(Copyright: Shawn M. Caza, June 1998, updated February 2000)

Graduation Badges are issued to mark graduation from a school, higher school, academy, university or other course. Soviet servicemen are permitted to wear up to a maximum of three graduation badges; one badge from their highest, or most recent, military educational institution, one badge from a civilian higher education institution, and one badge from a Suvorov or Nakhimov military cadet school. KGB educational institutions, like military educational institutions, are for officers, and in some cases warrant officers, only. Enlisted personnel are trained in their units, at regimental schools or other similar such organizations.

KGB personnel are eligible to receive and wear graduation badges in the same manner as their military counterparts. KGB personnel wore many of the same graduation badges as other military personnel. KGB officers may have attended a Suvorov or Nakhimov military cadet school before entering the KGB. Likewise they may have attended a civilian institution before or after joining the KGB. Many technical specialists in the Border Guards or KGB Communications Troops attended military schools and academies, in particular signals schools, supply schools, and vehicle-related schools. Border Guards pilots and naval officers attended air force and naval schools. Many high ranking KGB officers, especially in the "uniformed services" attended military academies including the Budennyy Signals Academy, Lenin Military-Political Academy, Frunze Military Academy, and the General Staff Academy.

There are also special KGB educational institutions. However, information on these institutions was classified and little is known to this day. Unlike most badges for military educational institutions those for the state security organs do not have the institution name engraved on them.

The following state security schools were known to have existed in the USSR:

-USSR KGB Higher School. This school was founded by the OGPU in 1930 and located at 4 Pelshe Street, Moscow. Known as the Academy of State Security in the post-Soviet era this did not officially have academy status during the Soviet era though it did provide its officer-cadets with a five year course. This school was named for F.E. Dzerzhinskii. It appears that graduates of the KGB Higher School were awarded the same white, screw-back, diamond shaped "academy" graduation badges issued to graduates of military academies and higher schools. They were issued with a special blue hard-cover award document/diploma.

-KGB Higher Intelligence School. The school likely trained intelligence personnel from the 1st Chief Directorate exclusively.

-KGB Institute of Foreign Languages. This school was in or near Leningrad and trained personnel primarily for the 1st and 8th directorates.

-Academy of Cryptography. Little is known of this institution and it may not have had academy status during the Soviet era. It trained personnel from the 8th (Communications) Directorate.

-Orel Higher Military Command School of Signals, named for M.I. Kalinin (Orlovskoye VVKUS). This school trained military signal troops as well as state security personnel.

-There were likely several other KGB schools including; some republican KGB schools, schools for KGB NCOs and warrant officers, an advanced KGB school for higher officers (likely in Moscow).

-There were also special courses offered at existing KGB schools or headquarters, such as the KUOS, "kursy usovershenstvovaniya ofitserskogo sostav" (advanced officer training courses).

There are three higher schools identified with the Border Guards. The first two train commanders while the third trains political officers.

-Alma-Ata Higher Border Guard Command School, named for F.E. Dzerzhinskiy.

-Moscow Higher Border Guard Command School, named for the Moscow Soviet.

-Higher Border Guard Military-Political School, named for K.Ye. Voroshilov. This institution is either located in the Golitsyno suburb of Moscow or in an unnamed suburb of Leningrad, reports conflict.

B.6.1 Higher KGB School Graduation Badges

There are at least two variations of this badge. Unfortunately, it is not known definitively which school(s) these badges are for. Both badges are similar in construction differing only in enamel colour. These high-quality diamond shaped badges are 48mm x 28mm and are constructed of three main pieces, in addition to the screw-post and the screw-nut. The main body is thin (1mm) brass and has a 32mm long sword shape stamped vertically on the obverse. There is a 2mm wide border of white hot-enamel around the diamond rim. The remainder of the face is covered in blue hot-enamel. The second piece is a 21mm x 13mm shield made of german silver (a cupro-nickel alloy) which is mounted in the middle of the badge over the sword. The third piece is a 13mm wide five pointed brass star with a hammer and sickle on the front which is mounted on the middle of the shield. There is an 8mm long 1.5mm wide screw mounted on the back (note that this is much thinner than the screw on most other Soviet badges). The badge is attached with a small 14mm wide round plate. The pieces are fastened together with a light-grey epoxy. The badge is not hallmarked or manufacturer marked, though it is made by the same factory that makes MVD school graduation badges and KGB Naval Border Guard ship crew badges.

B.6.1. Higher KGB School Graduation Badge, Variation 2. (Courtesy of Dan Dolfi, D&D Collectibles.)

The most commonly seen badge has dark blue enamel (Variation 1). However, there is a rarer badge which has a much lighter sky-blue enamel (Variation 2) instead of the dark blue. There is also reported to be a badge with all-white enamel, though the only example I have ever seen was in fact a white academy badge with the shield and star pieces mounted in place of the normal Soviet coat-of-arms ("gerb") and was likely a fantasy piece. It is likely that the dark blue badge is for the KGB Higher School(s) though it may be for the Border Guards Higher Schools. The dark blue colour and diamond shape is reminiscent of the standard Soviet military officer's Middle School graduation badge and most KGB Higher Schools offer four year courses like military schools. The light blue badge may be for the KGB Higher Intelligence School or any other KGB school(s).

There have been some rumours that these badges are not KGB badges at all but are for MVD schools. I feel that these rumours are not true. There are many known and identified badges for MVD schools (for example I have three badges from MVD Militia schools, three from MVD interior troops schools, and one from the MVD Higher Officer's School, often mistakenly called the MVD Academy). All of the MVD school badges that I have ever seen have the "gerb" (Soviet coat-of-arms) on the badge. The "gerb" is in fact the symbol most associated with the MVD and was the collar tab symbol for the Militia. These two badges (B.6.1) have the KGB symbol superimposed on them, that is the 5-pointed star with hammer & sickle on the sword & shield. For more details on this arguement see my essay "KGB Symbology" on the KGB ORGANIZATION & SYMBOLOGY page.

B.6.2 Advanced Officer Training Course Anniversary Badges

This badge comes in two types. Type 1 is for the 10th Anniversary of the training courses while Type 2 is for the 25th anniversary. Type 1 was made in 1979 and Type 2 was made in 1994 (and is therefore technically a post-Soviet badge).

The Type 1 badge is made of stamped brass and has high quality "hot enamel" on the obverse. There are indications that this badge is for army officer courses and is not KGB at all, although KGB personnel may have taken the course and received the badge.

Type 1 KGB (??) Advanced Officer Training Course Anniversary Badges, obverse. Type 1 (10th Anniversary) on left and Type 2 (25th Anniversary) on right. (Courtesy of Charles Daum, Excaliber Militaria.)

The Type 2 badge is 55mm x 30mm and is made of 2.5mm thick aluminium. It is constructed of one piece and is fastened with a short (15mm wide) pin which is held to the reverse by a pair of raised "lips". The obverse of the badge has the standard KGB sword and shield design. There is white enamel on the shield rim and dark blue translucent enamel on the shield centre. There is a ribbon, filled with translucent red enamel, over the lower portion of the shield bearing "1969 KUOS 1984". KUOS stands for "kursy usovershenstvovaniya ofitserskogo sostav" (advanced officer training courses). There is an arrow crossed over a pick-axe above the ribbon and the 10mm high numeral "25" above this. There is a small red enamel five pointed star on the sword cross-piece. Above the shield, under the sword handle, the canopy and ropes of a parachute can be seen. The sky between the parachute ropes is sky-blue enamel. The raised letters "KGB" appear, 3mm tall, on the parachute canopy. This was likely placed on the badge since there were also KUOS courses in the Soviet army and navy. All enamel is cold-enamel though it is of relatively high quality and thick for an aluminum badge. There is no writing or symbol on the reverse of the badge. This badge may be a fake/fantasy piece (it is poor quality and readily available) or it may be a sanctioned badges made up by the course instructors or students. While it is possible that it was worn on uniforms of officers attending these courses it was not likely worn on uniforms at other times. It is more likely a badge given, or sold, to students and alumni of these courses for their own collection and for wear on veterans uniforms. KUOS courses were attended by KGB officers, who had already graduated from a KGB higher school, in order to gain new, specialized, skills. It can be assumed that parachuting was one of the skills occasionally obtained.

B.6.2. Type 2 post-KGB Advanced Officer Training Course Anniversary Badges, reverse. Type 1 on left and Type 2 on right.

KGB Higher School Graduation Badge

Evidence has recently come to light to show that the standard Soviet white diamond-shaped academy badge was used for the F.E. Dzerzhinskii Higher School of the USSR KGB. The badge did not bear a special name plate (as many though not all military academy badges did) so it is indistinguishable from the standard military academy badge. However, it was issued with a hard cover diploma specifying the KGB Higher School. According the military usage the white academy badge is reserved for true academies and for higher schools offering a five year course. Higher schools offering a 3 or 4 year course used the dark blue diamond shaped badge. Therefore the dark blue and sky-blue diamond shaped KGB school badges shown on the previous page were likely either used for schools other than the F.E. Dzerzhinskii KGB Higher School.

The standard military academy badge without any name plate. This is the example issued with the KGB diploma shown below.

A graduation diploma issued with the badge shown above it in 1977 KGB employee Aleksander Nikolaievich Shatrov. He specialized in legal affairs and graduated as a lawyer with honours in the German language.