Badge "60 Years Of The KGB First Chief Directorate".

[Разведка]

Celebrating 60 years of the First Chief Directorate, founded in 1920 as the Innostrani Otdel, and responsible for foreign intelligence operations. After numerous shuffles and restructures, this emerged as the Sluzhba Vneshnei Razvedki, or Foreign Intelligence Service, in the post-Soviet Russian Federation.

Very interesting coffin-shaped shield and design. The reverse features the mark of the Moscow Mint just above the pin at the base of the sword.


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[Ralph Pickard]

I found what you wrote in your thread useful, thanks.

Originally Posted by Разведка

Celebrating 60 years of the First Chief Directorate, founded in 1920 as the Innostrani Otdel, and responsible for foreign intelligence operations. After numerous shuffles and restructures, this emerged as the Sluzhba Vneshnei Razvedki, or Foreign Intelligence Service, in the post-Soviet Russian Federation.

Very interesting coffin-shaped shield and design. The reverse features the mark of the Moscow Mint just above the pin at the base of the sword.


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[deValcourt]

It took me asking several people who know more than I do before I found out what this one was. There were lots of suggestions/good guesses, but the Foreign Intelligence (later First Chief Directorate of the КГБ and now the СВР) was clearly the correct choice.

Thank you "Разведка" (Bob? - PM me if you want to stay "incognito";)) for bringing this up. I had sort of forgotten about this badge - mainly because it has been in a display case with most of my other КГБ items for so long, I tend to not notice them as I should anymore.

Case in point: I took this badge out and under the close-up camera eye I finally noticed just how well done it is with colors (mainly the gold in the shield) I had overlooked. I had also missed the MMD logo. That little mark is hard to capture in photos, but I'm practicing.

Phillip

[Ralph Pickard]

I am glad this thread was updated again. I know this might be a tough question to answer. Were there many of these badges made or presented?

[deValcourt]

Originally Posted by Ralph Pickard

I am glad this thread was updated again. I know this might be a tough question to answer. Were there many of these badges made or presented?

Tough to answer indeed. As an ММД product and without a state-set price stamped on the reverse for public sale, it is likely that a significant number were made for lower-ranking КГБ employees who didn't merit state level anniversary badges, but I've never seen pictures of it in reference books. In fact, the ePay seller I bought it from a few years ago had it listed as an МВД badge. Nonetheless, the design is intricate and has all the typical КГБ symbols - laurel and oak leaves, sword and shield with a raised star and the hammer and sickle raised in the center of the star (this combination was reserved for the КГБ in nearly every award or associated document).

When I first posted photos of it somewhere here asking if anyone knew what it was, I got several answers. Between what I deduced it was and what someone else who has a copy of it and I trust said, we agreed it was foreign intelligence. As such, this badge would probably not be worn in public very often - if ever. It could have been given to retiring (retired) members of the First Chief Directorate as well. Active members who were not high-ranking officers would probably be working with top secret information or had security clearances that would make them a target for counterintelligence in non-Soviet countries, even if they were not actually "spies." Still wondering about who received them and why (and even more, who could/would wear them and where/when they might wear them:whistler).

Phillip

[Ralph Pickard]

Thanks Phil for your latest post. I would like to add to your latest comments that important members of the foreign intelligence services of at least some of the Warsaw Pact countries could have received these badges.