Contested Lands

Rambles about countries no one recognizes. Will occasionally post about my life. Dms open.

[contested-lands]

While I typically stick to awards and chevrons, I do have a small section in my research notes for camos, equipment, and so on. I don't full this section because, given the nature of my countries of interest, it's fairly common to see surplus equipment of all ages in use. However, every once in a while an image will appear on my screen that makes me audibly "huh?"

This is one of those images. This picture from June of 2022, depicts two members of the Commandant's Service (Russian: Военная комендатура) of the Luhansk People's Republic. The individual on the right (along with having a beautiful brassard) carries a rifle, wrapped in Kryptek Mandrake, a commercial camo pattern first appearing in 2012.

I'm really not sure why you would wrap your rifle in camo, especially in a rear position, but go off. I am curious as to what the wrap actually is tho, as it appears to be almost hydrodipped onto the rifle.

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The Russian concept of "public awards" is very foreign to me. Nevertheless, they are officially awarded items that fall into my collecting area from time to time.

Among these awards, one awarded by the Abkhazian based ""Fatherland' Relationship Development Fund" caught me eye.

This award, "For Charity and Mercy" was approved by the Russian based "Commission for Public Awards and Memorial Signs". I've seen it awarded by a handful of groups in the past. However, the thing I never noticed was how similar the reverse of the medal looks to some Siberian cossack awards.

I'm unsure if this is on purpose, or just a coincidence. I would email someone to ask but I doubt I'll get an answer on this one.

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I will most likely be posting more often on here as it's becoming more and more likely twitter will end up being a paid social media app. Its a real shame too because I have a TON of content on twitter and moving it all here is going to take some work. I've also played with the idea of creating an instagram account or tiktok. Whatever the future holds for me I will continue to post unrecognized countries and their awards.

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Abkhaz armed forces parade uniform I picked up recently. Formerly owned by a soldier out of Gudauta, Abkhazia. The uniform is basically untouched, but from some minor things and the smell you can tell this thing has been worn at least once. The overall craftsmanship of the uniform is great, multiple layers, good quality materials used (for the most part), and very thick.

The patches are made quite well and sewn directly into the top most layer of the uniform, this uniform is from the ministry of defense, ground forces. The people my source buys stuff from don't typically like to explain what they do or who they are so the exact identity of the individual this came from will always remain a mystery for me.

The metal the buttons and other tidbits are made from is noticeably lacking. I'm genuinely not sure what they're made out of. They feel lightweight and they feel cheap. They're also stamped out quite crudely. I fully believe this problem comes from a lack of resources in the country. Overall, just happy to have the uniform. I have it on display at the moment (sorry DPR uniform) and it'll one day be the centerpiece of a larger display.

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So, I know I don't have much of a presence on Tumblr as much as I do on Twitter or Reddit, but I discovered today that a website was using one of my posts from Reddit on their website without my permission, advertising their service.

From here on out, I have made the decision to watermark all future posts to prevent this from happening again. It's not something I want to do, but it's something I have been forced to do.

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The medal "Prince Potemkin-Tauride" of the Transnistrian (Pridnestrovian) Black Sea cossacks. One of my favorite organizations, the aesthetics of communism within the PMR and the aesthetics of imperial Russia within the Black Sea cossacks, meshes strangely well. They're a relatively small group, but their presence is noticeable.

From the Black Sea cossack's website:

"The medal “Prince Potemkin-Tauride” is awarded to the Cossacks of the Black Sea Cossack Army for active participation and strengthening of the Black Sea Cossack Army, demonstrated will in the performance of military, official and civil duty, excellent performance in combat training of Cossack units as part of the Armed Forces of the PMR, skillful leadership of Cossack communities, their economic and spiritual development, and strengthening security.

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20 year anniversary medal for the war in Abkhazia (1992/1993)

On the anniversary of the occasion, Sergey, a veteran of the war, had this to say:

Then, in 1992, the question of whether we should protect ourselves, our families, and our holy sites was not even raised. Without a shadow of a doubt, my comrades and I went to the front for the freedom of our beloved Motherland – Apsny! Few of us had any military training at that time, but it didn't matter-we learned everything in the trenches, caught everything on the fly. And today, 20 years later, I would not hesitate to repeat all this fighting path, if only our republic lived, if only we had a peaceful sky, if only we could hear happy children's laughter. This is the best memory of our comrades who laid down their heads for our freedom.

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Donetsk People's Republic jacket I picked up recently. The uniform has seen much better days, and is far thinner than I assumed it would be.

It has an interior pocket that has melted onto itself, and I'm afraid to attempt to open it. The patches look to be machine sewn into the velcro, but the velcro patches and collar patches are hand sewn onto the jacket itself

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South Ossetian medals for 25 years of the Ministry of Defense. As far as South Ossetian medals go, this one is fairly rare to find on the secondary markets.

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For 600 years, Bender (sometimes referred to as Bendery). 50 of these medals were made and awarded to members of the city council and other citizens of Bender(y) who have made significant contributions to the city.

This medal is notable in having a unique design to it, only seen on a very small number of Pridnestrovian awards, with the straight block backing. Most awards from the PMR are made in the soviet style.

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Figured I'd post here more often, I'll start with one of my favorites items

This is a Pridnestrovian 25-year anniversary Chernobyl cleanup medal issued to citizens of the PMR who directly assisted with the clean-up efforts. 50 were made, less were issued.

Medals for other anniversaries were also issued, notably a 30-year anniversary medal, only issued to a very small number of people.

[contested-lands]

First post on here, Twitter refugee that hasn't used tumblr in probably a decade, so bare with me as I re-learn this site.

Little about me: I collect stuff from countries with limited recognition, independence seeking groups, and disputed areas. I'm not a Russian simp, but I will post items from Russian backed regions.