What do I have?

Yeti · 08-16-2006, 06:40 AM

I’m back from Moscow now. All the way back since the planning of the trip, I told myself I wasn’t going to buy any militaria. I thought I was going to make it and felt somewhat pleased with 2L of vodka, two t-shirts and a bunch of refrigerator magnets depicting old Soviet posters.
The last hours we spent walking down the Arbat and I happen to see a general’s uniform. My family starts pressing me to buy it and I eventually fall for the group pressure. I told myself I would NOT buy anything more. But ten minutes later I have a general’s parade belt and cap in my bag… Fortunately both I and the uniform made it home.

I don’t know much about uniforms and maybe I shouldn’t have bought it. But for 220$ I think I did pretty well.

I think it is a M69 out of formation Parade uniform worn without belt and with the bluish coloured trousers. Infantry Major general. Does it look ok?
If anyone recognises it and the foreign award ribbons I would be very grateful for the help.
I am moving so I will not be able to visit the forum for a while.

Thank You
Erik

Yeti · 08-16-2006, 06:41 AM

The buttons are marked 68

charlet · 08-16-2006, 07:34 AM

hello, I love your jacket. But this general has been nicely awarded...2 lenins, red banner of labor and homeland 3 for a single star general...let's see what the fellow cloth men will say.
The visor cap is a post 88 variation, if not a 1992-1993 fabric.
Just look at the coat-of-arms of the belt to see if it is not porous; in this case this is a fake.
God deal with the euro/dollar ratio!

ibaya · 08-16-2006, 07:35 PM

First off, I can't claim to be the most well-versed in Soviet general's uniforms. That said, I believe that the jacket by itself is a post-1988 general's "walking-out" uniform, based on the woven-gold background of the shoulderboards. The 1970's version of the uniform had woven-grey shoulderboards, similar to what was worn on the heavy grey greatcoat. Gold-background shoulderboards were worn on the greatcoats when assigned to Moscow, Leningrad, republic capitols and hero-cities, so maybe the same applied to the walking-out uniform jacket, so that's a bit of uncertainty.

The unusual thing is that the visored cap is also made of the same light-grey fabric. I thought that these were abolished. The 1988 regulations show this uniform worn with the green parade uniform cap.

So ... 1970's walking uniform of a general assigned to a major city?

Have you checked the lining of the inside chest pocket for tailor tag/stamps, date of manufacture, etc? Does the uniform show signs of actual wear inside?

The oval cockade should be 2-piece construction - the star is separate from the oval, and there should be no white enamel.

There are anecdotes of officers from military lineages having buttons passed down from earlier generations sewn on, so older buttons on more recent uniforms are not unheard of.

Taz · 08-16-2006, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yeti

If anyone recognises it and the foreign award ribbons I would be very grateful for the help.
I am moving so I will not be able to visit the forum for a while.

Thank You
Erik

Erik,

The top ribbon is Mongolian the middle three are Czech medal ribbons.

Mongolian 50 years of the army or 50 years at Kalinin Gol 1989

Commemorative Medal - 20th Anniv. of Slovak National Uprising) (1964)
Medal for Strengthening Brotherhood in Arms, 1st Class.
Commemorative Medal - 30th Anniv. of the Struggle for Freedom and Liberation by the Red Army) (1974)

Still looking for the bottom ribbon, could be the Polish Victory and Freedom Medal although this would mean it has faded from red to brown.

Also the precedence of the ribbons is a little strange the brotherhood 1st class should be before the 20th Anniv Commemorative Medal .

Eddie.

DougD · 08-16-2006, 08:00 PM

The grey generals boards were used with this type of tunic in the 1950's; the gold boards were used in the late 1960s through the 1980's. The cap is the 1982 style ( with embroidery) used until 1988 when the wave green cap was used. The belt would not have been used with this tunic. Its a nice example of a soviet generals cold war tunic.

ibaya · 08-16-2006, 09:19 PM

There you have it, a definitive answer. Thanks, Doug!

Nack · 08-17-2006, 10:26 PM

If you were fishing for validation :) I would have bought to too, for sure. :thumbsup

Yeti · 08-21-2006, 02:04 PM

charlet, The coat of arms has good detail. but it has a few tiny tiny flaws in the surface. I don't think it is much worse than my officers belt.

Ibaya, I have not found any marks. It appears to have been worn, not very much though.
The star is separate and there is no white enamel.

All Information are now saved in my archive. :thumbsup

Thanks again
Erik

08-16-2006, 07:34 AM	#3
charlet Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Germany Age: 49 Posts: 791	hello, I love your jacket. But this general has been nicely awarded...2 lenins, red banner of labor and homeland 3 for a single star general...let's see what the fellow cloth men will say. The visor cap is a post 88 variation, if not a 1992-1993 fabric. Just look at the coat-of-arms of the belt to see if it is not porous; in this case this is a fake. God deal with the euro/dollar ratio! __________________ Sebastien "a spectre haunts Europe, the spectre of communism" (a well-known german bearbed)

08-16-2006, 07:35 PM	#4
ibaya Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Maryland, USA Age: 54 Posts: 200	First off, I can't claim to be the most well-versed in Soviet general's uniforms. That said, I believe that the jacket by itself is a post-1988 general's "walking-out" uniform, based on the woven-gold background of the shoulderboards. The 1970's version of the uniform had woven-grey shoulderboards, similar to what was worn on the heavy grey greatcoat. Gold-background shoulderboards were worn on the greatcoats when assigned to Moscow, Leningrad, republic capitols and hero-cities, so maybe the same applied to the walking-out uniform jacket, so that's a bit of uncertainty. The unusual thing is that the visored cap is also made of the same light-grey fabric. I thought that these were abolished. The 1988 regulations show this uniform worn with the green parade uniform cap. So ... 1970's walking uniform of a general assigned to a major city? Have you checked the lining of the inside chest pocket for tailor tag/stamps, date of manufacture, etc? Does the uniform show signs of actual wear inside? The oval cockade should be 2-piece construction - the star is separate from the oval, and there should be no white enamel. There are anecdotes of officers from military lineages having buttons passed down from earlier generations sewn on, so older buttons on more recent uniforms are not unheard of. Last edited by ibaya; 08-16-2006 at 07:39 PM.

08-16-2006, 08:00 PM	#6
DougD Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: NJ Age: 51 Posts: 2,060	boards The grey generals boards were used with this type of tunic in the 1950's; the gold boards were used in the late 1960s through the 1980's. The cap is the 1982 style ( with embroidery) used until 1988 when the wave green cap was used. The belt would not have been used with this tunic. Its a nice example of a soviet generals cold war tunic. Last edited by DougD; 08-17-2006 at 08:55 AM.

08-16-2006, 09:19 PM	#7
ibaya Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Maryland, USA Age: 54 Posts: 200	There you have it, a definitive answer. Thanks, Doug!

08-17-2006, 10:26 PM	#8
Nack Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: The Buckeye State Age: 46 Posts: 513	If you were fishing for validation :) I would have bought to too, for sure. :thumbsup

08-21-2006, 02:04 PM	#9
Yeti Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Sweden Posts: 62	charlet, The coat of arms has good detail. but it has a few tiny tiny flaws in the surface. I don't think it is much worse than my officers belt. Ibaya, I have not found any marks. It appears to have been worn, not very much though. The star is separate and there is no white enamel. All Information are now saved in my archive. :thumbsup Thanks again Erik

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