War relics forum. Uniforms, Guns, helmets, battlefield archeology.
NKVD border guard
This is a discussion on NKVD border guard within the Uniforms Of The RKKA, Red Army, & Soviet Army forums,
part of the USSR 1917-1991 category in War relics forum; I just picked up what I believe is a M-43 NKVD border guards gymnasterka. If I am wrong please correct ...
I just picked up what I believe is a M-43 NKVD border guards gymnasterka. If I am wrong please correct me. I am new to collecting uniforms so any help would be great.
Where would the stamp be? What is the proper way to store it? Does anybody know what the cloth badge means? NKVD seems very hard to research sometimes. Any reference pics would be great. Thanks for looking!
More images needed in any case - preferably in natural light:
1- The reverse of the shoulder-boards. BTW, Are the stars silvered or gilt?.
2- The reverse of the buttons. Not to find a date stamping, as this has to be the most inaccurate method of dating a uniform because buttons can be changed very easily, but to determine what type they are.
3- The inside of the pocket flaps and the pockets themselves - turn the gymnasterka inside-out to photograph the latter...
Whatever with date stampings, more often than not, they are non-existent on wartime M43 gymnasterka and examples made well into the late 40s and even early 50s...
The "cloth patches" are referred to as "WOUND STRIPES". Yellow for a heavy wound, red for a lighter wound. These also are able to be added easily to make an item more "saleable"...
In any case, NKVD, by regulation, used gymnasterka with patch pockets well into the 50s. However, exceptions are indeed fact in many instances - IMO...
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On the subject of care and storage. The two big enemies are light and insects.
Keep the uniform out of direct sunlight as it will fade really quickly. Keep the curtains or blinds drawn in your collection room. Don't wash it either for the same reason: Soviets dyes are not "colour fast" and a lot will come out in any wash.
Brush it down, inside and out, with a soft clothes brush. Carefully inspect the seams, pockets, etc too for any insect evidence. Check the uniform carefully every 6 months or so. If displayed on a dummy, you will need to make sure dust does not accumilate.
Some people use plastic suit covers: I am not keen on these. They are not archival safe. The plastic can "out gas" and discolour wire or metal insignia. OK for a short term fix only. You can buy purpose made museum grade card boxes to keep uniforms in. These you pack with acid free tissue paper.
Hangers: if you hang in a wardrobe, make sure you use a good wooden hanger. Don't use wire or plastic.
There are various products you can use to repel insects: moth balls (Which work but smell awful and are not really good for your health too) or Cedar wood blocks or balls. These need to be stored near but not on the uniform and resanded every 6 months to reactivate the smell. Lavendar is a good choice: nice smell and long lasting.
I see you are from Cal so this won't really apply to you, but I add it here for info's sake. One other thought is damp/humidity: the room will need to be kept warm and dry. Humidity levels should be OK at about 55% I think? Never had to measure the levels as here as I have a centrally heated room for my collection. Lofts etc with extremes of temp changes might cause problems.
Uniforms require a lot more care and looking after than awards etc. But I love them.
I did feel better that i didn't find a stamp. It seems like whenever there is a clear stamp it is more likely to be a fake. I will post pictures of the buttons, pockets, and inside of garment as soon as the sun goes up Thanks for the advise on storage.
P.S. Does the old smell of the garment mean any thing LOL
more pic I hope they help let me know if you need any more. Just by looks, feel, and smell it screams authentic. But this is my first
gymnasterka and I will leave this to the expert
NKVD border guard 
Thanks for the advise on storage. 
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