Chris:
I am glad you commented on this picture. Nobody else seemed to care about it. :( As I wrote earlier, it is Zhukov's best in my opinion. First, this is the perfect image of Marshal of Victory as he is often called in Russia. The photo was taken a few days after the back of the Nazi beast was broken. He is wearing the Victory Parade uniform and all his decorations that he earned during the war. You mentioned that he is missing "Capture of Berlin" medal and it is a drawback but all his major awards are here: 3 HSU stars, 2 Victories, and 2 Suvorovs. Second, his facial expression and pose reveal confidence and strength of his character. Here he is at the zenith of his glory. With documents on his table and a pen in his hand, he appears to be taking a second from his important business to pose for the photographer. This image is a contrast to his later pictures where he looks as a frail old man, a shadow of his magnificent past. Frankly, I don't miss seeing his 4th HSU star, o. of L and RB. RB was probably length of service award. 4th star is highly controversial. Zhukov got it on his 60th birthday. HSU title should not be a birthday gift even for a man as great as he was. Besides, o. of Lenin was supposed to be given with the first HSU star only.
On later photographs with all 4 stars, he is usually wearing a bar that connects 4 suspensions together. Connecting links look ugly to me.
These are thoughts that came to my mind while looking at this pic :)
Simon
I am glad you commented on this picture. Nobody else seemed to care about it. :( As I wrote earlier, it is Zhukov's best in my opinion. First, this is the perfect image of Marshal of Victory as he is often called in Russia. The photo was taken a few days after the back of the Nazi beast was broken. He is wearing the Victory Parade uniform and all his decorations that he earned during the war. You mentioned that he is missing "Capture of Berlin" medal and it is a drawback but all his major awards are here: 3 HSU stars, 2 Victories, and 2 Suvorovs. Second, his facial expression and pose reveal confidence and strength of his character. Here he is at the zenith of his glory. With documents on his table and a pen in his hand, he appears to be taking a second from his important business to pose for the photographer. This image is a contrast to his later pictures where he looks as a frail old man, a shadow of his magnificent past. Frankly, I don't miss seeing his 4th HSU star, o. of L and RB. RB was probably length of service award. 4th star is highly controversial. Zhukov got it on his 60th birthday. HSU title should not be a birthday gift even for a man as great as he was. Besides, o. of Lenin was supposed to be given with the first HSU star only.
On later photographs with all 4 stars, he is usually wearing a bar that connects 4 suspensions together. Connecting links look ugly to me.
These are thoughts that came to my mind while looking at this pic :)
Simon
