Here is an exceptional, yet incomplete group to Slavik Zaveni Pogosian, an Eagle-Suicide Bomber of the 5th Brigade Of Liberators during the Artsakh War.
This group comes directly from his widow, the two missing pieces were lost by the recipient before his death.
The group is also a great example of how some of the most prestigious awards are of very poor quality. The Eagles were legends in their own lifetimes but the awards indicating their deeds were certainly not made of precious metals.
Furthermore, this groups also destroys another myth - the myth that all the Eagles were awarded a Bravery Medal or higher by the Republic Of Armenia - Pogosian was an Eagle that only received the Combat Service Medal.
Although this group was awarded over only 16 years it is larger than many Soviet award groups and is the largest post-Soviet group I've seen offered to date (5 official Armenian Awards (1 missing), 1 Russian Organisational Award, 1 NKR Organisational Award and 7 Armenian Organisational Awards)
His first award is probably one of the cheapest official awards ever created in history whilst at the same time one of the most prestigious.
The "Eagle-Suicide Bombers" Commemorative Medal ("Արծիվ-Մահապարտներ" Հուշամեդալով) was awarded by the Defence Ministry in recognition of answering the Military Call of August 1992. 500 were awarding in total, to the "Eagles" that joined up to be sent to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic when it seemed that the only outcome would be complete defeat and death.
Although this looks like a homemade badge that are often handed out willy-nilly for fun, it is actually the highest award of the Defence Ministry of the Republic Of Armenia. Worn on the right hand side, it takes precedence on the right of all Orders or Chest Badges.
Even though these seem to be rather cheap bits, they are individually numbered.
This is Type 1 #188 (The second "8" has almost completely rubbed off, not surprising considering I believe it to be corrective fluid).
Seeing that the Type 1 "Eagle-Suicide Bombers" Commemorative Medal was so unusual as an award, as it was issued during a very difficult time in Armenia's economic history, a Type 2 was later created as a replacement to the plastic badge. Even though the Type 2 looks considerably more conventional, many of the "Eagles" have chosen not to replace their Type 1. At the 25th anniversary of the "Eagles" in 2017 in the NKR, 5 Type 1s were in wear but only 1 Type 2.
Unlike the Type 1, the Type 2 is not worn on the chest, but on the right collar of the dress uniform, above all other awards.
His replacement is also numbered #188, considering it retains the original numbered sticker, he probably never wore it.
His next award is missing, it may turn up sometime in the future.
Combat Service Medal #1487 awarded 27th October 2006.
What is unusual about this Document is the serial number is 021720, over 20,000 higher than the award, usually the serial number of the award and document is within 100.
