04-17-2003, 09:25 PM
I had an ugly experience while going through the airport there in Moscow getting awards confiscated... I had been sending awards home with people in their luggage. The stuff was always getting through, no big deal.
One day at the market, I bought this really nice 1920's Red Army flag top. It was really neat and I thought it would be grand to have in the collection. (It had supposedly come from one of the State museums, incidentally)
I had about 30 awards by this time, mostly Glory 3rds, Labor Glories, Red Banners, Red Banners of Labor, etc... Maybe $1000 worth of awards (I did have a nice three-digit Glory 3rd in there!)
My folks came over to visit, and when they were leaving, I decided to pack all my 'finds' in their suitcases for trucking home to the US.
Well, going through the x-ray machine, they picked the flag top right out, and opened the luggage. Somehow, they found one of the medals, and it was all downhill from there!
What was funny was that I had a number of WW2 Generals uniforms and hats that I had purchased as well... They had no interest in that stuff, they wanted the medals! Likewise, there was no interest in the flag top as well, even though it was definately a very old looking, and for anyone familiar with Soviet history, extremely historic.
Nope! All they wanted was the medals...
They took the whole batch of awards, bagged them up, and then sealed them with the customs tags. Interestingly, they let me take them (unescorted) to another customs window to turn them in. They allowed me to carry them in line escorting my parents to baggage turn-in, and the thought did cross my mind to put the awards back in their luggage! Had anyone seen that, I would have been in some severe hot water, I think!
Turning the awards in, they gave me a receipt for them, and said that they could be picked up anytime... by my father!!! I tried to just take them with me, as I told them I lived there in Moscow, but they said that since they were confiscated under his passport, he had to be the one to pick them up. Since he never went back to Russia, I never was able to pick them up. I tried going back later to pick them up, but they gave me the same answer. (That time did allow me into the storeroom of confiscated stuff... wow! A lot of samovars and icons!!!)
I never got my awards back. They're probably out there somewhere... Just one of those 'live and learn' things!!!
--Dave
One day at the market, I bought this really nice 1920's Red Army flag top. It was really neat and I thought it would be grand to have in the collection. (It had supposedly come from one of the State museums, incidentally)
I had about 30 awards by this time, mostly Glory 3rds, Labor Glories, Red Banners, Red Banners of Labor, etc... Maybe $1000 worth of awards (I did have a nice three-digit Glory 3rd in there!)
My folks came over to visit, and when they were leaving, I decided to pack all my 'finds' in their suitcases for trucking home to the US.
Well, going through the x-ray machine, they picked the flag top right out, and opened the luggage. Somehow, they found one of the medals, and it was all downhill from there!
What was funny was that I had a number of WW2 Generals uniforms and hats that I had purchased as well... They had no interest in that stuff, they wanted the medals! Likewise, there was no interest in the flag top as well, even though it was definately a very old looking, and for anyone familiar with Soviet history, extremely historic.
Nope! All they wanted was the medals...
They took the whole batch of awards, bagged them up, and then sealed them with the customs tags. Interestingly, they let me take them (unescorted) to another customs window to turn them in. They allowed me to carry them in line escorting my parents to baggage turn-in, and the thought did cross my mind to put the awards back in their luggage! Had anyone seen that, I would have been in some severe hot water, I think!
Turning the awards in, they gave me a receipt for them, and said that they could be picked up anytime... by my father!!! I tried to just take them with me, as I told them I lived there in Moscow, but they said that since they were confiscated under his passport, he had to be the one to pick them up. Since he never went back to Russia, I never was able to pick them up. I tried going back later to pick them up, but they gave me the same answer. (That time did allow me into the storeroom of confiscated stuff... wow! A lot of samovars and icons!!!)
I never got my awards back. They're probably out there somewhere... Just one of those 'live and learn' things!!!
--Dave
