Poljot Marshal Zhukov

w/ alternative black dial

The original chronograph has a white dial with a red star, banner, and "50 years" script marking the anniversary of the victory over Germany in World War II. It's more of a collectors' watch than the one pictured here, which is a little more wearable with only the "Marshal Zhukov" stamp on the bezel.

This particular dial is one of the more detailed offerings from Poljot during the early-1990s. A vibrant blue version of the dial is usually paired with a gilded casing - making for an extremely garish looking watch - and is often available for purchasing online in near-new condition.

Marshall Georgi Zhukov

This is a collage from a posting I made at the Watchuseek forum some years ago. The Katyusha (Soviet rocket launcher) model, like the watch, was assembled by me back in the mid-nineties.

More from the posting: This is one of many ca. 1995 Poljot watches commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over the Axis powers in WWII.

Zhukov, amongst other World War II achievements, helped engineer the counteroffensive that encircled the German sixth army at Stalingrad and commanded the 1st Belorussian(northern) Front during the final Berlin offensive. Zhukov's main forces were positioned directly east of Berlin where the German defenses were heaviest. On Apr 16, 1945, from a ridge top dugout on the west side of the Oder river where the Russians had a gained a bridgehead, Zhukov gave the order that began the offensive with the largest artillery bombardment the world has ever known. On Apr 30 1945, the Reichstag fell to Zhukov's forces.

For those curious about the fate of the chronograph factories in Glashutte during this offensive, a poorly led Polish-Soviet force en-route to Dresden was crushed by a German counteroffensive at Bautzen, therefore the area was not occupied by the Soviets until after Germany had fully surrendered. The factories did however sustain major damage from aerial bombardments just prior to the surrender.