Kříž Chrabrých atamana Bulak-Balachoviče

Cross of the Brave and the Brave of Bulak-Balachovich.
"Cross of the Brave" of ataman Bulak- Balakhovich



S.N. Bulak-Balakhovich was a person and a soldier completely without character, a rather strange figure who emerged during the civil war in Russia. He fought with his loyalists first with the Whites against the Reds, to then fight on the side of the Bolsheviks against the Whites, and again with the Whites against the Bolsheviks. He ended his life on the streets of Warsaw, where he was shot in broad daylight in 1940 by an unknown person.


Ataman Bulak-Balachovich served in the cavalry unit of the Russian Army with the rank of sergeant, which corresponds to the rank of captain of the regular infantry of the Russian Army. This officer did not have any higher or specialized education that would predispose him to a responsible command "post".


General Yudenich picked up Ataman's position and even promoted him first to colonel and then to major-general. He justified the promotion by the bravery of Bulak-Balachovich's troops in the fight against the Bolsheviks. The soldiers of this unit were distinguished by their extraordinary bravery and cruelty, they fought bravely because they were aware that in case of capture they would not be pardoned and would be executed on the spot.


Bulak-Balachovich commanded his partisan unit first as part of General A.P. Rodzianko's senior unit under the Special Detachment of the Northern Army (OKSA) and later as part of General Yudenich's Northwestern Army. By this time, however, the guerrilla unit had already become a "savage detachment" that was more dedicated to filling, looting, raping and banditry than to fighting the Red Guards. Therefore, by order of Gen. Judenich's order ( No. 20 of 24 August 1919), he and his detachment were excluded from the White Army. Ataman therefore left with his loyalists for Estonia and later for Poland. In Poland, his rank of general was recognized and Bulak-Bulakovich became a general of the Polish Army. It is certainly for this reason that collectors in Poland are mainly concerned with the decoration of this controversial man and soldier.


General Bulak-Balachovich establishes a commemorative decoration for his loyal comrades-in-arms called :


CROSS OF THE BRAVE


Description of the cross:


The cross is made of base metal and patinated in the colour of old silver. The shape is based on the Order of St. George. A round medallion, again in the colour of matt silver, is placed on the centre of the cross. Here is a skull with a sword and a torch. The medallion is surrounded by a laurel wreath, which is tied with a ribbon at the bottom. The size of the cross is 35 x 35 mm.


The reverse side is plain, all silver and here the serial number is engraved. Copies of the cross have been produced since the 1950s and often these older copies, originally from Poland, are passed off as authenticated originals.


Ribbon:
The cross was designed to be worn on the classic ribbon of the Order of St George.


Literature :
Gen. Orders and Badges in the Civil War 1917-1922
Alender Kuznetsov : On the White Army and their decorations 1917-1922

Another nonsensical attempt, completely out of touch with reality, is this cross offered at a foreign auction, which never existed in this design. As the commander of the unit was himself an unserious man ( soldier and commander ), the decorations of this unit are perhaps only interesting in their motif. The cross inserted here has already reached a price of 1000 euros.


Similar crosses can be found in Poland, but they appear on the auctions of the Russian Molotkt ( similar to our Aukr ). Yet someone will buy such a stupid thing, as it seems, stupidity is really international .


My colleague Radim has added another decoration from the workshop of Polish dealers, it is of course a new work ! COPY

Star of the Cross of the Brave with an inscription in Polish - ZA NASZA I WASZA WOLNOSC. The Cross was worn on a black ribbon with gold edges.






Source: sw45.land.ru/WArm/WhiteArm.htm