Measuring approx. 3" x 4 ¼", the certificate looks like an ordinary photo ID but the covers are wrapped in cloth, not cheap leatherette or plastic. The wording on the front cover reads "DISTRICT PARTY ACTIVISTS SCHOOL at the political department of MGB Border Guard Forces of the Khabarovsk Region".

Inside, the document certifies that Petr Shevchenko (Петр Данилович Шевченко) completed the two-year program of the party activists school, having attended the full course of lectures and passed exams with good marks, on the following subjects: 1. History of VKP(b), 2. Dialectic and Historic Materialism, 3. History of the USSR, 4. Geography of the USSR and Foreign Countries, 5. Party Work in the Armed Forces and MGB Border Guard Forces, 6. Foreign Policy of the USSR and Current International Relationships.

In excellent condition. With the exception of two tiny stains on the front and back cover, the certificate looks like it led a sheltered life in storage or in Comrade Shevchenko's personnel file.

Khabarovsk District is a 304,107 sq. mi region in the Far East of Russia, on the shores of the Okhotsk Sea and the Sea of Japan. Plenty of work for border guards!

Please note that the penny in our photo is for size reference.