2006 Russian FSIN Spetsnaz "Fakel" 15th Anniversary Medal – Penitentiary Service Award, Rare Original Issue

Description

Original Item – Only One Available. A scarce unit-issued commemorative from one of Russia's least-encountered special forces branches, the spetsnaz of the Federal Penitentiary Service. Detachment "Fakel" ("Torch") was raised in 1991, in the final months of the Soviet Union, as one of the first special purpose units created to respond to prison riots, hostage situations, and armed disturbances within the correctional system, and its operators later served combat rotations in the North Caucasus during the Chechen campaigns. This medal was produced in 2006 to mark the unit's 15th anniversary, and like most Russian unit commemoratives it was never a commercial item, production was limited to a small run for serving personnel and veterans of the detachment, which is precisely why examples so rarely appear on the Western market compared to the common MVD and MoD series.

The obverse carries the crowned double-headed eagle of the Federal Penitentiary Service, its breast shield bearing the "pillar of law", over a crossed sword & axe, all within a detailed laurel wreath border. The reverse is boldly struck "Special Forces Detachment "Fakel" 1991–2006". The medal hangs from its correct maroon ribbon, the traditional color of the Russian penitentiary service, on a pentagonal suspension with the original pin-back assembly intact and functional. Condition is very good, with warm gilt surfaces showing light, honest cabinet toning and minor contact marks, and all relief detail crisp.

FSIN spetsnaz material occupies a quiet corner of Russian special forces collecting that is only now getting the attention it deserves, the units are real, storied, and small, and their insignia was produced in numbers a fraction of the size of army or MVD issues. For a collector building beyond the familiar Vityaz and Alfa material into the full landscape of Russian special purpose units, this is exactly the kind of piece that rounds out a serious collection, and one you may not see offered again soon.