Mongolian, Anyone?

[Rick Research]

My Mongolian is a bit, ermm, "rusty," but this 1954 booklet appears to be a joint "Orders and Medals Book."

[Rick Research]

Although the same size and basic format as the Soviet type, here the inner page where a photo could be attached in the Soviet version, is blank, and the third page where a Soviet booklet had the recipient's name here bears the Book's serial number and issue date

[Rick Research]

Next we have the recipient's photo, his name, and the issuing authority's actual signature and large red seals

[Rick Research]

If I have read the family/personal name order correctly, this is Senior Lieutenant Sharkhuu Gochoo, whose early "Elvis" haircut would seem to have made wearing a visor cap rather impractical!

[Rick Research]

Here we have the entries page with awards, their serial numbers, bestowal authorization dates and award decree numbers. I believe the entries indicate a Military Merit Medal first in 1954, followed by the Military Merit Order in 1959. If Mongolian practice followed Soviet, these would appear to have been for routine 10 and 15 years service. Unfortunately the awards did not accompany this Book. The remaining pages are regulations in Mongolian, including precedence of the nation's awards.

[eschena]

Hi Rick:

Thanks for sharing the Mongolian equivalent of an Ordenskaya knizhka. I have never seen such documents and have often wondered if they followed the Soviet model with those books, as well. You are correct in that the decorations listed are the Order of Combat Service and the Medal of Combat Service - at least the Cyrillic alphabet is a tad easier to read and learn than if the knizhka were written in Uighur

I am a big fan of the pre-1970 Mongolian decorations: they are hefty and substantial to hold, very well made (mostly because the USSR made them ), beautiful, and are quite rare compared to their Soviet bretheren. I only have three orders and two medals, but they are a personal favorite of mine in my Eastern Bloc collection.

For those interested, the numbers awarded of their most important decorations are thus (through 1992):

Hero of MPR (1st type) 10
Gold Star Medal of Hero of MPR 100

Hero of Labor (Gold Soembo Medal) 200

Order of Sukhe-Bator (1941 type) 1000
Order of Sukhe-Bator (1970 type) 700

Order of Military Valor (1926-1940) 600
Order of Red Banner of Military Valor (1940-1945) 2300
Order of Combat Red Banner (1945 and 1970 types) 6000

Order of Civil Valor (1926-1940) 600
Order of Labor Glory (1940-1945) 2300
Order of Labor Red Banner (1945 and 1970 types) 6000

Order of Combat Service (1945 type) 5000
Order of Combat Service (1970 type) 2000

Order of the Polar Star (1936 type) 300
Order of the Polar Star (1939 type) 2000
Order of the Polar Star (1941 type) 12000
Order of the Polar Star (1970 type) 16000

Medal of Combat Service 25000

Medal of Honorary Labor (Uighur & Cyrillic types) 15000



Regards,
Eric Schena

[Don Bible]

Nineteen years ago this month (September, 1983) I spent several days in the Mongolian People's Republic. It was one of the most interesting places that I have ever visited. There is a very large WWII memorial on a high hill overlooking Ulan Bator, which portrays the part played by the Mongolian people in the fight against the Nazi agressors. It is very impressive. The whole country-side looks like Montana must have looked in the 1880s.
A bit off subject perhaps, but seeing the photos and posts brought back a lot of good memories. The food was great!!

[Rick Research]

Here's an Order of the Polar Star from the mid-1950s. Note that the six white loops are slightly out of alignment with the gilt rays.

[Rick Research]

Here's why: apparently the original rivets let go, so somebody stuck some sort of welding rods almost as big as the screwpost in and... zap! zap! zzzap! made sure the 3 parts (obverse disk, ring of loops, and gold rays star) would never come loose again! How this was done without exploding the enamel all over, I dunno!