Soviet United Nations Peacekeepers

[willie777]

Jeffrey,

I believe this is an observer's uniform, not peacekeeper's. The beret looks like a standard issue Soviet paratrooper's beret with a UN patch from a suvenir shop in the UN complex in NY.

Alexei

Yes, it does state observer in the auction. I believe this is genuine as the guy selling it is a pretty reputable dealer. The patch is correct with USSR in latin, not cyrillic as per UN uniforms. The beret is probably a Airborne beret as it has a sweatshield, but it is a badge, not a patch. berets were supposed to be provided by your nation, but the badge is UN.

[Nota Bene]

berets were supposed to be provided by your nation,

I believe the UN provides berets with badges, patches, helmet covers, and sometimes blue bullet proof wests with "UN" letters. I guess the Russian could've substituted the beret, but it's darker in color than the UN beret.

Alexei

[willie777]

I believe the UN provides berets with badges, patches, helmet covers, and sometimes blue bullet proof wests with "UN" letters. I guess the Russian could've substituted the beret, but it's darker in color than the UN beret.

Alexei

I stand corrected. The Soviet UN peacekeepers/observers might have said to each other: "Hey, Mikhail. This UN issued beret thingie looks too western/capatalist. Lets use one of our own peoples made airborne counterparts!"

Here's one that I found after a very painstaking search:

[Taz]

Looks like a regular, new, unshaped and unshrunk UN issue Beret to me with the standard metal UN cap badge.
The UN provides berets, caps, badges, shoulder patches, armlet, and scarves to all ranks. Soldiers wear their normal issued uniforms with the addition of a UN sleeve badge, scarf and the blue beret (Helmet).
On a side note peacekeeping soldiers are paid by their own Governments according to their own national rank and salary scale.
Countries volunteering personnel to peacekeeping operations are reimbursed by the United Nations at a flat rate of about $1,000 per soldier per month.
For each peacekeeping mission, Member States voluntarily provide troops and equipment, they are compensated from a special peacekeeping budget.
From 1973 to 1998, the USSR - Russia participated in eleven out of 48 UN peacekeeping operations. More than 770 Russian UN military observers, and some 18.000 soldiers and officers have served under the UN flag. From independent Ukraine more then 20.000 soldiers participated from 1992 until 2004 in UN peacekeeping missions.


Regards Eddie

[Synthesis]

Some more information here, however, it is in Russian.