Awards and Badges of the White Armies and Governments of the Russian Civil War 1917 - 1922 (Награды и Знаки Белыx Армии и Правительств 1917 - 1922)
A. I. Rudichenko

Awards and Badges of the White Armies and Governments of the Russian Civil War, 1917-1922" A Rudichenko, 2008, Moscow. Hardcover, Second and Greatly Expanded Edition, Russian text, 493 pp, large format, 11 1/2" by 8 3/4", over 1 3/8" thick. The first edition of this title has been out of print and collectors who missed that volume should take immediate note of this greatly expanded version. Among the sources for the fundamental research that went into this title were museums, archives and large private collections both in Russia and abroad. Consequently, this book provides a great amount of previously unpublished historical information such as award requirements and decrees. Organized by regions (South, North & Northwest, North, and East), this book expands upon the earlier book with more details, more facts, and more photos - there are over seventy more pages in this edition than were in the first! Frankly, the most outstanding features of this book are the magnified close-up color photos of excellent quality. Unlike the references from decades ago on awards of the White Armies that featured only drawings or out of focus photographs, this book contains beautiful photos of the largest number of secondary and commemorative awards, badges of distinction and award documents. This volume is a truly encyclopedic coverage of the new awards that were created by the White Armies! Because the book is written from the standpoint of a collector, it has such useful features as highly detailed descriptions of individual pieces, with precise sizes. Last but not least is a review of fakes and badges of dubious origin - which includes interesting commentary on post war badges created by veterans as commemoratives, not to deceive collectors. In the addendum are a list of the White Army awards organized by the region and an extremely handy name index. Outstanding resource for the militaria collector or historian. Highly recommended!