Don't have many Soviet items (I collect mostly U-Boat artifacts), but I picked this tunic up a couple of years ago at a local LA militaria show. It is for a WWII Soviet Fleet Admiral - equivalent to Grossadmiral Doenitz.
In page 241 of the book "World War II Parade Uniforms of the Soviet Union" by James Sinclair and Douglas Drabik, Kuznetzov remembers how he came to wear the shoulder boards of a Soviet Marshall - the only naval man to be able to do so. He had a discussion with Stalin about his promotion to the newly created rank of Admiral of the Fleet. "This time it was decided to institute the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, without any mention about correspondence with Ground Forces. So I obtained the next rank of Admiral of the Fleet, with shoulder straps unusual for the Navy. I wore them for a relatively short period. In May 1944, it was decided to replace them by a Marshal's ones, with one big star."
Here's a view of the tunic's front.
In page 241 of the book "World War II Parade Uniforms of the Soviet Union" by James Sinclair and Douglas Drabik, Kuznetzov remembers how he came to wear the shoulder boards of a Soviet Marshall - the only naval man to be able to do so. He had a discussion with Stalin about his promotion to the newly created rank of Admiral of the Fleet. "This time it was decided to institute the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, without any mention about correspondence with Ground Forces. So I obtained the next rank of Admiral of the Fleet, with shoulder straps unusual for the Navy. I wore them for a relatively short period. In May 1944, it was decided to replace them by a Marshal's ones, with one big star."
Here's a view of the tunic's front.
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