Messages

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Russian Imperial Medals, Orders, Uniforms & Militaria / Re: Colonel Zakrjevsky - any personal information , family or military history 1885

« on: February 24, 2015, 12:14:15 PM »

Nicholas Zakrzhevsky [Закржевский], of Polish noble origin, born 1853; graduated from the General Staff Academy 1878; appointed chief of staff of the Russian Middle Asia force 1885 (rank: Lieutenant Colonel); awarded golden sword for bravery for the Kushka incident; Major General 1899; Lieutenant General 1907; General of the Infantry 1910.

Photo taken in 1910:

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Russian Imperial Medals, Orders, Uniforms & Militaria / Re: Please Help me to identify this 1775 Catherine the Great Bronze Medal

« on: January 26, 2015, 02:30:54 AM »

Тимофей Иванов = Timofey Ivanov. Lived 1729 - 1802, was apprenticed to Benjamin Scott, then worked as a medallist at the Saint-Petersburg Mint till 1800.

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Russian Imperial Medals, Orders, Uniforms & Militaria / Re: Please Help me to identify this 1775 Catherine the Great Bronze Medal

« on: January 25, 2015, 12:44:40 PM »

This На учреждение губерний medal was minted in 1779 to commemorate the Governorates Establishment Act issued in 1775. The engraver's name Тимофей Иванов appears in small print below the empress' portrait. The Исполняя - достигнешь motto on the reverse side means "By executing orders, you shall achieve".

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Russian Noble Families / Re: Photos of the Plaoutine and Denissieff Families (Plautin & Denisiev)

« on: January 08, 2015, 09:18:45 AM »

No, it was a civilian school whose graduates were supposed to enter civil or diplomatic service. The uniform lacks shoulder boards which makes it quite different from military.

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Russian Noble Families / Re: Photos of the Plaoutine and Denissieff Families (Plautin & Denisiev)

« on: January 06, 2015, 11:19:56 AM »

Is this some kind of a school uniform?

This is a uniform of the Imperial Alexander Lyceum, an aristocratic high school/college originally resided in Tsarskoye Selo, and after 1844 in St. Petersburg.

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Russian Noble Families / Re: Photos of the Plaoutine and Denissieff Families (Plautin & Denisiev)

« on: January 06, 2015, 09:04:30 AM »

Please post an enlarged fragment of the photo showing Plautin astride the horse, so that his shoulder board would be better visible. Now it seems to have two longitudinal stripes, meaning he's a colonel. If so, he wears the uniform of Tersko-Dagestansky Cavalry Regiment, of which he was a CO in 1904.

If the second photo of mounted officers was actually taken during the Russo-Japanese war, this whole group belongs to the same regiment. If however it dates to WW1, then they are from the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Combined Cossack Division, that was commanded by Nicholas Plautin when he already was a Major General. The uniform of that brigade's two regiments was of a Caucasian style and very similar to that of Tersko-Dagestansky cavalry regiment

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Research Russian Roots / Re: Dr Pantchenko and Patrick O'brien De'Lacy

« on: November 09, 2014, 10:25:21 AM »

Count Patrick O'Brien de Lacy had served his life term at the Shlisselburg fortress near St. Petersburg until 1917, when he was released together with other prisoners. Soon afterwards he returned to his family's originally native Scotland and, according to one source, was employed as naval engineer at Dundee Shipyard.

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Russian Imperial Medals, Orders, Uniforms & Militaria / Re: Help with Cross of St. George/1900-1901 China Campaign medal recipient

« on: October 24, 2014, 01:29:37 PM »

Probably his battery was ordered to fire at civilian homes where the Chinese troops were suspected to hide, and afterwards it turned out that the casualties were actually women and children... Such and similar sad things had happened quite often during that fierce campaign, and as a result many Russian and other Western soldiers were feeling remorse and pangs of conscience.

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Russian Imperial Medals, Orders, Uniforms & Militaria / Re: Help with Cross of St. George/1900-1901 China Campaign medal recipient

« on: October 24, 2014, 12:30:44 PM »

Gunner Corporal Edmund Zubzhinsky [Эдмунд Зубжинский], of 2nd fast-firing battery of Guards Rifle Brigade, was awarded the Merit Cross of the Military Order (St. George Cross for men) 4th Class for his gallantry exhibited during the battle at the village of Shiao-Tsan-Cheng, China, on 25 October 1900. This info was kindly provided by Igor K. from the Sammler Forum for military history.

Could you please post here (or send me) an image of Edmund's awards (cross and medal, two sides)?

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Russian Imperial Medals, Orders, Uniforms & Militaria / Re: Help with Cross of St. George/1900-1901 China Campaign medal recipient

« on: October 22, 2014, 11:01:03 AM »

Was your grandfather's first name Edmund?

41

Russian Noble Families / Re: Missikoff Family / Ossetia

« on: October 15, 2014, 01:58:56 PM »

The Misikovs' princely title is no more than a family legend. The Ossetian nobility never included princes. Their only more or less aristocratic title was uzden - a rough equivalent to European baron. There were no Ossetian princes in the Russian empire, whether Missikovs or other. As to Michael (Mahomet) Missikov, he indeed was a well-known Ossetian university professor, physician and anthropologist who fell victim to Stalin's terror in Sept. 1938. His granddaughter Donatella Flick's claim to a princely title is historically baseless and apparently just serves her ego. More info on Prof. Michael Misikov see here (in Russian).

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Imperial Russian History / Re: Orthodox worship practices #3

« on: September 29, 2014, 06:41:16 AM »

Hear it here.

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Imperial Russian History / Re: Orthodox worship practices #3

« on: September 28, 2014, 12:28:05 PM »

The Russian equivalent for Polychronion is Многолетие, whereas a deacon and a chorus after him proclaim:  Многая лета! [Many years! in Church Slavonic].

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The Russian Revolution / Re: Americans Fought Bolsheviks in Russia

« on: August 25, 2014, 03:00:00 PM »

in a time of want/need, someone had enough $$ to use silver as adornment.

Silver, unlike gold, was pretty cheap at that time. Such necklaces, crosses and other silver jewelry even weren't usually taken by train and street robbers.

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Imperial Russian History / Re: How were serfs/servants referred to by social superiors?

« on: July 28, 2014, 03:34:10 PM »

Was it usual also in Russia to adress serfs and / or servants in the third person, i.e. он / она instead of ты, like in Germany and Scandinavia?

No. Probably some ethnic German nobles, which were many, did so, but definitely not ethnic Russians.