Original Item: Only One Available. This is an interesting assembled lot of German WWII Russian Liberation Army and Eastern Volunteer insignia, including an ROA sleeve shield, two matched pairs of shoulder boards, one additional shoulder board, and several collar insignia. The grouping contains 11 individual pieces in total.

The Russian Liberation Army, commonly abbreviated ROA, was associated with former Soviet General Andrey Vlasov. The Cyrillic abbreviation РОА visually resembles the Latin letters POA, which accounts for both forms appearing in English-language descriptions and among collectors. The organization is also commonly called the Vlasov Army.

Vlasov agreed to collaborate with Third Reich Germany after being captured on the Eastern Front in 1942. Personnel associated with the ROA were primarily former Soviet prisoners of war, although the broader movement also included White Russian émigrés, some of whom had served in anti-Bolshevik forces during the Russian Civil War of 1917-1923.

The term ROA was used broadly for Russian volunteers in German service before a unified army actually existed. On November 14, 1944, the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia, abbreviated KONR, was formally proclaimed in Prague. Vlasov became chairman of the committee and commander-in-chief of its armed forces. On January 28, 1945, he was formally recognized as commander-in-chief of the KONR forces, with the first two divisions ceremonially transferred to his command during February.

During the closing days of the war, the ROA’s 1st Division, commanded by Sergei Bunyachenko, turned against German forces and participated in the Prague Uprising. The division subsequently attempted to surrender to American forces rather than fall into Soviet hands.

This lot consists of the following insignia:

• Russian Liberation Army “РОА” Sleeve Shield: A woven, BEVO-style sleeve insignia with four small holes, one positioned near each corner. The Cyrillic letters РОА have often been transcribed by Western collectors as POA because of their visual appearance.

  
  

• Matched Pair of Cossack Volunteer Shoulder Boards: A button-attached pair with deep red piping, feldgrau undersides, and matching attachment straps. Under commonly used collector identifications, this dark red piping is associated with Cossack volunteers, particularly personnel connected with Don Cossack formations. Comparable volunteer shoulder boards are also encountered with other piping colors, including light blue and green, traditionally associated with different Eastern volunteer groups.

  
  

• Matched Pair of Plain Enlisted Shoulder Boards: A gray button-attached pair without applied insignia.

  
  

• Single Cossack-Style Shoulder Board: A single dark blue-gray button-attached shoulder board.

  
  

• Single Corporal Collar Tab: A red collar tab with applied silver tape, identified as representing the rank of Corporal.

  
  

• Matched Pair of Plain Green-Backed Collar Tabs: A pair of green-backed collar tabs without tape or applied insignia.

  
  

• Matched Pair of Green-Backed Collar Tabs with Silver Tape: A pair with darker green central fields and silver tape bordering all four sides.

  
  

The mixture of Russian Liberation Army, Cossack, and other Eastern Volunteer insignia makes this a particularly useful grouping for illustrating the varied insignia worn by former Soviet and émigré personnel serving with German-controlled formations. With two complete shoulder board pairs, an additional single board, an ROA sleeve shield, and five collar tabs, it is a substantial 11-piece collection representing several different patterns and ranks.