I have uploaded a photograph to ViewMate and would greatly appreciate whatever
information people can provide.

http://www.jewishgen.org/viewmate/viewmateview.asp?key=18728

Family stories say that this photo is of my ggf, Dawid SZAUBMAN/SZOBMAN/SCHAUBMAN,
who served in the Russian Army during the Russo-Japanese War (1905).I'd like to
know if the uniform matches what would be worn by a Russian soldier during that
time. I'd also like to know what, if anything, is revealed about his rank.

Replies to me personally or via ViewMate, please.

Thanks for your assistance.

Debbi Schaubman

Researching on:
EINBINDER (now COHEN) >from Drohiczyn, Poland
SZAUBMAN/SZOBMAN >from Lublin, Poland
GERSZTENBLIT/GERSTENBLUTH >from Lublin, Poland
SMOLIANOFF/SMOLONOW >from Kreminczuk, Ukraine
WESSLER/WESZLER >from Varpalota, Hungary

On 4/18/2011 10:46 AM, Debbi Schaubman wrote:
I have uploaded a photograph to ViewMate and would greatly appreciate whatever
information people can provide. Family stories say that this photo is of my ggf,
Dawid SZAUBMAN/SZOBMAN/SCHAUBMAN, who served in the Russian Army during the Russo-
Japanese War (1905).I'd like to know if the uniform matches what would be worn by
a Russian soldier during that time. I'd also like to know what, if anything, is
revealed about his rank.


I have looked at the photo, but I have some thoughts of a general interest. On the
theory that this kind of question can be answered through on-line research, I have
been googling. Apparently Amazon is selling a book with pictures of Russian
historic uniforms. If Amazon is selling it, major libraries in the US and
elsewhere should have copies. Also, I am on another list devoted to Slavic
studies. There are over 3000 scholars on the list, many in the former USSR. I
once posed a question re someone's uniform picture and a librarian at an American
university agreed to look at the picture, and wrote a detailed analysis. I am
mentioning all this to suggest that interpreting uniforms is not the same as
recognizing individual faces in an old photo; there are resources out there
available to individual members of Jewishgen. If a nearby university has a Russian
historian on the faculty, s/he might welcome seeing the photo and identifying the
uniform. Now as to Ms. Schaubman's young man. The 2 stripes on each shoulder
board are significant. But I was also impressed with the carefully trimmed and
upswept moustaches. Would a mere private try to look so dashing? So perhaps our
soldier was a corporal or sergeant (could Jews rise higher by the Russo-Japanese
war?).
Jules Levin
Los Angeles

From: ameliede@...
Last year I was searching for information about the army uniform worn by my
Grandfather's young brother in a photo taken in the early 20th century. All we knew
was that he had been conscripted into 'the Tsar's army, never to be heard of
again', and I was trying to establish his age to fit in with other aspects of the
family already known.

I found 'An Index of Russian Army Uniforms' by Marc Conrad on the internet, and was
able to recognise the uniform in our photo amongst the many photos and
illustrations on the site. I was subsequently able to fine tune the period as
between 1910-1914 after I contacted Mr Conrad via the contact email address on the
site.

I have since established that Mr Conrad is an authority on many matters relating to
the Russian Army. Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark the site showing the index, and
have been unable to find it again, but I still have the contact email address,
which appears on other pages concerning Marc Conrad's works.

This information may be of use for other Genners' queries about Russian army
uniforms often posted on this forum.

My great uncle was one of the thousands of young Russian Jewish lads conscripted as
cannon fodder early in the 20th century in Belarus and beyond, and my grandfather
told my late father that the villages and towns under Russian rule usually included
a person who provided a service of disfiguring young men in order to make them
unfit for army service, eg amputating fingers or toes or worse. Anything was better
than being conscripted. The photo of my very young great uncle in Private's
uniform, taken before he died, can be seen in the bottom row of photos on the
Druya Site by Eilat Gordon Levitan.

I would guess that any Jewish conscript who rose in the ranks would have been
highly skilled in some way, or else a member of an influential family.

Felicity Bartak
Melbourne
Australia

MODERATOR NOTE: The website to which Felicia refers is
http://marksrussianmilitaryhistory.info/