Really nice KGB Captain's uniform on the way.

[Will]

Originally Posted by Al-muell

Nice one! Haven't seen any for sale in quite some time.
Awards should not go with this uniform, but a humble ribbon bar (I would expect a captain to have served at least 10 years and thus have the irreproachable service medal and Armed forces anniversary medal) would look nice on it.

Personally, I would very, very respectfully disagree.

Starting in the 1960's, and in particular with the appointment of Yuri Andropov as chairman in 1967, the KGB saw a significant expansion of its ranks with the addition of a variety of young, professional specialists in fields such as economics, linguistics, and law (Vladmir Putin entered KGB after graduating with an international law degree from Leningrad State University in 1975). Many of these specialists were brought into KGB and given higher rank by virtue of their backgrounds. It is not unlike the United States military, in which a young lawyer enters the service as a nominal second lieutenant but very quickly is advanced to Captain. As such, these KGB officers would have held noteworthy ranks without having had time in to attain Irreproachable Service medals or even jubilee medals.

Additionally, unlike military uniforms, the documentary and photographic evidence supports the statement that the vast majority of KGB officers wore their uniforms only on relatively rare occasions. Unless a KGB officer held an assignment that required frequent wear of his uniform (such as attachment to a military or militia unit), the uniforms for the most part stayed in the closet, leading to the question of whether most officers even placed ribbons on their uniforms. In my personal experience I have only ever seen one KGB service uniform that displayed ribbons, and that was the uniform of a full Colonel.

Here is the well known photograph of Vladimir Putin as a Captain of KGB. In versions that are not so closely cropped, but even in this trimmed version, it seems pretty clear that he is not wearing ribbons on his service jacket.

[PaulR]

Lawyers are brought in automatically as O3s in the Coast Guard, and as far as I know, other branches too. I can definitely see what you are saying, Will.

[Al-muell]

OK, to me a uniformed KGB officer is likely to be a KGB Trooper, haven't looked at it from this side. Indeed, no awards may be correct on this jacket (altough I still see them as somewhat "empty")

[PaulR]

What is a KGB Trooper?

[Al-muell]

Soldier of the KGB Troops. A small part of the Soviet Armed Forces undert KGB command, mainly responsible for protecting KGB buildings, Important scientific sites and important people. Also, the LEnin's tomb was being guarded by a special, separate honor guards unit of the KGB troops.
The EM of the KGB troops were conscripts, just as in the Army, picked from the same pool. The KGB had a priority to pick the rcruits before the MVD and MOD of course.