The medal is in anodized aluminum, very large size: 105.9 mm (over 4") in diameter, approx. 6.8 mm thick on the edge. The obverse shows raised profile of Mikhail Frunze, inscription "Frunze Military Academy", the academy's main building in Moscow, and three decorations bestowed upon it: Orders of Lenin, Red Banner and Suvorov. The reverse has Soviet military star emblem and raised writing "The academy was founded on 8 December 1918 on directives of Vladimir Ilych Lenin".

The medal is in excellent condition: the gold finish and details are largely untouched, sh

The medal is in anodized aluminum, very large size: 105.9 mm (over 4") in diameter, approx. 6.8 mm thick on the edge. The obverse shows raised profile of Mikhail Frunze, inscription "Frunze Military Academy", the academy's main building in Moscow, and three decorations bestowed upon it: Orders of Lenin, Red Banner and Suvorov. The reverse has Soviet military star emblem and raised writing "The academy was founded on 8 December 1918 on directives of Vladimir Ilych Lenin".

The medal is in excellent condition: the gold finish and details are largely untouched, show only a few minor scuffs or scratches.

The case is approx. 15 x 24 cm, in red plastic with translucent cover and plush red interior having a fitted nest for the medal. The cover has impressed gold dates "1918 - 1978", Soviet branch insignia for Motorized Infantry and inscription "To Comrade F. Varnosh for good memory of his visit to the academy, 4 September 1980. Moscow" (please note, the last name is a Russian transliteration and may have a different spelling in its original form).

The case is in good overall condition. It shows mild wear to the top lid but engraving is well preserved. The interior is very clean. One of the plastic pegs holding the lid in place broke off and the plastic around the hinges shows damage (this box was undoubtedly considered a luxury in Soviet Russian but its joints were rather cheaply made); nevertheless the lid will stay in its proper location if undisturbed, and the relatively minor damage to the box does not attract any attention when the medal is displayed.

We don't know any details about Varnosh's service, rank or reasons for his VIP treatment beyond the fact that he was a Hungarian citizen. The set is certainly worthy of further research: in all likelihood the name Varnosh - or correct spelling of it as opposed to the Russian transliteration we are using - may appear on the list of generals or high ranking Party officials of Communist Hungary.
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