Does Russian navy still use WOOLEN flags today?

[sybaris]

Here is a slightly amusing story associated with Russian flags. I was stationed aboard USS Belleau Wood from '94-'98. In 1996 we visited Vladivostok which to me, after having served through the Cold War and being in Electronic Warfare was an opportunity beyond belief. I had been to Shanghai on another ship some 7 years prior and had gotten a chance to trade with Chinese sailors however it was an unexpected opportunity for trading and I was a bit unprepared. This time I was taking no chances and loaded up on ships ballcaps, Zippos, Marlboros, belt buckles, ribbons and pins. After arrival in Vlad' I and few shipmates headed down to the piers and made our presence and intent known. It didn't take long before a crowd of Russian sailors were huddled around us and the trading began but it ended almost as abruptly as it began and we were told to come back after dark. So we burnt up the rest of the day trapsing around Vlad' and doing what Sailors do until it finally got dark, around 10:00 P.M.. We headed back down to the piers and soon another group of Russian Sailors gathered around us. It was actually very festive yet quite surreal in the dimly lit surroundings. Suddenly all commotion stopped as in the distance and way across the parade ground a car with a very loud muffler started coming our way at high speed. We didn't know what to expect, had nowhere to go and expected the worse. The car zigzagged its way through the parade ground and around some barriers until it came to a screeching halt in front of us. Out pops a local with a bottle of vodka and a handful of shot glasses accompanied by two local ladies! A sigh of relief was expelled by us all in waiting. So we all drank and traded until we could trade no more. I came away with a P-Coat, belt and buckle, white and black flat hats, various pins, ribbons, and other uniform items. We had Cinderella liberty so around 2330 we started making our way back to the ship. On our way along a darkened street we heard some English in a very thick Russian accent, "Hey, you want to buy Russian flag?". Out of the shadows pops a local and whips out a Soviet era woolen jack (red, red and white stars with white hammer and sickle in the middle). The guy wanted 500 rubles for it. I was tapped out so I sold my buddy the black hat for 500 rubles and bought the flag.

The next day I had duty and had to stay on the ship but stocked up again for the following day and expected even greater returns on the trading. That was not to be the case. When I went back down to the piers a Sailor standing guard informed me that that I had other shipmates who had an interest in trading with the Russians as well. During my duty day they had acquired as much booty as I did which apparently caught the attention of the commanders of the Russian ships who put the kibosh on more interaction. It seems that the young Russian Sailors were "acquiring" items from their shipmates leaving several with incomplete uniforms and missing personal items. Understood. Nothing worse than a thief on a ship.

All was not lost though. It seems collecting pins is somewhat of a national past-time in Russia and during the day I was accosted by youngsters trying to separate me from the pins, ribbons, and devices on my uniform. Luckily I had extras and was able to trade for more items. This is where my interest in collecting pins of Russian ships began. I had not known that pins were made for each ship and was hooked. Since I spent all of my career in the Pacific I have concentrated my efforts on collecting the pins from Russian Pacific Fleet combatants that were active during my time of service. I have most but still missing a few. Hopefully someday I'll be able to finish the collection and mount them for display in my cave.