I have a great interest in the Germans and their mighty military that seemingly was invincible, but who were eventually at great human cost; to all nations involved; defeated. As I furthered my study and reading I found out stuff  that was barely mentioned in school: that the reality was the German Nazi War Machine was defeated in large part due to the efforts of the Red Army Soviet Union destroyed vastly more German divisions than did the Allies and they faced the absolute best the Germans had to throw at them.

This does not in any way diminish the gargantuan efforts made on the Western Fronts of Africa in the Desert, in Italy, and finally in France and the rest of Western Europe by the Anglo-US Alliance. But the Soviet Union faced almost totally alone the entire might of the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe from June 1941 until the winter when fresh Siberian troops stopped the Germans at the very gates of Moscow. Then again the summer of 1942 when the Wehrmacht again went on the offensive and this time went all the way to the Volga, Stalingrad to be precise that now mystical place where the Germans came face to face with their doom. The people of that now defunct nation faced total annihilation. On a scale unheard of before in human history and they fought against all odds to defend their Motherland, homes and families. At a loss of 25,000,000 to 30,000,000 dead during this terrible conflagration they fought and overcame. They built the Red Army and Air Force into a juggernaut and pushed the Germans all the way back to Berlin.

This is the Great Patriotic War as the Russians know it. This conflagration spawned acts of courage and heroism in the face of their mortal enemy and almost certain death. These deeds gave rise to the issue of many already established awards and the creation of many new awards to honor the men and women whose undeniable courage in the face of the enemy saved Russia and carried her to ultimate victory.

This brings me to the "raison d'etre" of my site. I collect the Orders and Medals of the Soviet Union and further of Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and other former communist countries. As well as the medals of Germany and Canada (Commonwealth) They are for the most part striking to look at and touch especially the Soviet ones which are of exceptional beauty and all are historically significant. From the exceptional classic simplicity of what is probably the most recognized military award in the world the Iron Cross of Germany whose history goes back to Frederick the Great who instituted the award in 1813; to the exceptional eye catching beauty to be found in the Soviet enameled orders.   

These are pieces of history and to hold them in your hands is to feel a connection however small to the events that spawned their existence and allow those of us fortunate enough not to have lived through those turbulent times to keep the now fading memories of those times alive that they never be repeated again.

 The Orders and Medals of Bulgaria are from a Nation which has a very long history and her people; some of whom I have come to call my friends; have played a part in the Twentieth Century. This country while under communism had a large and varied awards system based in l partly on that of the Soviet Union the collecting of these Bulgarian Communist awards is quite interesting due to the variety available and also when one considers the rarity of many of these awards especially when compared to their Soviet equivalents they are quite inexpensive. Imagine if the Order of Lenin had been issued only 5000 times what you would have to pay for that! Now consider the Order of George Dimitrov issued less than 5000 times can still be found for much less than the Soviet Order of Lenin.   

 Naturally as my collecting grew so did my interest and it is to share my interest with you my fellow collectors that I offer items on this site for sale. As much as I would like to keep every single piece I get; from the most modest Jubilee Medal to the most prestigious Orders I cannot. Some of the items in my care are here offered to you. They seek good homes where the story they tell can live on, I invite one and all to journey back in time and hold history in your hands................