If NOT State Security/KGB Generals Boards-- Then WHAT?

[Tretov]

Please enjoy these photos of KGB Lieutnant-General Petrov. As you can see, his service uniform has the red piping. I also attached a photo of him wearing his parade uniform, and a photo from some meeting.

But why wouldn't they really just use royal blue piped uniform? Following logics, it would have been the simple solution?


I am no longer the owner of this uniform, as it was sold to a dedicated KGB and spy collector in Sweden this summer. I somewhat regret the sale, but it found a good home better than my basement.

[Lapa]

Rick, Doug,

A couple of precisions here:
. In the Police Museum in St Petersburg, there are two KGB uniforms displayed side by side, one of a colonel (don't remember his name) piped in dark blue as normal for KGB, and one of a general (also don't remember his name :( ) with the summer coat, all piped in red.
. Nobody in the St Petersburg collecting underground has ever heard or seen a KGB general's uniform piped in dark blue (boards included), regardless of the period.
. The dark red/dark blue combination that Doug mentioned was used for just a couple of years at the end of the 1950's~early 1960's by the MGB. I recently purchased directly from the family an officer's parade jacket with dark-red collar tabs and dark-blue piped boards. I also saw about a year ago in Paris a cap to this uniform, that is piped dark-blue around the crown with a dark-red band.

I forgot to mention one thing regarding your first pair of boards. During the war period, quality control was apparently somewhat lax when it came to minor details. What I mean to say, is that I have seen wartime airforce boards that were piped in a variety of colors, ranging from the usual light-blue to the NKVD/KGB dark-blue. I would not be otherwise surprized if it was one of these occurences.

Marc

[Tretov]

Here is one in blue. It was in an antique store in Tallin, but was appearently sold this summer as it was gone when I was there this autumn. The name of the holder, I was told, was Jakovenko or something. This uniform has been subject to a some discussions in the past, and the conclusions has been that it is a fake.

[DougD]

I saw that uniform when I was in Tallinn and I would no have touched it with a 10 foot pole.

As for writing a KGB guy, I am not sure of that, but I did ask the KGB Colonel who runs the KGB Museum and wrote the Lubyanka book and he stated that generals wore red piped uniforms, not blue.

dd

[Lapa]

Originally Posted by DougD

As for writing a KGB guy, I am not sure of that, but I did ask the KGB Colonel who runs the KGB Museum and wrote the Lubyanka book and he stated that generals wore red piped uniforms, not blue.

This is the very same information that I got, and keep getting, from reliable sources (although not as authoritative as Doug's one).

Marc

[willie777]

Originally Posted by DougD

" Other than honor guards, The KGB was pretty much all spies."

I am not sure that could be more wrong. The KGB was huge; troops, gulag, border troops, etc. The vast majority of KGB were not spies at all.

DD

Sorry, my mind is going east german. Just like the Grenztruppen from the NVA, I classified th KGB Border Guards a separate from the KGB. The gulag was pretty much maintained by the NKVD, though.

[Lapa]

Willie,

The NKVD was the predecessor of the KGB. Once the organisation changed names, it assumed the functions of its predecessor.

Marc

[willie777]

Originally Posted by Lapa

Willie,

The NKVD was the predecessor of the KGB. Once the organisation changed names, it assumed the functions of its predecessor.

Marc

Well, the KGB only maintained the Gulag for about 6 years, from 1954 to 1960 when gulag was abolished.

[Rick Research]

Here is one of the brick red band/ blueberry blue piped officer's caps. It was made in Moscow and is dated 1955. Colors are a bit bright from the camera flash when I took this years ago.

This was sold to me as KGB/MVD transport (convoy) service, so in that way connected to the gulag/prisons system.

I've seen one other in 10 years.

The two M1958 type pairs of boards certainly seem never issued, so perhaps a planned change that never went through.

But something was definitely "going on" apparently at the end of the 1950s.

[Lapa]

Rick,

That is the cap I mentioned in my previous post.

Marc