1881 Pattern Russian Dragoon's Shaska (White Army) (sold)

A White Army Russian Revolution (1881 Pattern) dragoon's sabre with German made scabbard, the sword Zlatoust made 1906-7.

This is a shaska (cavalry sabre) which was carried by a soldier loyal to the Czar during the Russian Revolution and the civil war that followed it. Made in the Zlatoust armaments factory (blade dated 1906, hilt dated 1907), the hilt is regimentally marked in Russian Cyrillic.

How I know this was a White Army sword is the fact it comes with a tailor made German scabbard with German regimental designations stamped on it. The Russian white army was supported and fought alongside the Germans against the newly formed Red Army in 1918 / 1919. The Germans actually invaded Russia and a new White Russian Republic was proclaimed with Germany's consent. Germany envisaged an independent state involving Poland, the Ukraine, the Baltic State and large sections of Russia coming under German military protection and with that being allied to Germany and the so-called "Central Powers". Lithuania was a key component in this plan as this is where most of the White Russians lived at the time. After initial successes which saw the German - White Russian alliance come close to taking Moscow, they suffered defeats while the White Army lost its foreign support; the remnants of the Czars army and supporters fled to foreign lands. This sword therefore almost certainly is from that failed German sponsored attempt to reinstate White Russia.

The inside of the scabbard throat is stamped 80 to correspond with the "80" of the regiment / troop / issue number on the exterior of the scabbard itself. The scabbard is a perfect fit and clearly was a mandated replacement for this shaska's original Russian wooden, brass and leather scabbard. The blade has clearly seen military action with a series of nicks to the front cutting edge; the blade itself is a little pitted, more so near the tip, but is sound and still shows the blade markings clearly. The blade is firm in the hilt, the hilt is firm too, the scabbard fits well. Although many mostly reproduction shaskas are available on the market, very few are genuine and even fewer come with any provenance, especially White army provenance. Therefore this is an exceptionally rare sword. Further / full sized pictures upon request. Item reference number is 104 (85).