NA149 combines a Russian field gun with four crewmen. The green carriage and brass-colored barrel create a distinctive center, while the gunners work around the breech and trail with ammunition and implements. Their dark green coats, pale trousers and tall shakos distinguish the crew from British horse artillery.
NA148 is a mounted Russian officer in a dark green uniform, bicorne and tall boots. His decorated green saddlecloth is edged in yellow, and the horse advances at a measured pace. The figure belongs with the Russian releases around NA149 rather than the French cavalry in similar dark coats.
Brown outer clothing and a practical standing pose give this company commander a markedly different character from a parade officer. The Del Prado identification places him among the Red forces of the Russian Civil War.
The blue-grey uniform and brown horse give this Russian hussar a restrained appearance. The Del Prado reference shows the figure in its blister, preserving a useful label for a subject often overshadowed by British accounts of the Crimean War.
A red plume, contrasting braid and a lowered head give this Russian trumpeter a distinctive appearance. The Del Prado reference identifies the regiment as Jitomir, another spelling of Zhitomir or Zhytomyr.
A raised sword and a moving horse suggest an open cavalry fight. At Poltava, however, mounted action belonged to a battlefield shaped by earthworks, routes and a larger struggle for control.
Kutuzov raises his hat from a pale horse, but his place in history rests on something less theatrical than a charge. In 1812, preserving the Russian army meant accepting the loss of Moscow.
The photograph shows a flag above the Reichstag. The city beneath it is the harder subject. By the time Yevgeny Khaldei arranged his famous image on 2 May 1945, Berlin had endured bombing, encirclement and fighting through its streets. The photograph gives the ending a single gesture. The battle had given the people inside it thousands of smaller, less conclusive moments.
The long upright weapon and dark outer clothing give this Del Prado Cossack a tall, spare silhouette. Despite retailer wording that refers to a rider, the pictured model is a standing figure without a horse.
The blue beret, camouflage clothing and striped shirt at the neck give this Del Prado paratrooper a clear Cold War identity. The long weapon held upright makes him visually distinct from the catalog’s Second World War Soviet infantry.
