"All Look The Same" Little Soviet Finds: $10 to $150

[Rick Research]

Here are three badges for the Voroshilov General Staff Academy.
Far left is 1951-56 (count the 8 Republics ribands on the left as opposed to 7 on the right, with one at the base of the "bow") and given retroactively to earlier surviving graduates. In 1957 the Soviet seal was changed to 7 and 7. There was no graduating class 1960-61, because Khruschev was playing budget control games with the military, and in 1962, when the middle badge was created, the embarassing shield with Klimenty Voroshilov, Marshal-Moron of the Soviet Union, had been removed. This was the ONLY gold colored badge with white enamel allowed from that point on, so no need for the name to appear. The right hand badge is the last type, frosted gilt brass and dates 1980s+.

The left hand badge has star and shield attached by bent over pins on back and has a silver mint marked screw disk. The middle badge is still silver (so probably 1960s), with a hexagonal nut holding the screw post (part of the globe and wreath) tight, with a tiny rivet at the base of the central wreath through the back to keep the raised star and wreath from spinning. This one also has a silver mint screw disk. The last badge has only a nut, and can be disassembled into diamond, globe wreath and screw post, and star.

Values roughly $150, $60, and... $10.

[Rick Research]

Here is a close up of the first type Voroshilov General Staff Academy badge. I can't get the reverses because the long silver (on the first two shown, brass on the last one) screw posts deflect the angle--can't get a "flat" reverse with a scanner.

Note that many OTHER Academy badges continued to bear name shields--but they were all silver/silvered diamonds with gilt centers, not all gilt metal parts. It is also a peculiarity of these badges that sometimes recent badges bear the pre-1957 8-1-7 rather than correct 7-1-7 Republics ribands. Though pathologically picky about the smallest details, this reuse of outdated dies apparently was gotten away with.

Recent badges are, of course, base metal and not real silver.

[Rick Research]

Since something is making Skip's scans take decades to download, I'll tack on a couple more here instead of on his Academies thread.

On the left is a brass or alloy Military Political School badge in unusual star shape, from the emblem related either to KGB or Border Guards. My KGB Guru Shawn Caza can't place this one either-- but there is still a lot we have no references for. I'd guess 1960s on this one.

On the right, a civilian University Graduate badge, with 1939-46 Soviet state seal. This badge is silver and gilt, the seal affixed with three tiny pin/rivets. Later issues updated the ribands on the seal and went from silver to gilt bronze and finally aluminum.

[d-riemer]

Rick,
thanks for the great, colorful detail on the Academy Badges. Some of my badges came to life by your information. I can almost match your group of 3 General Staff Academy badges except for the gilt color on the two older badges.

That raises a question on the middle badge: Were badges without name used for other academies also or is this a General Staff Academy badge and the gilt color disappeared with time?


But there is the other difference in the name that I almost missed:
BBA versus BMA. I assume the two silver badges are not General Staff Academy badges that lost their color.

[Rick Research]

Only the General Staff Academy badge is--or was SUPPOSED TO BE-- all gold. (I have a Submarine "mutant" I'll post eventually! )
VVA (Cyrillic BBA) is for Higher Staff Academy

but

VMA (Cyrillic BMA) is for Military Naval Academy--- the Russians using the equivalent of the German Kriegsmarine for their navy, as compared to the Merchant Marine.

The "in the name of" school designations are often confusing, since they were named after people who had NOTHING to do with the branch of service at all!!

From what I have heard, all the shields were privately purchased, to show "school pride." The issue badges apparently had no shields at all.

I have the flimsy little award sheet, folded in half paper, for an Air Force Engineer Corps General in 1955 and while it gives the full titles of the AF "Voroshilov" Engineering Academy... the printed badge itself on the standard format document has a BLANK shield-- which is certainly something that never existed!

[Rick Research]

Here's a close up of the middle Voroshilov General Staff Academy badge I originally posted above:

due to political "demotion," the shields were dropped and from 1962 dim-witted Klimenty was shuffled off into well deserved obscurity after decades of undeserved praise.

I'm not sure at exactly what point all these Academy badges ceased being made out of real silver (gilt in the GSA case) and went to plated base metal. But the silver badges have pronged through shields and the stars are rivetted rather than just held on by the reverse screw nut.