Photographs Of Recipients Of Soviet Awards/Service Personnel.

[CtahhR]

Where are glorious comrade Stalin's George Crosses? lost in translation maybe?

[Commissar]

Correct me if I'm wrong but do I see a Lenin ribbon with an Order of the Red Banner attached? ...Nit picking me or am I wrong? :)

[UQWozza]

Looks that way to me too .... well spotted :thumbsup

Simon

[desantnik]

Correct me if I'm wrong but do I see a Lenin ribbon with an Order of the Red Banner attached? ...Nit picking me or am I wrong? :)

Yes, it is an optical illusion. Notice the "off set" even in the second row starting with the 50th Anniversary of Soviet Armed Forces. If you count the # of RB ribbons, it corresponds with the # of RB medals.

[redjames]

Very cool to see St George's crosses being worn on Soviet uniform during OGPW!!! Did Soviet authorities allow this such Czarist awards being displayed on uniforms? Thanks for showing those pictures of the St. George's Crosses being worn on Soviet uniforms!!

[Simon]

Very cool to see St George's crosses being worn on Soviet uniform during OGPW!!! Did Soviet authorities allow this such Czarist awards being displayed on uniforms? Thanks for showing those pictures of the St. George's Crosses being worn on Soviet uniforms!!

Very cool, indeed. The topic of St. George Crosses on Soviet uniforms is popular on Russian forums. It seems that authorities turned a blind eye rather than formally allowed wear of SGC. Note on one pic, there is even officer's St. George Order.

[Simon]

continued

[ph3s]

Very cool, indeed. The topic of St. George Crosses on Soviet uniforms is popular on Russian forums. It seems that authorities turned a blind eye rather than formally allowed wear of SGC. Note on one pic, there is even officer's St. George Order.

Propaganda, simple propaganda. Have a look we have nothing against those who served in RIA as far as they with as now ;) Solder serves to country, not government etc.

[desantnik]

I disagree.

Ask Marshal Rokossovskii who sat in prison and all the other guys who were both kept hostage as "military experts" during the 1920s to keep the Red Army from falling apart after the Revolution about their non-political service to the Motherland.

I'll also remind everyone that for a long time one of the questions on award citations and biography cards was "Has individual served in White, bourgeouis, or foreign Army?" and I'm sure the existence of such a question wasn't congratulatory or to increase his chances for awarding.

Just as religion and nationalistic trappings such as the "tsarist shoulder boards" were brought back into tolerance with the Great Patriotic War to placate the masses and gather as much possible support for the State that was fighting for its existence, these photos of soldiers wearing imperial decorations represent a similar, post GPW time. These brave soldiers who "fought for their country" wouldn't have been caught wearing their Russian imperial awards through the '20's or '30's or they would have been dead and/or in prison.

[CtahhR]

The question that comes to my mind is did most of these Commanders have their original awards confiscated, lost or destroyed themselves and then had "new" awards reissued to them for the purpose of propaganda? or did they just hide them really well during the 20's? and if they were hiding them away wouldn't that make them seem rather "uncommitted"? Not only that but if some folks were "upgraded" in number of crosses, where would they be getting them from? Definitely not a dodgy online shop. I think this subject is going to bring up far more questions than answers and as there are no Imperial army servicemen left alive we can't really ask them how it happened.