Phaleristics is a historical discipline that studies the history of orders, medals, badges, and all types of insignia.
Back in 1961, a brochure titled “Orders and Decorations of the Civil War, 1917–1922” was published in Paris.
This study was the world’s first work on this topic and became a seminal work. In fact, it was so successful that it was eventually translated into French.
The author of this remarkable book was Pavel Vasilyevich Pashkov, a native of Kharkiv.
He was born in our beloved city on April 26, 1895, to a professor of chemistry at the Kharkiv Technological Institute.
After graduating from the Kharkiv Gymnasium just before World War I, he enrolled at Moscow University but withdrew in his second year to transfer to the Alekseev Military School.
After graduating from the school, during World War I, he was assigned to the Western Front, to the 17th Turkestan Rifle Regiment. He also took part in the Civil War, fighting on the side of the White Army.
After being evacuated from Crimea via Constantinople, Pavel Vasilyevich ended up in Paris.
In the 1930s, he worked as a simple coat check attendant at the “Abrek” cabaret.
While living in France, he developed a passion for collecting military memorabilia, such as regimental insignia, decorations, medals, and military books. As a result, he became one of the foremost and most distinguished experts in this field.
He was also the creator of unique uniform designs for the Guards and Cavalry regiments of the Russian Army.
He was the driving force behind the creation of a club for military history enthusiasts in Paris.
Due to paralysis in his legs, this outstanding military collector spent the last 15 years of his life in a semi-reclining position, never leaving his room.
Those around him marveled at his remarkable fortitude and patience. Right up until the very last weeks of his life, he maintained an extensive correspondence, received friends, and organized the documents he had collected.
His memoirs were published in 1970.
He was also working on a new book—a description of all Russian medals. However, that book was never published.
Tireless and unbroken, he died in Paris on February 13, 1974. He is buried at the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Cemetery.
Through his research, our fellow townsman Pavel Vasilyevich Pashkov has made an enormous contribution to the development of global phaleristics. Yet in his hometown of Kharkiv, his name has been forgotten and is known to only a few…
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