 48.1mm.
And thanks for the spelling tip. :D
Sergei.

[Lapa]

Sergei,

Interesting! How is the medallion secured to the order?

Marc

[Sergei]

Marc, My guess is it's glued in. If your theory of this being a copy is correct, then it is possible that whoever made them had no technology to transfer the photo onto metal and struck the center piece separately. Sergei.

[CtahhR]

The correct name of this Order is Orden "Siylalliy Biaho"/Орден "Сийлале Бяхо" which translates to Order "Defender Of Honour".

It was created in two classes in 1996 and was produced by the Lithuanian company "Suvenyra" in Kaunus - The Saint Petersburg Mint would not be making awards for the enemy now would they?

The original batches sent to Chechnja were seized en route (believed to be the Belarussian authorities) with very, very few actually arriving in Grozny. These were not awarded and nearly all of those on the market are of later Lithuanian production. With them not being awarded - or even arriving photographs of them in wear will not surface.

A quirky bit of insurgent history that has certainly been cashed in on many times in the past.

There are other Chechen awards that were awarded in Grozny during the conflicts and that continue to be awarded by the "exiled Government" in Poland (Orders "National Hero" and "National Honour" amongst others).